Rangoon, the capital of Lower Burma, stands on the Hlaing or Rangoon River, about 20 miles from its entrance into the Gulf of Martaban. The existing city is almost entirely of modern construction, built since the British took possession of the place in 1852. The town extends along the left bank of the Hlaing, the docks being on the other side of the river. Behind the town is the large military cantonment, grouped round the fortified hill (166 feet) on which stands the Shway-Dagôn pagoda, 'the most venerated object of worship in all the Indo-Chinese countries.' It is built of brick, is lavishly gilded, and tapers up to a cone 321 feet above the ground (see illustration under BURMA). There is an excellent water-supply, the thoroughfares are traversed by tramway cars, and there has been an elective municipality since 1883. The principal buildings are the public and governmental offices, the Anglican cathedral (whose foundation-stone was laid by Lord Dufferin in 1886) and the other European churches, the native pagodas, a lunatic asylum, the chief gaol of Lower
Burma, the Phayre Museum in the horticultural gardens, St John's College, the high school, a hospital, &c. Along the river-side are numerous rice-husking-mills and sawmills. Pop. (1852) 25,000; (1872) 89,897; (1881) 134,176; (1891) 181,210. A little less than one-half are Burmese, and the natives of India are nearly as many. Rangoon is the principal port in all Burma, about 86 per cent. of the total trade of that country passing in and out at this port. Its trade has grown at a wonderfully rapid rate since the British took possession of Lower Burma. In 1852 the port was entered by not more than 125 small vessels, and even in 1859 the total imports and exports together had only risen to £2,131,000. By 1878 the statistics of the port stood at 559,000 tonnage of vessels entering; value of imports £3,777,700, and of exports £4,414,300. Since 1890 the port is entered by about 1000 vessels annually of some 1,000,000 tons burden; the total imports (excluding coasting trade) are valued at about £5,000,000 a year, and the total exports at £9,000,000. The chief exports are rice, teak, indiarubber, raw cotton, and other articles mentioned in the article BURMA. Since the incorporation of Burma with British India, Rangoon ranks as fourth of the commercial cities of the Indian Empire. A town has existed on the site of Rangoon since the 6th century B.C. It was always called Dagon down to the capture of the place by the Burmese sovereign Alompra towards the end of the 18th century. That prince rebuilt the place and called it Rangoon. It was taken by the British in 1825, and held until 1827; they captured it again in 1852, and have kept possession of it ever since.