Burmese attack on Shapura near Chittagong
- When
- 1823
- Where
- Shalpuri Island
- Episodes
- 1
In September 1823, British and Burmese forces clashed over Shalpuri Island near Chittagong, an event that served as the casus belli for the First Anglo-Burmese War. The British viewed the island as part of Bengal and the Burmese occupation as an unprovoked act of war, threatening their hold on the region.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. By 1822, Burmese expansion into Manipur, Assam, and hill states like Jaintia and Cachar created pressure on British Bengal. This forward policy contributed to tensions that culminated in clashes over territory near Chittagong, a busy port in the Bay of Bengal, setting the stage for the wider conflict.
Casus Belli. The specific incident in September 1823 involved forces clashing to claim Shalpuri Island. The British considered the island part of British Bengal and interpreted the Burmese attack as unprovoked. This occupation was viewed as an act of war, directly threatening the British hold on Chittagong.
People involved
- British Forces · Claimant of Shalpuri Island
- Burmese Forces · Occupant of Shalpuri Island
Sources
- First Anglo-Burmese War Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-27
- Chittagong Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-29
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.