Selasa, 27 Julai 2010
PERJANJIAN INGGERIS DENGAN KERAJAAN SIAM
Perjanjian Inggeris-Siam 1909, dikenali juga sebagai Perjanjian Bangkok 1909, ialah perjanjian antara United Kingdom dan Thailand pada 1909. Perjanjian ini ditandatangani di Istana Raja Siam di Bangkok pada 10 Mac 1909 dan diratifikasikan pada 9 Julai 1909. Kajayaan perjanjian ini sebenarnya diusahakan dan dimulakan bersungguh-sungguh oleh Edward Henry Strobel Penasihat Hal Ehwal Luar Negeri Kerajaan Siam[1]. Beliau mendapati beberapa perjanjian yang dimeterai bersama Britain sebelum dia bertugas pada tahun 1906 di Siam merugikan Siam terutamanya hal ehwal perdagangan dua hala dan keistimewaan lain seperti dalam Bowring (1855) dan Perjanjian Rahsia (1897). Oleh itu, beliau telah berunding dengan pejabat kedutaan Britain di Bangkok pada tahun 1907 untuk menyeimbangkan kedudukan hubungan perdagangan dan memansuhkan hak keistimewaan Britain di Siam dengan kesediaanya memujuk Raja Chulalongkorn menyerahkan negeri-negeri Melayu Utara seperti Perlis, Kedah, Terangganu dan Kelantan kepada Britain sebagai ganjaran. Tawaran itu mendapat reaksi positif daripada Ralph Paget, Duta Britain ke Siam serta Sir John Anderson, Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Negeri-Negeri Melayu Bersekutu dan Gabenor Negeri-Negeri Selat.
Usaha keras Strobel ini bermula apabila beliau menyampaikan hasrat tersebut kepada Putera Damrong, Menteri Am Siam ketika itu yang memangku tugas Raja Siam ketika Raja Chulalongkorn mengadakan lawatan ke luar negera. Putera Damrong menentang keras cadangan menyerahkan negeri-negeri Melayu utara kepada Britain malah Strobel sendiri dimarahi oleh Putera Damrong. Namun begitu, Strobel tidak kecewa dan putus asa. Sebaliknya beliau berazam akan memaklumkan hasrat itu kepada Raja Chulalongkorn apabila kembali dari lawatan ke luar negara. Apabila Raja Siam Pulang, Strobel memaklumkan cadangan itu dan Raja Chulalongkorn hanya mahu menyerahkan Kelantan dan Terangganu sahaja kepada Britain. Strobel memaklumkan kepada Ralph Paget akan persetujuan Raja Siam yang hanya mahu menyerahkan Kelantan dan Terangganu sahaja dan beliau menegaskan bahawa Raja Siam akan menimbangkan semula untuk menyerahkan Kedah dan Perlis. Ralph Paget memberitahu Strobel akan hasrat British yang mahu mendapatkan Setul dan Patani (sekarang dikenali sebagai Satun) berdasarkan wilayah itu kepunyaan Kerajaan Kedah dan Ralph Paget juga bertegas mahu Pulau Langkawi diserahkan kepada Britain. Strobel kembali menemui Raja Chulalongkorn dan memaklumkan kepada baginda dengan cara menyerahkan Perlis, Kedah, Terengganu dan Kelantan sahaja pihak Britain akan mengkaji semula perjanjian lama yang merugikan Siam. Ketegasan Strobel ini sehingga beliau sanggup meletakkan jawatan sebagai Penasihat Hal Ehwal Luar Siam. Sementara itu, Sir John Anderson Gabenor Negeri-Negeri Selat amat bersetuju Britain menguasai negeri-negeri Melayu Utara malah mahu menguasai Patani dan wilayah-wilayah lain hingga ke Segenting Kra. Namun begitu, Strobel mengatakan kepada Ralph Paget, beliau tidak yakin Siam akan menyerahkan Patani kepada Britain kerana Siam mempunyai kepentingan di negeri itu berbanding negeri-Negeri Melayu Utara. Di samping itu, Strobel memaklumkan kepada Paget bahawa Raja Chulalongkorn hanya bersedia menyerahkan negeri yang ia tidak mepunyai kuasa kawalan. Kegagalan Britain mendapatkan Patani mengecewakan Paget, walau bagaimanapun, Paget tidak mahu menekan Siam kerana tidak mahu Siam membatalkan rundingan menyerahkan negeri-negeri Melayu Utara. Demi menyelamatkan Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan dan Terangganu, kepentingan Patani terpaksa dikorbankan. Di samping itu, Paget juga gagal mendapatkan Wilayah Setul daripada Siam apabila Raja Chulalongkorn enggan menyerahkannya atas alasan melindungi kepentingan orang sam-sam yang telah berhijrah dan mula bertambah di wilayah Setul. Pada tahun 1908 Strobel meninggal dunia tetapi rundingan tersebut tetap diteruskan. Semasa rundingan tersebut pelbagai syarat yang dikenakan oleh Siam seperti pihak Britian perlu menanggung kos pembinaan jalan keretapi di Siam ketika itu. Kedua-dua pihak meneruskan perbincangan ini dari tahun 1907 hingga 1909.
