SyriamArticle Free Pass Syriam, town and port, southwestern
Myanmar (Burma). It is situated on the Yangon River, a tributary
of the Irrawaddy River, opposite Yangon (Rangoon). Formerly part
of the Mon kingdom, Syriam subsequently became a port of the
Portuguese and French. In 1756 Alaungpaya (1714–60), the Myanmar
king, conquered the Mon and their French allies, whom he put
into slavery; the town was destroyed in these actions and had
little significance until the 20th century, when the British
began drilling for oil in the Irrawaddy basin near Chauk and
sent the oil to Syriam for refining. Asphalt gathering for the
weatherproofing of houses was a traditional petroleum-related
activity of Mon workers. Oil production declined during World
War II when Japan occupied the country, from 1941 to 1945, and
again as Burma declared its independence from Britain in 1948.
The Syriam refinery was restored in 1957 and underwent expansion
in 1979 with Japanese assistance. In 1979 a pipeline was
completed between Syriam and