Apart from cultural contacts with the neighboring Ahom kingdom, the ruler of Assam from 1228, the Nagas had little or no contact with the outside world, including that of greater India, until British colonization and rule of the area in the nineteenth century.
In 1828, Britain annexed Assam following the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826. In the 1830s, the British sent expeditionary forces, and in 1845, the colonial power succeeded in concluding a non-aggression pact with Naga chiefs, who formerly had attacked bordering areas in Assam. But the Naga repeatedly violated the agreement, continuing to raid in Assam.
After the 1830s, British attempts to annex the region to India were met with sustained and effective guerrilla resistance from Naga groups, particularly the Angami Nagas. The British dispatched military expeditions and succeeded in building a military post in 1851 and establishing some bases in the region. In 1878 the Angamis mounted raids on British camps. The British responded with brutality, burning several Naga villages and killing Naga non-combatants to crush their resistance. Eventually, the region came under the occupation of the British.
During the First World War, two thousand Nagas contributed to the war effort on the European front. In the Second World War, their descendants remained loyal to the British and fought to halt the advance of Japanese forces.
16 ноя 2021
