Maurice Stewart Collis (10 January 1889 – 12 January 1973) was an administrator in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

(Myanmar) when it was part of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, and afterwards a writer on

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and other historical subjects.

Life

He was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, the son of an Irish solicitor, and went to

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

in 1903 and then in 1907 to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where he studied history. He entered the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

in 1911 and was posted to Burma in 1912. He had postings at

Sagaing Sagaing (, ) is a town in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located on the Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing, with its numerous Buddhist monasteries, is an important religious and ...

and elsewhere. In 1917, the British army raised a Burmese brigade with which Collis went to Palestine, but he saw no action. In 1919, he went on leave and travelled in Europe. In the 1920s he was district commissioner in

Arakan Arakan ( or ; , ), formerly anglicised as Aracan, is the historical geographical name for the northeastern coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, covering present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar. The region was called "Arakan" for centuries. It is ...

. In the 1920s he lived in

Kyaukpyu Kyaukphyu ( ; also spelt Kyaukpyu) is a major town in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar and it is informally addressed to be the second capital of Rakhine State.It is located on the north western corner of Yanbye Island on Combermere Bay, and is ...

. In 1929–1930, a period when relations between Burmese, Indians and British became particularly difficult, he was district magistrate in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. This period is narrated in his memoir ''

Trials in Burma ''Trials in Burma'' is a memoir by Maurice Collis, an English author of Irish origin who served in Burma in the Indian Civil Service under the British Empire written in 1937 describing events in 1929-30. After postings at Arakan, Sagaing and el ...

''. He gives special attention to the political trial of

Jatindra Mohan Sengupta Jatindra Mohan Sengupta (22 February 1885 – 23 July 1933) was an Indian revolutionary against the British rule. He was arrested several times by the British police. In 1933, he died in a prison located in Ranchi, India. Sengupta studied at ...

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, for

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

in impromptu speeches made during a brief visit to Rangoon in 1930; also to two criminal trials which became politically charged because they brought to light underlying attitudes of British merchants and army officers to Burmese people. Collis's judgements were (according to his own analysis) too independent to be pleasing to the then British Government of Burma, arousing the particular disapproval of his superior,

Booth Gravely Booth may refer to: People * Booth (surname) * Booth (given name) Fictional characters * August Wayne Booth, from the television series ''Once Upon A Time'' *Cliff Booth, a character in the 2019 film '' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'', played ...

, Commissioner of the Pegu Division. After giving judgement in the last of these trials Collis was hastily moved to the post of Excise Commissioner. After returning to England in 1934, he wrote many books, including ''Siamese White'' and ''Foreign Mud'', as well as art and literary criticism. At the age of 65 he turned his hand to painting. His younger brothers were the writer John Stewart Collis and Robert Collis, a notable doctor and author;Other News ... Zoltan Zinn Collis
, '' The Kildare Nationalist'', 2 November 2006 John and Robert were twins.

Works

Autobiographies

*''

'' (1930-31), Faber & Faber, 1938 *''The Journey Outward'' (1911-18), Faber & Faber, 1952 *''Into Hidden Burma'' (1919-34), Faber & Faber, 1953 *''The Journey Up: Reminiscences 1934-1968'', Faber & Faber, 1970

Biographies

*''Siamese White'' (about Samuel White and the

Anglo-Siamese War The Anglo-Siamese War (or Anglo-Thai WarOm Prakash, ''The New Cambridge History of India, Volume 2, Part 5: European Commercial Enterprise in Pre-Colonial India'' (Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 289.) was a brief War, state of war that ex ...

of 1687), Faber & Faber, 1936; revised 1951 *''The Grand Peregrination - Being the Life and Adventures of

Fernão Mendes Pinto Fernão Mendes Pinto (; 1509 – 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese explorer and writer. His voyages are recorded in ''Pilgrimage'' (), his autobiographical memoir, which was published posthumously in 1614. The historical accura ...

'', Faber & Faber, London, 1949 *''

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

'', Faber & Faber, 1950 *'' Cortés and Montezuma'' (about the

Spanish conquest of Mexico The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistad ...

), Faber & Faber, 1954 *''

Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor was born in Danville, Virginia and rai ...

: An Informal Biography'', Faber & Faber, 1960 *''Raffles'' (Faber, London, 1966; about

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British Colonial Office, colonial official who served as the List of governors of the Dutch East Indies, governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieut ...

), Faber & Faber, 1966 *''Somerville and Ross: A Biography'' (about Edith Somerville and Violet Martin/"Martin Ross"), Faber & Faber, 1968 *''Stanley Spencer: A Biography'' (about the painter

Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE Royal Academy of Arts, RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if ...

), Harvill Press, 1962

Histories

*''The Great Within'' (

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

and the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

), Faber & Faber, 1941 *''British Merchant Adventurers'' (from the "Britain in Pictures" series), William Collins, 1942 *''The Land of the Great Image: Being Experiences of Friar Manrique in

'', Faber & Faber, 1943; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943. Translated into Portuguese in 1944 (Na terra da Grande Imagem. Livraria Civilização. Porto). *''Foreign Mud: Being an Account of the Opium Imbroglio at Canton in the 1830s and the Anglo-Chinese War That Followed'', Faber & Faber, 1946 *''The First Holy One'' (about

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

and his philosophy), Faber & Faber, 1948 *''Last and First in Burma'' (1941-48), Faber & Faber, 1956 *''The Hurling Time'' (England during the Fourteenth Century), Faber & Faber, 1958 *''Wayfoong:

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly abbreviated as HSBC and formerly known as HongkongBank (; styled ''Wayfoong'' by the bank), is the Hong Kong–based Asia-Pacific subsidiary of the HSBC banking group, for whi ...

'', Faber & Faber, 1965

Fiction

*'' She Was a Queen'', Faber & Faber, 1937 *''Sanda Mala'', Carrick & Evans, 1940 *''The Dark Door'', Faber & Faber, 1940 *''Quest for Sita'', Faber & Faber, 1946 *''The Descent of the God,'' Faber & Faber, 1948 *''The Mystery of Dead Lovers'' (with drawings by Cawthra Mulock), Faber & Faber, 1951 *''The Three Gods'', Smythe, 1970

Drama

*''The Motherly and Auspicious: Being the Life of the Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi in the Form of a Drama, with an Introduction and Notes'', Faber & Faber, 1943 *''White of Mergen'' (illustrated by

Feliks Topolski Feliks Topolski Royal Academician, RA (14 August 1907 – 24 August 1989) was a Polish expressionist painter and draughtsman working primarily in the United Kingdom. Biography Feliks Topolski was born on 14 August 1907 in Warsaw, Poland. He st ...

), Faber & Faber, 1945 *''Lord of the Three Worlds'', (with designs by Topolski), Faber & Faber, 1947

Other

*''Lords of the Sunset: A Tour in the Shan States'' (Collis toured the

Shan States The Shan States were a collection of minor Shan people, Shan kingdoms called ''mueang, möng'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' (''sawbwa''). In British rule in Burma, British Burma, they were analogous to the princely states of Britis ...

in Northern Burma in the winter of 1937, meeting the various local rulers, attending a funeral, and following a murder trial), Faber & Faber, 1938 *''Alva Paintings and Drawings'', John Lane at the Bodley Head, 1942

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collis, Maurice Administrators in British Burma 20th-century Irish writers 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century British writers People educated at Rugby School 1889 births 1973 deaths Civil servants from Dublin (city) Burmese writers People from Yangon British Army personnel of World War I