Bago, Myanmar was intersected by numerous tidal creeks, many of which were navigable by large boats and some by steamers. The headquarters of the district was in Rangoon, which was also the sub-divisional headquarters. The second sub-division had its headquarters at Insein, where there were large railway works. Cultivation was almost wholly confined to rice, but there were many vegetable and fruit gardens. Today, Hanthawaddy is one of the wards of Bago city. Bago, Myanmar Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy (; ; ; meaning "She Who Has Swans"), is a city and the capital of
Bago, Negros Occidental under which a native prince Mapagic died according to the writings of a Spanish historian, Diego de Povedano. Another version, however, noted that the name came from the shrub, "bago-bago" that grew abundantly in the riverbanks. Around the 17th and 18th Centuries, settlers from Molo, Iloilo formed a little village at the mouth of Bago River, presently a rich source of sand and gravel. The village grew into a large settlement prompting its elders to pass a petition for its conversion into a town or "pueblo", which was granted in 1800. Its history has its beginning on September 6, 1571