Following the capture of Mandalay and the assumption of British rule over the entirety of Burma (now Myanmar) in 1885, colonial authorities quickly faced resistance by groups opposed to British rule. Such resistance was brutally suppressed by colonial forces and Burmese groups loyal to Britain. Among these groups were the Karen people, many of whom had converted to Christianity from the 1830s. This book by the Scottish official Donald Mackenzie Smeaton, published in 1887, provides a description of Karen culture and details British policies towards those who had converted. These policies gave Christian Karen special rights within Burma and offered opportunities not available to Buddhist Karen or other ethnic groups within Burma.