One of the most secretive organisations on the planet, Myanmar’s military has ruled the country with an iron fist for over 50 years. Its brief experiment of sharing power with Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy ended with a brutal coup in February.

What brings a military to the point of killing its own citizens? The answer lies in part in the intersection of colonialism and capitalism in Myanmar in the later part of the 20th century.