Britain tidak dapat bertangguh lagi untuk menguasai seluruh Tanah Melayu kerana negeri-negeri ini kaya dengan biji timah dan sesuai ditanam dengan getah. Tambahan pula negeri-negeri Melayu ini amat sesuai disatukan kerana mempunyai ciri-ciri yang sama iaitu sama dari segi bahasa, agama, bangsa, cara hidup, kebudayaan dan lain-lain.
Perjanjian ini merupakan perjanjian yang ke-8 dalam usaha British menguasai utara Tanah Melayu. Perjanjian sebelum ini ialah :
Perjanjian Burney 1826
Perjanjian Sulit Siam - British 1894
Perjanjian British - Perancis 1896
Perjanjian Sulit Siam - British 1897
Perjanjian Siam - British 1902
Pakatan British - Perancis 1902
Isi kandungan[sorok]
1 Latar belakang perjanjian
2 Perjanjian
3 Wakil-wakil
4 Kesan Perjanjian 1909
5 Rujukan
//
[sunting] Latar belakang perjanjian
Gabenor Negeri-negeri Selat mendapat nafas baru apabila Pejabat Tanah Jajahan di India tidak lagi mentadbir Negeri-Negeri Selat. Sebelum ini Pejabat Tanah Jajahan di India mengabaikan masalah pentadbiran dan perdagangan di Semenanjung Malaysia. Pentadbiran lansung daripada London memudahkan keputusan pentadbiran, politik dan keselamatan dibuat. Ketika Britain merupakan kuasa utama di dunia.
Sedangkan Gabenor Negeri-Negeri Selat bimbangkan kemaraan kuasa-kuasa Barat seperti Jerman , Perancis dan Amerika Syarikat, di samping kuasa sedia ada iaitu kerajaan Siam. Kuasa-kuasa Barat ini cukup aktif memperluaskan tanah jajahan bagi tujuan ekonomi, agama dan politik. Kuasa-kuasa besar ini berebutkan tanah jajahan di seluruh dunia. Seboleh mungkin mereka tidak mahu bergaduh antara satu sama lain. Unsur agama iaitu Katolik dan Protestan mendominasi perluasan jajahan ini.
Perseteruan dengan Islam turut menjadi unsur perlumbaan ini. Negara Turki yang menaungi negara-negara Islam semakin tidak bermaya.
Kerajaan Perancis begitu aktif di Indo-China kerana pengaruhnya turut berkembang ke Siam dan utara Tanah Melayu.
British cukup takut dengan kehadiran pihak Jerman dan Amerika Syarikat yang inginkan tapak perdagangan dan perusahaan di pulau Langkawi dan Terengganu.
[sunting] Perjanjian
Melalui Perjanjian Bangkok 1909 itu, kerajaan Siam menyerahkan negeri-negeri Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan dan Terengganu untuk bernaung di bawah pemerintahan Inggeris. Perjanjian tersebut telah ditandatangani di Bangkok oleh Ralph Paget Duta Britain di Siam Mewakili King Great Britain dan Ireland serta Putera Devawongse Varoprakar, Menteri Luar Kerajaan Siam ketika itu.
Butir-butir Perjanjian Bangkok 1909 adalah seperti berikut:-
Penyerahan Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis, dan pulau-pulau bersebelahan kepada Great Britain.
Tarikh penyerahan dalam tempoh tiga puluh hari selepas ratifikasi perjanjian.
