This thesis is an in-depth study of the earth-oil industry of Burma until 1914. The focus is principally upon the establishment of the modern commercial oil industry, however, the earlier industry on which the modern industry was founded, is also surveyed. This indigenous industry had been established for centuries. In the beginning, oil was first obtained from seepages and soaks; later oil wells were hand-dug at Yenangyaung, 'creek of stinking water', in Central Burma. What has been established in this thesis is that an extensive indigenous oil industry which supplied riverine Burma with earth-oil existed at Yenangyaung, although not as productive an industry as previously believed. This unrefined oil was much-desired and was used as a preservative for wooden dwellings and monasteries, for the caulking of multifarious boats, and as a cheap, but smoky illuminant. Indications are that the oil was even exported to India. Perhaps the most unusual feature of the pre-colonial industry was that the 'Reserves' of Twingon and Berne, where the hand-dug wells were sited, were in the hands of a group of hereditary owners, twinzayo, (usually considered to be twenty-four in number), who controlled the industry. In particular, this thesis explores the relationship between the twinzayo and the twinza, (well-owners, with no hereditary claims on the Reserves), and the British administration. On three separate occasions, the British administration upheld the rights of twinzayo. First in 1886, again in 1893, and on the third occasion, in 1908 when an inquiry was held to investigate the conditions on the Twinza Reserves. In the early colonial years, well­ sites were sold but after 1906, companies began to leasesites from twinzayo and twinza alike. Payment of royalty on production enabled this group to retain a financial interest in their well-sites and many benefited considerably from this measure. Already by 1885, the British were importing crude oil from Yenangyaung to Lower Burma where the product was refined into kerosene for local use, competing against the imported American product. As well, a market in India for kerosene was established, and, after annexation of Upper Burma, India was established as Burma's 'natural market'. The means by which this occurred are followed and examined. As kerosene and the other by-products faced vicious competition from international oil giants, like Standard Oil, Shell and Royal Dutch, establishment of this market was not an easy task. How the gutsy little Burmah Oil Company, Burma's premier oil company, a minnow compared with its rivals, succeeded, is a fascinating encounter. However, Burmah Oil was fortunate to have the support of the British Admiralty, which was about to transform the Royal Navy from coal to fuel-oil powered vessels. Astonishingly, in the first decade of the twentieth century, the Burma oil fields were the only major oil producer in the British Empire. The fields became of great strategic importance and with the almost reluctant assistance at times of the government of India, non-British companies or British companies with a predominance of non­ British shareholders were excluded from the Burma oil fields. For many years, Burmah Oil was alone on the fields or faced little competition. In retrospect, it is possible to perceive that the failure of a commercial oil industry in Arakan, prior to Upper Burma's annexation, may have deterred investors from Yenangyaung. The high hopes held for the Arakan industry were never achieved. Oil was present but not in sufficient quantities to repay investment. The study of this industry has many aspects. The difficulties of establishing a modern oil industry on the foundation of an earlier indigenous one which, for many years worked side by side with the modern industry, are portrayed; the importance of the burgeoning Indian market to the growth of the modern Burmese oil industry is stressed. As well this thesis presents proof that a capital-poor nation like Burma must rely on foreign investment to develop capital-intensive industries.