TAVOY. a town and district in the Tenasserim division of Lower Burma. The town is on the left bank of the river of the same name, 30 m. from the sea. Pop. (1901) 22,371. It carries on a considerable coasting trade with other ports of Burma, and with the Straits Settlements. The chief industry is silk-weaving, but there are also rice and timber mills.
The district has an area of 5308 sq. m. It lies between Siam and the Bay of Bengal, enclosed by mountains on three -sides, viz., the main chain of the Bilauktaung on the east, rising in places to 5000 feet, which, with its densely wooded spurs, forms an almost impassable barrier between British and Siamese territory; the Nwahlabo in the centre, which takes its name from its loftiest peak (5000 ft.); and a third range, under the name of Thinmaw, between the Nwahlabo and the sea-coast. The chief rivers are the Tenasserim and Tavoy, the former being formed by the junction of two streams which unite near Met-ta; for the greater part of its course it is dangerous to navigation. The Tavoy is navigable for vessels of any burden. It is interspersed with many islands, and with its numerous smaller tributaries affords easy and rapid communication. The climate is on the whole pleasant. The annual rainfall averages 228 inches. Pop. (1901) 109,979, showing an increase of 16 per cent. in the decade. The staple crop is rice. Forests cover an area of nearly 5000 sq. m., of which 960 sq. m. are “ reserved.”
Tavoy, with the rest of Tenasserim, was handed over to the British at the end of the first Burmese war in 1824. A revolt broke out in 1829, headed by the former governor, which was at once quelled, and since then the district has remained undisturbed.