Perlantikan Suruhanjaya Bercampur untuk persempadanan Inggeris-Siam.
Hutang awam wilayah yang diserahkan akan tetap dibayar kepada Kerajaan Siam.
Penghapusan bidang kuasa Konsul British di Siam.
Hak rakyat British i SIam terhadap harta, kediaman dan perjalanan, cukai, dll.
Pengesahan perjanjian lama .
Ratifikasi dalam tempoh empat bulan.
Teks diambil dari Arkib Negara Malaysia, P.112. 2 Lihat Lampiran I (ed.).
[sunting] Wakil-wakil
Kerajaan Siam diwakili oleh Keluong Wan Husain, pembesar Siam di Betong.
Kerajaan British diwakili oleh Sir John Anderson (Gabenor Negeri-negeri Selat) yang berpusat di Singapura.
Kerajaan Perak diwakili oleh :
Wan Muhammad Isa, Orang Kaya Menteri
Wan Muhammad Salleh, Orang Kaya-Kaya Seri Adika Raja.
E.W. Birch, Residen British Perak.
A.S. Jelf MCS, Penolong Setiausaha kepada Residen British Perak.
H. Berkeley, Hakim Daerah Hulu Perak
G. Simpson, Merinyu Polis Kuala Kangsar
J.D. Kemp, Pengurus Rahman Hydrolic Tin Limited, Klian Intan/ Taiping.
[sunting] Kesan Perjanjian 1909
Kerajaan Melayu Pattani yang meliputi wilayah Yala dan Narathiwat di Thailand disahkan sebagai jajahan Thailand. Padahal kerajaan Melayu Patani tidak diajak berunding dalam perjanjian itu.
Kedah, Perlis , Kelantan dan Terengganu yang sebelum ini dijajah oleh Thailand diserahkan kepada Britain.
Negeri Kedah dan Perlis menerima seorang penasihat British pada tahun 1909.
Kelantan menerima penasihat British pada tahun 1910.
Terengganu menerima penasihat British pada tahun 1919.
[sunting]
Usaha keras Strobel ini bermula apabila beliau menyampaikan hasrat tersebut kepada Putera Damrong, Menteri Am Siam ketika itu yang memangku tugas Raja Siam ketika Raja Chulalongkorn mengadakan lawatan ke luar negera. Putera Damrong menentang keras cadangan menyerahkan negeri-negeri Melayu utara kepada Britain malah Strobel sendiri dimarahi oleh Putera Damrong. Namun begitu, Strobel tidak kecewa dan putus asa. Sebaliknya beliau berazam akan memaklumkan hasrat itu kepada Raja Chulalongkorn apabila kembali dari lawatan ke luar negara. Apabila Raja Siam Pulang, Strobel memaklumkan cadangan itu dan Raja Chulalongkorn hanya mahu menyerahkan Kelantan dan Terangganu sahaja kepada Britain. Strobel memaklumkan kepada Ralph Paget akan persetujuan Raja Siam yang hanya mahu menyerahkan Kelantan dan Terangganu sahaja dan beliau menegaskan bahawa Raja Siam akan menimbangkan semula untuk menyerahkan Kedah dan Perlis. Ralph Paget memberitahu Strobel akan hasrat British yang mahu mendapatkan Setul dan Patani (sekarang dikenali sebagai Satun) berdasarkan wilayah itu kepunyaan Kerajaan Kedah dan Ralph Paget juga bertegas mahu Pulau Langkawi diserahkan kepada Britain. Strobel kembali menemui Raja Chulalongkorn dan memaklumkan kepada baginda dengan cara menyerahkan Perlis, Kedah, Terengganu dan Kelantan sahaja pihak Britain akan mengkaji semula perjanjian lama yang merugikan Siam. Ketegasan Strobel ini sehingga beliau sanggup meletakkan jawatan sebagai Penasihat Hal Ehwal Luar Siam. Sementara itu, Sir John Anderson Gabenor Negeri-Negeri Selat amat bersetuju Britain menguasai negeri-negeri Melayu Utara malah mahu menguasai Patani dan wilayah-wilayah lain hingga ke Segenting Kra. Namun begitu, Strobel mengatakan kepada Ralph Paget, beliau tidak yakin Siam akan menyerahkan Patani kepada Britain kerana Siam mempunyai kepentingan di negeri itu berbanding negeri-Negeri Melayu Utara. Di samping itu, Strobel memaklumkan kepada Paget bahawa Raja Chulalongkorn hanya bersedia menyerahkan negeri yang ia tidak mepunyai kuasa kawalan. Kegagalan Britain mendapatkan Patani mengecewakan Paget, walau bagaimanapun, Paget tidak mahu menekan Siam kerana tidak mahu Siam membatalkan rundingan menyerahkan negeri-negeri Melayu Utara. Demi menyelamatkan Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan dan Terangganu, kepentingan Patani terpaksa dikorbankan. Di samping itu, Paget juga gagal mendapatkan Wilayah Setul daripada Siam apabila Raja Chulalongkorn enggan menyerahkannya atas alasan melindungi kepentingan orang sam-sam yang telah berhijrah dan mula bertambah di wilayah Setul. Pada tahun 1908 Strobel meninggal dunia tetapi rundingan tersebut tetap diteruskan. Semasa rundingan tersebut pelbagai syarat yang dikenakan oleh Siam seperti pihak Britian perlu menanggung kos pembinaan jalan keretapi di Siam ketika itu. Kedua-dua pihak meneruskan perbincangan ini dari tahun 1907 hingga 1909.
