 Yangon became the capital of the Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 when the country regained independence from the British Empire.Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, many colonial names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names.In 1989, the current military junta changed the city's English name to "Yangon", along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names.