HISTORY & POLITICSHISTORY1851–
Reign of King Mongkut
(Rama IV) and a period
of Western infl uence.
1855
Bowring Treaty
concluded between
Siam and Britain
stimulating the Thai
economy and granting
extraterritorial rights
to British subjects in
Siam.1868–
Reign of King
Chulalongkorn (Rama
V) and increased
European imperialism
in neighbouring
countries.1874
Slavery is abolished.continued to pay tribute to the Chinese emperor, who rewarded this ritu-
alistic submission with generous gifts and commercial privileges.
The glories of Ayuthaya were interrupted by the expansionist Burmese.
In 1569 the city had fallen to the great Burmese king, Bayinnaung, but
regained independence under the leadership of King Naresuan. Then,
in 1765, Burma’s ambitious and newly established Kongbaung dynasty
pushed eastward to eliminate Ayuthaya as a political and commercial ri-
val. Burmese troops laid siege to the capital for a year before destroying it
in 1767. The city was devastated, its buildings and people wiped out. The
surrounding areas were deserted. So chilling was this historic sacking
and razing of Ayuthaya that the perception of the Burmese as ruthless
foes and aggressors still persists in the minds of many Thais to this day.
The Bangkok Era
With Ayuthaya in ruins, the line of succession of the kings was broken
and chaos ensued. A former general, Taksin, claimed his right to rule,
handily defeating potential rivals, and established his new capital in
Thonburi, a settlement downriver from Ayuthaya with better access to
trade. Consolidating his power, King Taksin, the son of a Chinese father
and Thai mother, strongly promoted trade with China.
Towards the end of his 15 years on the throne, the king was deposed
in 1782 by the military. One of the coup organisers, Chao Phraya Chakri
assumed the throne asKing Yot Fa (Rama I) and established the Chakri
dynasty, which still rules today. The new monarch moved the capital
across Chao Phraya River to modern-day Bangkok.
The fi rst century of Bangkok rule focused on rebuilding what had
been lost when Ayuthaya was sacked. Surviving knowledge and practices
were preserved or incorporated into new laws, manuals of government
practice, religious and historical texts and literature. At the same time,
the new rulers transformed their defence activities into expansion by
means of war, extending their infl uence in every direction. Destroying
the capital cities of both Laos and Cambodia, Siam contained Burmese
aggression and made a vassal of Chiang Mai. Defeated populations were
resettled and played an important role in increasing the rice production
of Siam, much of which was exported to China.
Unlike the Ayuthaya rulers who identifi ed with the Hindu god Vishnu,
the Chakri kings positioned themselves as defenders of Buddhism. They
undertook compilations and Thai translations of essential Buddhist texts
and constructed many royal temples.
In the meantime, a new social order and market economy was taking
shape in the mid-19th century. Siam turned to the West for modern sci-
entifi c and technological ideas and reforms in education, infrastructure
and legal systems. One of the great modernisers, King Mongkut (Rama
King Naresuan
is portrayed as a
national hero and
became a cult
figure, especially
worshipped by
the Thai army.
His story inspired
a high-budget,
blockbuster
film trilogy,
King Naresuan,
by filmmaker
Chatrichalerm
Yukol, funded in
part by the Thai
government.Landmarks
of the
Bangkok
Era» (^) Wat Arun
» (^) Wat Phra Kaew
& Grand Palace
» (^) Dusit Palace
Park