Britain tidak dapat bertangguh lagi untuk menguasai seluruh Tanah Melayu kerana negeri-negeri ini kaya dengan biji timah dan sesuai ditanam dengan getah. Tambahan pula negeri-negeri Melayu ini amat sesuai disatukan kerana mempunyai ciri-ciri yang sama iaitu sama dari segi bahasa, agama, bangsa, cara hidup, kebudayaan dan lain-lain.
Perjanjian ini merupakan perjanjian yang ke-8 dalam usaha British menguasai utara Tanah Melayu. Perjanjian sebelum ini ialah :
Perjanjian Burney 1826
Perjanjian Sulit Siam - British 1894
Perjanjian British - Perancis 1896
Perjanjian Sulit Siam - British 1897
Perjanjian Siam - British 1902
Pakatan British - Perancis 1902
Isi kandungan[sorok]
1 Latar belakang perjanjian
2 Perjanjian
3 Wakil-wakil
4 Kesan Perjanjian 1909
5 Rujukan
//
[sunting] Latar belakang perjanjian
Gabenor Negeri-negeri Selat mendapat nafas baru apabila Pejabat Tanah Jajahan di India tidak lagi mentadbir Negeri-Negeri Selat. Sebelum ini Pejabat Tanah Jajahan di India mengabaikan masalah pentadbiran dan perdagangan di Semenanjung Malaysia. Pentadbiran lansung daripada London memudahkan keputusan pentadbiran, politik dan keselamatan dibuat. Ketika Britain merupakan kuasa utama di dunia.
Sedangkan Gabenor Negeri-Negeri Selat bimbangkan kemaraan kuasa-kuasa Barat seperti Jerman , Perancis dan Amerika Syarikat, di samping kuasa sedia ada iaitu kerajaan Siam. Kuasa-kuasa Barat ini cukup aktif memperluaskan tanah jajahan bagi tujuan ekonomi, agama dan politik. Kuasa-kuasa besar ini berebutkan tanah jajahan di seluruh dunia. Seboleh mungkin mereka tidak mahu bergaduh antara satu sama lain. Unsur agama iaitu Katolik dan Protestan mendominasi perluasan jajahan ini.
Perseteruan dengan Islam turut menjadi unsur perlumbaan ini. Negara Turki yang menaungi negara-negara Islam semakin tidak bermaya.
Kerajaan Perancis begitu aktif di Indo-China kerana pengaruhnya turut berkembang ke Siam dan utara Tanah Melayu.
British cukup takut dengan kehadiran pihak Jerman dan Amerika Syarikat yang inginkan tapak perdagangan dan perusahaan di pulau Langkawi dan Terengganu.
[sunting] Perjanjian
Melalui Perjanjian Bangkok 1909 itu, kerajaan Siam menyerahkan negeri-negeri Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan dan Terengganu untuk bernaung di bawah pemerintahan Inggeris. Perjanjian tersebut telah ditandatangani di Bangkok oleh Ralph Paget Duta Britain di Siam Mewakili King Great Britain dan Ireland serta Putera Devawongse Varoprakar, Menteri Luar Kerajaan Siam ketika itu.
