Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
given a plot of land on the riverside. Indian and Malay Muslim traders established them-
selves along the canal banks.
Although much was accomplished in a short time, Siam was still in chaos. The break-
down of institutions and society proved a harder battle than retaking the provinces.
Internally, the country was almost ungovernable. There were other contenders for the
throne, and even the priesthood was in rebellion. Perhaps the strain was too much, for
Taksin began to exhibit symptoms of mental derangement. He attempted to tame the
priesthood by declaring himself an incarnation of the Buddha, punishing monks who
would not worship him. He imprisoned, tortured and executed court officials who he be-
lieved were plotting against him, and certainly, with no royal bloodline to connect him to
the old nobility of Ayutthaya, there were many who regarded him as a usurper. Morale in
Thonburi sank to the point where, with the country largely held together by a mix of force
and patronage, it was felt that the kingdom was yet again in danger of disintegration.
A court rebellion in early 1782 signalled the end for Taksin. Siam's highest ranking
noble, Thong Duang, more usually known by his title, Chao Phraya Maha Chakri, was
away fighting in Cambodia, but he returned to Thonburi and rounded up the leaders.
Chakri decided that the king had to be removed permanently. The generally accepted ver-
sion of history is that Taksin was taken to Wat Arun, where he was placed inside a velvet
sack and beaten to death with a scented sandalwood club, the traditional method of exe-
cution for anyone of royal bloodline, the belief being that no drop of royal blood should be
spilled upon the ground. Another account says he was beheaded in front of Wichaiprasit
Fort. A conspiracy theory of the time says that he faked his madness, as the country had
become ungovernable and he was deeply in debt to the Chinese who had supplied much
of the funding for his wars and nation building, and that he was secretly removed to a re-
mote temple in the mountains of Nakhon Si Thammarat, where he lived to a ripe old age,
dying in 1825. Whatever actually happened, the reign of King Taksin ended on 6
th
April
1782.
The Bangkok era
Chao Phraya Maha Chakri immediately proclaimed himself king, initially as Phra Buddha
Yodfa Chulaloke, later becoming known as Rama
I
when the method of naming monarchs
in this fashion was introduced by Rama
VI
. He was the founder of the Chakri dynasty that
rules Thailand to this day.
