'In search of Dacoits, 1885 (c)

Pencil sketch by Melton Prior, 1885 (c).

The sketch depicts an 'Interview between Captain Woodward and a native chief'. Following their victory in the 3rd Burma War (1885) the British annexed Upper Burma. Soon after, a rebellion began. Various Burmese groups, including irregular tribesmen and soldiers of the former Burmese army, launched an insurrection that rumbled on until the mid-1890s.

The British called the rebels 'dacoits', a local term for bandits. Although some criminals took advantage of the unrest to loot and pillage villages, the majority of the insurgents were motivated by anti-colonial sentiment and loyalty to their old rulers.