Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Bangkok Era
The Revival
With Ayuthaya in ruins and the dynasty des-
troyed, a general named Taksin filled the
power vacuum and established a new capital
in 1768 in Thonburi, across the river from
modern-day Bangkok. King Taksin was de-
posed and executed in 1782 by subordinate
generals. One of the leaders of the coup,
Chao Phraya Chakri, was crowned King Yot
Fa (Rama I), the founder of the current
Chakri dynasty. He moved the capital across
the river to the Ko Ratanakosin district of
present-day Bangkok.
The new kingdom was viewed as a revival
of Ayuthaya and its leaders attempted to rep-
licate the former kingdom's laws, government
practices and cultural achievements. They also built a powerful military that
avenged Burmese aggression, kicking them out of Chiang Mai and charging into
Laos and Cambodia. The Bangkok rulers continued courting Chinese commercial
trade and cultural exchange.
Historical Sights
1 SUKHOTHAI (
CLICK HERE
)
2 AYUTHAYA (
CLICK HERE
)
3 PHIMAI (
CLICK HERE
)
4 PHANOM RUNG (
CLICK HERE
)
The Reform Era
The Siamese elite had long admired China, but by the 1800s the West dominated
international trade and geopolitics.
King Mongkut (Rama IV), often credited for modernising the kingdom, spent 27
years prior to assuming the crown as a monk in the Thammayut sect, a reform
movement he founded to restore scholarship to the faith. During his reign the coun-
try was integrated into the prevailing market system that broke up royal monopolies
and granted more rights to foreign powers.
Mongkut's son, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) took greater steps in replacing the
old political order. He abolished slavery and introduced the creation of a salaried
bureaucracy, a police force and a standing army. His reforms brought uniformity to
the legal code, law courts and revenue offices. Schools were established along
European models. Universal conscription and poll taxes made all men the king's
