Bangkok's
history of the past 200 years is much interwoven with the Chakri
dynasty which still reigns but no longer rules Thailand today.
After Chao Phaya Chakri was crowned under the royal title
of Rama I in 1782, one of his first major decisions concerned
his capital. In short form, it is often said that Rama
I founded Bangkok as his capital while before the capital has
been Thonburi. However, in this abbreviated form, history
is summarized not very accurately.
First of all,
Bangkok was not really founded by Rama I. It had been a settled
area for several hundred years already and it had even
been well-known to European merchants who commonly stopped
over at Bangkok on their way to Ayutthaya.
Second, the
sharp demarcation between Thonburi and Bangkok is not justified.
While European merchants stuck to the name of Bangkok for their
place of stopover, the community left and right of the
Chao Phaya River was known to the Siamese as the town of Thonburi,
having been elevated from the village status of Bangkok.
Thonburi was
chosen by King Taksin as his capital. And while it is true
that King Taksin had erected his palace and all major buildings
on the right bank of the Chao Phaya River, the city of Thonburi
encompassed settled areas on both banks.
King Taksin's
rationale had been to have the river flowing through the
capital as he feared another Burmese attack after Ayutthaya had
been leveled by Burmese armies in 1767; in the case of a new attack
he wanted to have an easy escape option. This option was
maintained by having the river flowing through, not just
alongside the capital. His idea was that he could embark
his people and troops rather unnoticed and then make a getaway
on the Chao Phaya. His destination would have been his old stronghold
of Chantaburi on the east coast, close to what is now Cambodia.
On the other
hand, when Chao Phaya Chakri became King of Siam, the Burmese
threat was by far not as eminent any more; Siam was again a strong
power, on equal footing with the Burmese. Rama I didn't think
in terms of easy escape routes anymore, but in terms of strong
defense. He had no intention of vacating his capital, should
the Burmese march on it - he wanted to defend it by all means.
For this purpose, however, a river flowing through the capital
was a disadvantage as it could have served as an hard to
secure entry point. Therefore, he decided to neglect the western,
larger side of what had been Thonburi, instead concentrating everything
important on the eastern side. This included, of course,
first of all his own palace.
To make space
for his palace where it is still located, a large settlement on
the eastern side of Thonburi had to be razed. At the end
of the 18th century, the present palace area had chiefly been
occupied by Chinese inhabitants . Chao Phaya Chakri had
the whole Chinese community transferred some three kilometers
downstream, to an area then known as Sampheng. The Chinese
still live in that area, and Sampheng Lane now is a famous
Chinese shopping area (after it had been a red-light district
for many decades).
Work on the
Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha
was by and large completed in 1785. The new capital, now more
or less just covering the area on the eastern side of the Chao
Phaya was inaugurated under the new name "Krung Thep Maha
Nakhon Amorn Rattanakosindra Mahindrayutthaya Mahadilokpop Noparattana
Radchhani Burirom Udom Rachnivet Mahastan Amorn Pimarn Avatarn
Satit Sakatuttiya Vishnukarm Prasit." In English: "City of
Angels, Great City and Residence of the Emerald Buddha, Impregnable
City of God Indra, Grand Capital of the World, Endowed with Nine
Precious Gems, Abounding in Enormous Royal Palaces which Resemble
the Heavenly Abode where Reigns the Reincarnated God, a City given
by Indra and Built by Vishnukarm". For convenience, it is the
custom to abbreviate the name to Krung Thep. And for their further
convenience, Westerners continue to call the place just Bangkok.
