Thonburi's 15 years: King Taksin's capital on the river

Why Thonburi?

Thonburi was a fortress town near the river mouth that had existed since the Ayutthaya period, controlling the boat route from the sea up to the capital. King Taksin chose it because it was near the sea, within easy reach of trade with China and of the eastern coastal towns that were his power base. The town was small enough to hold with the men he had, and if an enemy came overland in numbers too great to resist, he could take to the boats and withdraw by sea. Ayutthaya, by contrast, had been burned and so badly damaged that restoring it would have taken enormous manpower.

Some versions of the chronicle tell of a dream in which the former kings came to drive him away from the old capital: a cultural explanation of the move that has been handed down.

Rebuilding the country after the war

In its first years Thonburi was desperately short of rice. King Taksin had rice bought from junks and from the provincial towns and distributed to the people, had officials and soldiers grow a dry-season rice crop, and persuaded people who had fled into the forest to come back and settle. Trade with China mattered greatly, as a source of rice, weapons and revenue, and he sent several embassies to the Qing court.

For Buddhism, he had Tripitaka texts collected from the provincial towns to be copied, invited monks to form a new monastic order, and purified the monks who had fought in Chao Phra Fang's faction. In literature there is the Ramakian dance-drama text of his own composition, and the revival of the royal theatre after a troupe was obtained from Nakhon Si Thammarat.

War throughout the reign

Besides the campaigns against the factions in 1768–1770, Thonburi met several Burmese invasions: at Bang Kung, at Bang Kaeo, and the great invasion of Maha Thiha Thura (Azaewunky), who besieged Phitsanulok in 1775–1776. It also extended its power to Lanna with the capture of Chiang Mai in 1774, to Lan Xang with the capture of Vientiane in 1779, and to Cambodia. The leading commanders were Chaophraya Chakri (Thong Duang) and Chaophraya Surasi (Bunma), two brothers who later became King Rama I and Prince Maha Sura Singhanat, the Front Palace prince, and Phraya Phichai Dap Hak, "Phraya Phichai of the Broken Sword", who fought until his sword broke in the defence of the town of Phichai.

The end of Thonburi

For the end of the reign there are records of a change in the king's condition and of discontent among the officials. Early in 1782 Phraya San rebelled and seized Thonburi, and King Taksin entered the monkhood at Wat Chaeng. Chaophraya Chakri, bringing his army back from Cambodia, put down the rebellion and then came to the throne as King Rama I. King Taksin was executed, as generally accepted on 7 April 1782. King Rama I moved the palace across the river to the east bank and founded Rattanakosin, and the Thonburi Palace on the Thonburi side still stands today.