There is a long history of settlement in this part of the delta, with the Mon village of Dagon growing up around Singuttara Hill (on which Shwedagon Paya is located) during the sixth century AD. After the area was conquered by King Alaungpaya in 1755, the village was renamed Yangon and its importance as a port grew. In 1852 it was seriously damaged by the invading British, who called it Rangoon and rebuilt it to their own plans; in 1885 the British made Rangoon their capital after expelling the last Burmese king from Mandalay.