Yangon Region War I and World War II, Yangon was the center of Burmese nationalist movement. Many future Burmese political figures such as Aung San, U Nu, U Thant and Ne Win were all one-time Rangoon University students. Yangon Region was under Japanese occupation between April 1942 and May 1945. After Myanmar gained independence from the United Kingdom in January 1948, the Hanthawaddy Province was renamed Pegu (Bago) Division, with Yangon as its capital. In 1964, Yangon Division was split from Bago Division. The capital of Bago Division was changed from Yangon to Bago. In June 1974, Hanthawaddy and Hmawbi townships were
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