The Mongol invasions that touched most of the Eurasian landmass also ended four centuries of power of the Pagan Empire in 1287. The area was later reunified by the Toungoo Dynasty in 1510, and then by the Konbaung. There were three Anglo-Burmese Wars before Burma became a British Colony. The first was fought by a company - The British East India Company (EIC). The EIC received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1600. Merchants and aristocrats owned the shares, and the government only had indirect control. Following the third war, Burma was made a province of the British Raj and rule was transferred from the EIC to Queen Victoria. Since independence in 1948, the renamed Myanmar has been involved in one of the longest-running Civil Wars between a vast number of smaller ethnic groups. Myanmar is rich in natural resources, but has one of the widest income gaps in the world with a large proportion of the wealth controlled by supporters of the former military government (which remains a powerful force in politics).
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