Shwedagon Pagoda Timeline

Hiram Cox, the British envoy to the Burmese Court, observed the tradition by not visiting the pagoda rather than take off his shoes, highlighting early colonial friction over customs at the shrine.

The great Buddhist shrine had been fortified by British troops in the 1824 war, converting the sacred precincts into a military position.

Two centuries after de Brito's plunder, the British landed on May 11, 1824, during the First Anglo-Burmese War, occupying the area around the pagoda.

Image source: First Anglo-Burmese War

King Tharrawaddy Min donated the 42-ton Tharrawaddy Min Bell along with 20 kg of gold plating; this massive ornate bell hangs in its pavilion in the northeast corner of the stupa.

Image source: Tharrawaddy Min

Having been fortified by the British troops in the 1824 war, the great Buddhist shrine was again used as a fort during the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852.

The Second Anglo-Burmese War saw the British re-occupation of the Shwedagon in April 1852, only this time the stupa remained under their military control for 77 years, until 1929, although the people were given access to the Paya.

Image source: Second Anglo-Burmese War

Under Arthur Phayre, renovations of the Pagoda began in 1855 with public support and donations, restoring the sacred site after military occupation.

Image source: Arthur Purves Phayre

In 1902, U Dhammaloka publicly confronted a police officer over wearing shoes at the pagoda, part of a broader campaign against colonial disrespect for Buddhist customs.

Image source: U Dhammaloka

It was not until 1919 that the British authorities finally issued a regulation prohibiting footwear in the precincts of the pagoda, after decades of dispute over the shoe question.

After occupying the stupa since 1852, the British finally ended their 77-year military control of the Shwedagon Pagoda in 1929, returning it fully to religious use.

In 1920, students from Burma's only university met at a pavilion on the southwest corner of the Shwedagon pagoda and planned a protest strike against the new University Act which they believed would only benefit the elite and perpetuate colonial rule.

Image source: University of Yangon

During the second university students strike in history in 1936, the terraces of the Shwedagon were again where the student strikers camped out.

In 1938, oilfield workers on strike hiked all the way from the oilfields of Chauk and Yenangyaung in central Burma to Rangoon to establish a strike camp at the Shwedagon Pagoda.

This strike, supported by the public as well as students and known as the '1300 Revolution' after the Burmese calendar year, was broken up by police who, wearing boots whereas Burmese would remove their shoes in pagoda precincts, raided the strike camps on the pagoda.

In January 1946, General Aung San addressed a mass meeting at the stupa, demanding 'independence now' from the British with a thinly veiled threat of a general strike and uprising.

Image source: Aung San

Forty-two years after her father's speech, Aung San Suu Kyi addressed another mass meeting of 500,000 people at the stupa, demanding democracy from the military regime and calling the 8888 Uprising the second struggle for independence.

Image source: 8888 Uprising

During nationwide demonstrations against the military regime and its recently enacted price increases, protesting monks were denied access to the pagoda for several days before the government finally relented and permitted them in.

On September 24, 2007, 20,000 bhikkhus and thilashins — the largest protest in 20 years — marched at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.

On September 25, 2007, 2,000 monks and supporters defied threats from Myanmar's junta, continuing their protests despite warnings of a crackdown.

Clashes between security forces and thousands of protesters led by Buddhist monks left at least five protesters dead by Myanmar security forces, according to opposition reports, in an anticipated crackdown.

Image source: Saffron Revolution

A moderate earthquake in October 1970 left the shaft of the hti out of alignment; extensive repairs were needed to rectify the problem.

Completed in 2009, a pagoda similar in many aspects to Shwedagon Pagoda was built abroad, though its height is 30 cm (12 in) less than that of Shwedagon.

Completed in 2010, another pagoda modeled on Shwedagon had its construction materials imported from Myanmar, reflecting the original's global influence.

In December 2017, foreigners were charged a Ks.10,000 entrance fee to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda, formalizing tourist admission charges to the sacred site.

In 2019, a monastery was inaugurated in Chisago City, Minnesota, United States modeled after the Shwedagon Pagoda, extending the shrine's legacy to North America.