On this day, King Alaungpaya of Burma sent a sumptuous manuscript written on rolled gold and decorated with 24 rubies to King George II of England. The letter was an invitation to the already economically and politically influential British East India Company to set up a fortified trading post at the harbour city of Pathein on the southwestern coast of Burma. Both kings stood to profit: Alaungpaya could exalt his reputation in the world and to his people, while George could further his economic strategy against the competition from the French East India Company. Unfortunately, the letter was not understood and, being seen as a rather magnificent curiosity, ended up being archived for 250 years. Only in 2005 was the letter finally ‘rediscovered’ and in 2015 was included by UNESCO in the ‘Memory of the World Register’.
