Kingdom of Thonburi
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The Kingdom of Thonburi ( Thai : อาณาจักร ธนบุรี ) was established by the Siamese King Taksin the Great in 1768 after the total destruction of the old capital Ayutthaya and existed until 1782. Taksin's successor, Rama I , had the new capital Bangkok built on the opposite bank of the city of Thonburi . The city of Thonburi later became the provincial capital and was incorporated into Bangkok in 1972.
Beginnings of Thonburi
The kingdom of Ayutthaya , which ruled Southeast Asia for centuries, was completely razed to the ground by the Burmese in 1767, and the area around the old capital was uninhabitable for a long time. Part of the territory was occupied by the Burmese and their allies, in other places local leaders claimed independence from the old empire, for example in Phimai , Chanthaburi and Nakhon Si Thammarat . The prince (chao) Tak, a capable military leader of Chinese descent, fled the fall of Ayutthaya with a few hundred soldiers, made himself supreme leader and first went to Chanthaburi, which he captured and expanded as his base. Here he raised more troops and marched to the mouth of the Mae Nam Chao Phraya (Chao Phraya River), where he took the Fort Thonburi. Only seven months after the crushing defeat, Tak retook the old capital from the Burmese and drove them out of the country.
As a result, the Burmese King Hsinbyushin tried to bring the Siamese back under control; to do this he instructed the commander of Tavoy , whose armies invaded Siam via Sai Yok and besieged the garrison of Tak at Bang Kung (today in Samut Songkhram province ). Tak, who in the meantime had been given the new name Taksin, sent for his fleet to relieve the siege. The advancing Siamese troops in turn embraced the besiegers and beat them after fierce fighting. Since Ayutthaya was no longer an option as the capital, Taksin founded the new city of Thonburi Sri Mahasamut on the west bank of the Chao Phraya near Thonburi, which he had built within a year. In 1768 he crowned himself King Boromaraja IV, but he was known in the population as Taksin.
Reconstruction and expansion
Even in the year after the new kingdom was established, there were still local warlords who did not recognize Thonburi's sovereignty. Taksin first turned to Phitsanulok , whose leader ruled the upper valley of the Chao Phraya. The king was wounded in battle, so the attack had to be broken off without weakening the forces in Phitsanulok. A later move against the city, led by the commander of Sankhaburi , was then successful. In the same year Taksin sent his two generals Boonma and Thong Duang to Phimai to bring the ruling prince Thep Phiphit to reason, who claimed to be descended from the ancient royal line of Ayutthaya. He fled to Vientiane and was later caught and executed.
In 1769 Taksin turned his attention south and sent General Phraya Abhay Ronnarit to convince the ruler of Nakhon Si Thammarat of Thonburi's suzerainty. The ruler fled to Pattani , but was arrested and taken to Taksin. The king installed him as governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat and committed him to loyalty to the new kingdom.
Also in 1769, the viceroy of Cambodia , Ang Non, came to Thonburi while fleeing from King Narairaja and asked for help. Taksin saw the opportunity to bring Cambodia back under Siamese rule and asked Narairaja to pay tribute , which Narairaja refused. Subsequently, Siamese troops under Phraya Abhay Ronnarit and Phraya Anuchit Racha invaded Cambodia and took Siem Reap and Battambang . Meanwhile Taksin had gone to Nakhon Si Thammarat and the political situation in Thonburi became unstable. The Siamese therefore withdrew from Cambodia and secured the capital.
At that time there was only one powerful opponent of King Taksin, namely the commander of a Mueang Sawang Kha Buri ( ส วาง ค บุรี , also Sawangkhaburi, at today's Wat Phra Fang in Uttaradit ). This was a Buddhist monk named Chao Phra Fang (also Fang, Thai: พระ ฝาง ), who wore the robe, but otherwise ruled the northern areas of Taksin's kingdom in a very secular way. In 1768 he had seized control of Phitsanulok and was able to expand his area to Nakhon Sawan . In 1770 he sent troops to Chai Nat , which prompted King Taksin to march into Sawang Kha Buri without further ado in order to master the threat from the north. The royal fleet went north on the Chao Phraya and took Phitsanulok without much trouble. From there he sent two armies under Generals Boonma and Phichai against Sawang Kha Buri, who were able to take the Mueang after three days of siege. Cha Phra Fang was no longer seen. Taksin oversaw the census of the population of Phitsanulok and then appointed General Boonma Phraya Surasi and governor of Phitsanulok, the entire north of his empire. He made Phraya Abhay Ronnarit Chao Phraya Chakri and financial overseer of the empire.
After the north was pacified, Taksin turned his attention to Cambodia. He ordered Chao Phraya Chakri to invade Cambodia by land, and he and the Cambodian prince Ang Non set out across the sea to attack Cambodia. Several cities were captured and King Narairaja was ousted from the throne. In his place, Taksin made Prince Ang Non the new King Reamraja. Narairaja was appointed Viceroy ( Maha Uparat ).
Between 1772 and 1776 fighting raged between the Burmese and the new kingdom of Thonburi in the Siamese-Burmese War 1772-1776 , which was broken off due to the death of Hsinbyushin . Shortly afterwards, the governor of the mighty Nakhon Ratchasima met with that of Nangrong (now Nakhon Nayok ), who then turned to King Sayakumane of Champasak for help. Taksin took this as an opportunity to have General Chakri and his troops enter Champasak. Sayakumane fled, was captured and chained to Bangkok. Taksin left him in Champasak after Sayakumane recognized Champasak's vassal status. General Chakri was given the name Somdet Chao Phraya Maha Kasatseuk. By 1780 Taksin brought all three Laotian empires - besides Champasak, Luang Phrabang and Vientiane - under his suzerainty. During the clashes, two valuable Buddha statues were brought to Bangkok: the Emerald Buddha and the Phra Bang .
Economic problems and end
As a result of the devastation by the Burmese and the constant wars against Cambodia and Laos, many Siamese were either out of the country as prisoners or in the military. As a result, the economy did not get off the ground, resulting in famine. The king donated from his private and royal fortune to alleviate the misery, but this was no more than a drop in the ocean. Riots and corruption were the order of the day.
All of this led to different groups opposing Taksin. In order to consolidate his power, he declared himself a divine figure (sotapanna) and forced the Buddhist monks to recognize him as their leader. When Thonburi had to send troops again to Laos and Cambodia in 1782 to restore peace there, a group of nobles rebelled. They were able to gain power over the capital and forced the king to give up his office and live as a monk in a temple. Phraya Chakri was elected as the new king, who became the founder of the Chakri dynasty, which is still ruling today. He ordered Taksin to leave the temple and later had him beaten to death in royal fashion in a velvet sack.
The new capital was moved from Thonburi to the island of Rattanakosin in what is now Bangkok, where a new palace and a large temple were built, the Wat Phra Kaeo .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jean Vollant the Verquains History of the revolution in Siam in the year 1688. In: Smithies (2002), pp 95-96.
- ↑ Eoseewong et al. (2005)
literature
- Nidhi Eoseewong, Christopher John Baker, Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson, Craig J. Reynolds: Pen and Sail: literature and history in early Bangkok including the history of Bangkok in the chronicles of Ayutthaya . Chiang Mai: Solkworm Books 2005. ISBN 978-974-9575-92-5 .
- Michael Smithies: Three military accounts of the 1688 "Revolution" in Siam . (Itineria Asiatica). Bangkok: Orchid Press. ISBN 974-524-005-2 .