P. 358: “The most respectable part of the Birman military force consists of the war-boats, which are furnished and manned by the different towns in the vicinity of the river, in numbers proportioned to their respective sizes. Formerly the king could on a short notice command 500 of these boats. They carry forty of fifty rowers, each armed with a sword and lance, about thirty soldiers with muskets, and a piece of ordnance on the prow. They make an impetuous attack, and use grapples for boarding; but lying deep in the water, they are easily run down and sank by the impulse of another of larger size.”
Source
Conrad Malte Brun. Universal Geography, Or, a Description of All Parts of the World, of a new plan etc. Edinburg/London, 1822.