Butir-butir Perjanjian Bangkok 1909 adalah seperti berikut:-
Penyerahan Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis, dan pulau-pulau bersebelahan kepada Great Britain.
Tarikh penyerahan dalam tempoh tiga puluh hari selepas ratifikasi perjanjian.
Perlantikan Suruhanjaya Bercampur untuk persempadanan Inggeris-Siam.
Hutang awam wilayah yang diserahkan akan tetap dibayar kepada Kerajaan Siam.
Penghapusan bidang kuasa Konsul British di Siam.
Hak rakyat British i SIam terhadap harta, kediaman dan perjalanan, cukai, dll.
Pengesahan perjanjian lama .
Ratifikasi dalam tempoh empat bulan.
Teks diambil dari Arkib Negara Malaysia, P.112. 2 Lihat Lampiran I (ed.).
[sunting] Wakil-wakil
Kerajaan Siam diwakili oleh Keluong Wan Husain, pembesar Siam di Betong.
Kerajaan British diwakili oleh Sir John Anderson (Gabenor Negeri-negeri Selat) yang berpusat di Singapura.
Kerajaan Perak diwakili oleh :
Wan Muhammad Isa, Orang Kaya Menteri
Wan Muhammad Salleh, Orang Kaya-Kaya Seri Adika Raja.
E.W. Birch, Residen British Perak.
A.S. Jelf MCS, Penolong Setiausaha kepada Residen British Perak.
H. Berkeley, Hakim Daerah Hulu Perak
G. Simpson, Merinyu Polis Kuala Kangsar
J.D. Kemp, Pengurus Rahman Hydrolic Tin Limited, Klian Intan/ Taiping.
[sunting] Kesan Perjanjian 1909
Kerajaan Melayu Pattani yang meliputi wilayah Yala dan Narathiwat di Thailand disahkan sebagai jajahan Thailand. Padahal kerajaan Melayu Patani tidak diajak berunding dalam perjanjian itu.
Kedah, Perlis , Kelantan dan Terengganu yang sebelum ini dijajah oleh Thailand diserahkan kepada Britain.
Negeri Kedah dan Perlis menerima seorang penasihat British pada tahun 1909.
Kelantan menerima penasihat British pada tahun 1910.
Terengganu menerima penasihat British pada tahun 1919.
[sunting]
MENGAPA CINA MEMPERTIKAIKAN HAK BUMI PUTERA.
Bagi saya, kita perlu diingatkan tentang warisan Lembah Bujang. Kerana setiap pertikaian dan pertengkaran tentang institusi raja, hak istimewa orang Melayu, ketuanan Melayu, status agama Islam di Malaysia, dan sebagainya, adalah tidak bermakna jika kita tidak mengambil teladan dari tamadun Lembah Bujang. Dan inilah teladannya — lebih daripada seribu tahun dahulu, masyarakat Melayu di Kedah sudah pun tahu bagaimana untuk beradab, bertamadun dan berkawan dengan pelbagai bangsa dari seluruh dunia.
SAIBURI ATAU DI KENALI SEBAGAI KEDAH
Syburi (Thai: ไทรบุรี)) adalah nama bagi negeri Melayu Kedah yang diberikan oleh raja Siam ketika penjajahan Jepun keatas British Tanah Melayu semasa Perang Dunia II. Pada Julai 1943, Perdana Menteri Jepun Hideki Tojo mengumumkan bahawa Kedah (bersama dengan Perlis, Kelantan dan Terengganu) akan diserahkan kepada Siam sebagai sebahagian daripada satu Perjanjian Persahabatan yang ditandatangani oleh Siam dan Jepun pada permulaan Perjuangan Tanah Melayu. Terdahulu, pada tahun 1941, Siam telah bersetuju untuk membenarkan pasukan tentera Jepun untuk merentasi Siam ke Tanah Melayu. Daripada 18 Oktober 1943 hingga penyerahan Jepun di penghujung perang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah dan Perlis terletak di bawah pentadbiran Siam. Selepas Jepun menyerah kalah, Kedah dan tiga negeri lain telah dipulangkan kembali pada British.
