Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
With a strategic island location formed by encircling rivers, Ayuthaya grew wealthy
through international trade during the 17th century's age of commerce and fortified itself
with superior Portuguese-supplied firearms and mercenaries. The river system connected
to the Gulf of Thailand and to the hinterlands as well.
During this period Western traders 'discovered' Southeast Asia, and Ayuthaya hosted
many foreign settlements. Accounts by foreign visitors mention Ayuthaya's cosmopolitan
markets and court. In 1690 Londoner Engelbert Campfer proclaimed, 'Among the Asian
nations, the kingdom of Siam is the greatest'.
Ayuthaya adopted Khmer court customs, honorific language and ideas of kingship.
The monarch styled himself as a Khmer
devaraja
(divine king) rather than Sukhothai's
dhammaraja
(righteous king); Ayuthaya continued to pay tribute to the Chinese emperor,
who rewarded this ritualistic 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 estab-
lished Kongbaung dynasty pushed eastward to eliminate Ayuthaya as a political and com-
mercial rival. 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 per-
ception of the Burmese as ruthless foes and aggressors still persists in the minds of many
Thais to this day.
FRIENDS OF THE KING
In the 1680s many foreign emissaries were invited to Ayuthaya by King Narai, who was keen to acquire and
consume foreign material, culture and ideas. His court placed orders for spyglasses, hourglasses, paper, walnut
trees, cheese, wine and marble fountains. He joined the French Jesuits to observe the eclipse at his palace in
Lopburi and received a gift of a globe from France's King Louis XIV.
In the 1680s, Narai recruited the services of the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon, who was later ac-
cused of conspiring to overthrow the ailing king. Instead, the accusers led a coup and executed Constantine.
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 bet-
