Talk:Tavoy campaign (1787)

I propose to delete this article
I have researched the history of the wars between Burma and Siam and I recently updated and corrected the article Burmese–Siamese wars. In attempting to research and expand the information pertaining to the Burmese-Siamese War (1787), I only found two mentions of armed conflict.

In one document (Symes, Michael (Spring 2006). "An Account of an Embassy to the Kingdom of Ava". SBBR. SOAS, University of London. 4.) it mentioned "In the commencement of the ensuing year (1787), the Siamese, in considerable force, laid siege to Tavoy; but after a long struggle were compelled to retreat and abandon the enterprize." In a history of Burma (Wood, W.A.R. (1924). A History of Siam. London: T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd. Retrieved 11 December 2019.), it confirmed the siege of Tavoy by saying "In 1787, the Siamese took the offensive, and attacked Tavoy, but failed to take it." The Wood history also mentioned conflict in Lampang and Pasang, saying "In 1787, the Burmese who still held Chiengsen and Chiengrai, attacked Lampang and Pasang (then the capital of Prince Kawila who had not yest established himself at Chiengmai) but were defeated by Laos, assisted by an army under the Maha Uparat of Siam."

To me these military actions do not constitute a "war." Border aggression was very common throughout this period in Southeast Asia and I would say that the actions reported as quoted above constitute border agression, but not a war.

Unless you can convince me to the contrary within the next 30 days, I will move to delete this article.

VFF0347 (talk) 19:26, 22 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Even if the campaign was not a full-scale war, that does not necessarily mean it does not warrant an article. If enough sources on the attack on Tavoy are identified, renaming the article would seem like an adequate solution to the issues you raise. --Paul_012 (talk) 09:07, 24 December 2019 (UTC)


 * Thanks for your comment and I don't necessarily disagree with you. In total I found four sources that mention conflict in 1787. Three of those sources mention Siam's unsucessful attempt to capture Tavoy. Two of those sources mention that Siam assisted the Laotians defend Lampang and Pasang. Very little detail is provided. What I have written here is about all that is said. I guess that an article could be written, but it would be a very short article. So to me, that means that neither military action was much of a conflict. Therefore, I have a problem calling it a "war." Thanks, VFF0347 (talk) 20:21, 24 December 2019 (UTC)