The Ban Phlu Luang dynasty: late Ayutthaya in King Taksin's youth

From Ban Phlu Luang to the throne

King Phetracha was a noble, the head of the Royal Elephant Department, whose family home was at Ban Phlu Luang in Suphan Buri territory. He took the throne in 1688, at the end of King Narai's reign, amid the conflict with the French, and forced the French troops to withdraw from Bangkok. After that the court was more wary of the Western nations, but trade with China, Japan and other Asian peoples remained lively.

King Suea and King Thai Sa reigned after him. In King Thai Sa's reign the country was mostly at peace, the rice trade with China flourished, and canals were dug to shorten the boat routes.

King Borommakot's age: the country King Taksin grew up in

King Borommakot reigned from 1732 to 1758, and King Taksin was born early in his reign. There was no major war. The court did a great deal to support Buddhism, restoring Wat Phu Khao Thong and many other temples, and sent a mission of monks to revive ordination in Ceylon, where the order is still known as the Siam Nikaya. The boy Sin studied at Wat Kosawat (Wat Choeng Tha) and was presented at court as a royal page in this reign.

Beneath the calm, the court was bitterly divided over the succession. Prince Thammathibet, the Front Palace prince, was punished and died as a result, and Prince Thepphiphit was exiled to Ceylon. Many historians think this division was still telling when the Burmese had to be faced.

King Uthumphon and King Ekkathat

When King Borommakot died in 1758, King Uthumphon came to the throne but soon handed it to his elder brother, King Ekkathat, and entered the monkhood. People therefore call him Khun Luang Ha Wat, "the king who sought the temple". In 1760 King Alaungpaya led an army to besiege the capital, and King Uthumphon left the monkhood to help direct the defence. The Burmese army withdrew when Alaungpaya was wounded.

Phraya Tak served in the reign of King Ekkathat. When King Hsinbyushin's armies came in 1765–1766, he was called in to defend the capital and was promoted to Phraya Wachiraprakan, governor of Kamphaeng Phet. The Thai chronicles, revised in a later period, paint King Ekkathat as weak, but some recent historians think this picture should be read with care.

Traces of the Ban Phlu Luang dynasty you can visit

Wat Phu Khao Thong, restored in King Borommakot's reign, Wat Choeng Tha, where King Taksin went to school, and the ordination hall of Wat Na Phra Men, which preserves the building style of late Ayutthaya well, are three places that help you picture the country of King Taksin's youth. All three lie outside the city island to the north and can be visited in a single morning.