Orang dilahirkan di Syburi dianggap rakyat Baginda Thailand; oleh itu, orang yang telah lahir di sana dan sekarang tinggal di keadaan Kedah adalah dibenarkan untuk membeli tanah dan hidup di Thailand walaupun dari segi teknik, kini mereka tinggal sebagai Rakyat Malaysia.
Diambil daripada "http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syburi"
Orang dilahirkan di Syburi dianggap rakyat Baginda Thailand; oleh itu, orang yang telah lahir di sana dan sekarang tinggal di keadaan Kedah adalah dibenarkan untuk membeli tanah dan hidup di Thailand walaupun dari segi teknik, kini mereka tinggal sebagai Rakyat Malaysia.
Diambil daripada "http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syburi"
LOY KRATHONG.
วันเพ็ญเดือนสิบสอง น้ำก็นองเต็มตลิ่ง เราทั้งหลายชายหญิง สนุกกันจริงวันลอยกระทง ลอย ลอย กระทง ลอย ลอย กระทง ลอยกระทงกันแล้ว ขอเชิญน้องแก้ว ออกมารำวง รำวงวันลอยกระทง รำวงวันลอยกระทง บุญจะส่งให้เราสุขใจ บุญจะส่งให้เราสุขใจ
wan-pen duean sip-sawng nam gaw nawng dtem dtaling rao tung-laai chai-ying sanook gun jing wun loy kratong loy loy kratong loy loy kratong loy krathong kan laew khaw choen nawngkaew awk maa ramwong ramwong wan loy krathong ramwong wan loy krathong bun ja song hai rao sukjai bun ja song hai rao sukjai
wan-pen duean sip-sawng nam gaw nawng dtem dtaling rao tung-laai chai-ying sanook gun jing wun loy kratong loy loy kratong loy loy kratong loy krathong kan laew khaw choen nawngkaew awk maa ramwong ramwong wan loy krathong ramwong wan loy krathong bun ja song hai rao sukjai bun ja song hai rao sukjai
LOY KRATHONG.
วันเพ็ญเดือนสิบสอง
wan-pen duean sip-sawng
The full moon (of) the twelfth month
น้ำก็นองเต็มตลิ่ง
nam gaw nawng dtem dtaling
as water fills to the banks.
เราทั้งหลายชายหญิง
rao tung-laai chai-ying
We, all men and women,
สนุกกันจริงวันลอยกระทง
sanook gun jing wun loy gratong
really have a good time (on) loy krathong day
ลอย ลอย กระทง
loy loy gratong
Float, float the krathongs
ลอย ลอย กระทง
loy loy gratong
Float, float the krathongs
ลอยกระทงกันแล้ว
loy krathong kan laew
After we've floated our krathongs,
ขอเชิญน้องแก้ว
khaw choen nawngkaew
(I) invite (you) my darling
ออกมารำวง
awk maa ramwong
to come out and dance.
รำวงวันลอยกระทง
ramwong wan loy krathong
Ramwong (on) loy krathong day
รำวงวันลอยกระทง
ramwong wan loy krathong
Ramwong (on) loy krathong day
บุญจะส่งให้เราสุขใจ
bun ja song hai rao sukjai
(Making) merit will give us happiness
บุญจะส่งให้เราสุขใจ
bun ja song hai rao sukjai
(Making) merit will give us happiness
Below is the well-known English version. This English translation rhymes and fits the rhythm but misses some of the meaning in Thai.
November full moon shinesLoy Krathong, loy Krathongand the water's high in the river and local klongLoy Krathong is here and everybody's full of cheerWe're together at the klongEach one with his krathongAs we push away we prayWe can see a better day
wan-pen duean sip-sawng
The full moon (of) the twelfth month
น้ำก็นองเต็มตลิ่ง
nam gaw nawng dtem dtaling
as water fills to the banks.
เราทั้งหลายชายหญิง
rao tung-laai chai-ying
We, all men and women,
สนุกกันจริงวันลอยกระทง
sanook gun jing wun loy gratong
really have a good time (on) loy krathong day
ลอย ลอย กระทง
loy loy gratong
Float, float the krathongs
ลอย ลอย กระทง
loy loy gratong
Float, float the krathongs
ลอยกระทงกันแล้ว
loy krathong kan laew
After we've floated our krathongs,
ขอเชิญน้องแก้ว
khaw choen nawngkaew
(I) invite (you) my darling
ออกมารำวง
awk maa ramwong
to come out and dance.
