and China (1765–1769) testified to a truly astonishing elan unmatched since Bayinnaung." Historian Harvey writes that Alaungpaya's "tradition was not only maintained, it was eclipsed." The long-term legacy of the wars Hsinbyushin pursued comes in terms of a new militaristic Burmese aristocracy, the cultural and economic capital from sacking of Ayutthaya, the military resurgence of Siam, the territorial changes vis-a-vis China and Siam/Thailand, and modern Burmese-Thai relations. Burmese militarism A medium-term consequence of Hsinbyushin and his father's campaigns was the repeopling of Burma following the internal crisis of the 1740s and 1750s. His and his father's campaigns of endless warfare would also create a military aristocracy that would turn Burma into a great military kingdom, whose feats included the defense of Burma against the Qing Empire, the sacking of Ayutthaya. The Konbaung dynasty would go on to continue its militarism by marching an army through the snowy Himalaya passes to conquer the Brahmaputra Valley and waging a near-successful offensive campaign in British Bengal that caused a panic within Calcutta, the capital of British Bengal= Despite the Burmese loss in that war, the First Anglo-Burmese War became the British East India Company's most costly war and led to the company's dissolution. The military campaigns of the Konbaung rulers would also bring in a plethora of new military units into the Konbaung army, including the incorporation of Manipuri cavalry in the 1820s. Destruction of Ayutthaya Hyshinbyushin's most long-lasting achievement was the destruction of Ayutthaya. The city, argued by Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit, was the most cosmopolitan city in Southeast Asia at the time. Hyshinbyushin's invasion of Ayutthaya resulted in the complete transfer of wealth from Ayutthaya to Ava, from which Hyshinbyushin was able to partake in a number of projects to commemorate his reign, such as the raising of the height of the Shwedagon Pagoda in 1775. The 50 year period of near-constant warfare between Burma and Siam (1759-1812) resulted in the depopulation of large areas of Siam, whereupon some Siamese provinces would remain deserted up to the 1870s. The descendants of Ayutthaya captives taken to Burma in 1767 are sometimes called the Yodaya people. On the other hand, his seizing of Ayutthaya artisans from the Siamese capital also resulted in the spread of the Siamese arts and culture into Burma, which would significantly influence Burmese culture. According to Baker and Phongpaichit, the Ayutthaya elite taken to Burma settled in well