 On 1 January 1886, the millennium-old Burmese monarchy and its military arm, the Royal Burmese Army, were formally abolished by the British.The British used mainly Indian and Nepalese Gurkha troops to conquer and pacify the country.In a divide-and-rule manoeuvre, the British enforced their rule in the province of Burma mainly with Indian troops later joined by indigenous military units of three indigenous ethnic minorities