The first founding of Shan states inside the present-day boundaries of Burma began

during the Pagan Kingdom in the Shan Hills and accelerated after 1287, when the
Pagan Kingdom fell to the Mongols. The Shans, who came South with the Mongols,
stayed and quickly came to dominate much of northern to eastern arc of Burma�from
northwestern Sagaing Division to Kachin Hills to the present-day Shan Hills. The
most powerful Shan states were Mong Yang (Mohnyin) and Mong Kawng (Mogaung) in
present-day Kachin State, followed by Hsenwi (Theinni), Hsipaw (Thibaw) and Mong
Mit (Momeik) in present-day northern Shan State.[4] Smaller Shan states, such as
Kale in northwestern Sagaing Division, Bhamo in Kachin State, Yawnghwe (Nyaungshwe)
and Kengtung (Kyaingtong) in Shan State, and Mong Pai (Mobye) in Kayah State,
played a precarious game of paying allegiance to more powerful states, sometimes
simultaneously.

The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic, which included many other ethnic
minorities as the Chin, the Kachin, the Wa, the Ta'ang, the Lisu, the Lahu, the Pa
O, the Kayah, etc. Although Burmanized Shans founded the Ava Kingdom that ruled
central Burma, other Shan states, Mohnyin in particular, constantly raided Ava
territories throughout the years. A Mohnyin-led Confederation of Shan States
finally conquered Ava in 1527.[5]

Toungoo and Konbaung periods (1555�1885)

Shan States after 1557, then inside Bayinnaung's empire

In 1555, King Bayinnaung dislodged Shan king Sithu Kyawhtin from Ava. By 1557 he
went on to conquer all of what would become known as the Burmese Shan States under
his rule, from the Assamese border in the northwest to those in Kachin Hills and
Shan Hills, including the two most powerful Shan States, Mohnyin and Mogaung.[6]
The Shan states were reduced to the status of governorships, but the Saophas were
permitted to retain their royal regalia and their feudal rights over their own
subjects. Bayinnaung introduced Burmese customary law and prohibited all human and
animal sacrifices. He also required the sons of Saophas to reside in the Burmese
king's palace, essentially hostages, in order to ensure the good conduct of their
fathers, and to receive training in Burmese court life. Burmese kings continued
this policy until 1885, when the kingdom fell to the British.[7] (The northernmost
Shan States, in Yunnan, had already fallen to the Chinese Ming dynasty by the
middle of the 15th century.[8])

The reach of the Burmese sovereign waxed and waned with the ability of each Burmese
monarch. Shan states became briefly independent following the collapse of the first
Toungoo dynasty, in 1599. The Restored Toungoo dynasty under King Nyaungyan and
King Anaukpetlun recovered the Shan states, including the two strongest�Monhyin and
Mogaung by 1605 and Lan Na by 1615.[6] In the early 18th century, the rule of
Burmese monarchs declined rapidly and by the 1730s, the northernmost Shan States,
many of which had paid dual tribute to China and Burma, had been annexed by the
Qing Dynasty of China. The annexed border states ranged from Mogaung and Bhamo in
present-day Kachin State to Hsenwi (Theinni) and Kengtung (Kyaingtong) in present-
day Shan State to Sipsongpanna (Kyaingyun) in present-day Xishuangbanna Dai
Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan.[9]

In the middle of the 18th century, the Burmese Konbaung dynasty's reassertion of
the easternmost boundaries of Burmese Shan States led to a war with China. It made
four separate invasions of Burma from 1765 to 1769, during the Sino-Burmese War.
The Burmese success in repelling Chinese force laid the foundation for the present-
day boundary between Burma and China.[citation needed][dubious � discuss]

The present-day boundary of southern Shan State vis-a-vis Thailand was formed
shortly after. Burma lost southern Lan Na (Chiang Mai) in 1776 and northern Lan Na
(Chiang Saen) in 1786 to a resurgent Bangkok-based Siam,[10] ending an over two-
century Burmese suzerainty over the region. It retained only Kengtung on the
Burmese side. The southern border of Shan State remained contested in the following
years. Siam invaded Kengtung in (1803�1804), (1852�1854), and Burma invaded Lan Na
in 1797 and 1804. Siam occupied Kengtung during World War II (1942�1945).

Throughout the Burmese feudal era, Shan states supplied much manpower in the
service of Burmese kings. Without Shan manpower, the Burmans alone would not have
been able to achieve their much vaunted victories in Lower Burma, Siam, and
elsewhere. Shans were a major part of Burmese forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War
of 1824�1826, and fought valiantly�a fact that the British commanders acknowledged.
[11]

After the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, the Burmese kingdom was reduced to
Upper Burma alone. The Shan states�especially those east of the Salween River, were
essentially autonomous entities, paying token tribute to the king. In 1875, King
Mindon, to avoid certain defeat, ceded Karenni states, long part of Shan states, to
the British.[12] When the last king of Burma, Thibaw Min, ascended the throne in
1878, the rule of central government was so weak that Thibaw had to send thousands
of troops to tame a rebellion in the Shan state of Mongnai and other eastern Shan
states for the remainder of his six-year reign.[13]

Colonial period (1886�1948)

On 28 November 1885, the British captured Mandalay, officially ending the Third
Anglo-Burmese War in 11 days. But it took until 1890 for the British to subdue all
of the various Shan states. Under the British colonial administration, established
in 1887, the Shan states were ruled by their saophas as feudatory princely states
of the British Crown. The British placed Kachin Hills inside Mandalay Division and
northwestern Shan areas under Sagaing Division. In October 1922, the Shan and the
Karenni states were merged to create the Federated Shan States,[14] under a
commissioner who also administered the Wa States. This arrangement survived the
constitutional changes of 1923 and 1937.

During World War II, most of Shan States were occupied by the Japanese. Chinese
Kuomingtang (KMT) forces came down to northeastern Shan states to face the
Japanese. Thai forces, allied with the Japanese, occupied Kengtung and surrounding
areas in 1942, annexing the territory to the Thai state.[15]

After the war, the British returned, while many Chinese KMT forces stayed inside
Burmese Shan states. Negotiations leading to independence at the Panglong
Conference in February 1947 secured a unitary Shan State, including former Wa
states but without the Karenni states.[16][17] More importantly, Shan State gained
the right of secession in 10 years from independence.