รำวงวันลอยกระทง
ramwong wan loy krathong
Ramwong (on) loy krathong day
รำวงวันลอยกระทง
ramwong wan loy krathong
Ramwong (on) loy krathong day
บุญจะส่งให้เราสุขใจ
bun ja song hai rao sukjai
(Making) merit will give us happiness
บุญจะส่งให้เราสุขใจ
bun ja song hai rao sukjai
(Making) merit will give us happiness
Below is the well-known English version. This English translation rhymes and fits the rhythm but misses some of the meaning in Thai.
November full moon shinesLoy Krathong, loy Krathongand the water's high in the river and local klongLoy Krathong is here and everybody's full of cheerWe're together at the klongEach one with his krathongAs we push away we prayWe can see a better day
AGAMA BUDDHA.
Agama Buddha ialah agama dan falsafah yang berasaskan ajaran Buddha Śākyamuni (Siddhārtha Gautama) yang mungkin lahir pada kurun ke-5 sebelum masihi. Agama Buddha menyebar ke benua India dalam 5 kurun selepas Baginda meninggal dunia. Dalam dua ribu tahun yang seterusnya, agama Buddha telah menyebar ke tengah, tenggara dan timur Asia. Kini, agama Buddha telah dipaparkan sebagai tiga aliran utama, iaitu Theravāda (Bahasa Sanskrit: Sthaviravāda), Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna. Agama Buddha terus menarik orang ramai menganutnya di seluruh dunia dan mempunyai lebih kurang 350 juta penganut. Agama Budddha dikenali sebagai salah satu agama yang paling besar di dunia.
Seorang Buddha ialah seorang yang mendapati alam semula jadi yang benar melalui pelajarannya yang bertahun-tahun, penyiasatan dengan pengamalan agama pada masanya dan pertapaan. Penemuannya dikenali sebagai Bodhi atau "Pemahaman". Sesiapa yang bangun dari "Ketiduran Kejahilan" secara langsung yang mengenali alam semula jadi nyata yang sebenar dikenali sebagai Buddha.
Sitting Buddha, named "Phra Puttha Palileyaka", Wat Pho, Bangkok
Śākyamuni dikatakan sebagai Buddha yang terkini daripada banyak Buddha. Terdapat banyak Buddha akan dilahirkan selepas Śākyamuni dan banyak Buddha dilahirkan sebelum Śākyamuni. Mengikut ajaran Buddha, sesiapa dapat mempelajarinya dan juga memahami alam semula jadi nyata yang sebenar seperti Buddha dengan menurut kata-kata Buddha yang dikenali sebagai "Dharma" dan mempraktikkannya dengan mengamalkan kehidupan yang bermoral dan pemikiran yang bersih. Secara keseluruhan, tujuan seorang menganut agama Buddha adalah untuk menamati segala kesusahan dalam kehidupan. Bagi mencapai matlamat ini, penganut Buddha harus membersihkan dan melatih minda sendiri dengan mengikut "Lapan Jalan Tepat", atau "Jalan Tengah" supaya memahami kenyataan yang sebenar lalu mencapai kebebasan dari segala kesusahan, iaitu nirodha atau nirvāna (Pāli nibbāna).
[sunting] Gautama Buddha
Menurut semua aliran agama Buddha, Buddha yang terkini ialah Siddhārtha (Sanskrit) atau Siddhattha (Pāli) Gautama (Pāli: Gotama) yang dilahirkan di hutan kecil Lumbinī yang berdekatan dengan pekan Kapilavastu (Pāli: Kapilavatthu), iaitu ibu kota kerajaan Śākyas (Pāli: Sakyas). Lumbinī terletak di selatan Nepal. Kedudukan ini dicatatkan pada tiang Raja Aśoka.
Ayah Siddhārtha ialah Śuddhodana (Pāli: Suddhodana), iaitu ketua Śākyas. Ibu Buddha meninggal dunia semasa atau selepas beberapa hari Buddha dilahirkan. Peramal Asita meramalkan bahawa Siddhārtha akan menjadi raja yang unggul atau orang suci. Ayahnya telah cuba memastikan Siddhārtha tidak akan tidak puas hati dengan kehidupan yang sedia kerana ramalan Asita. Baginda menganggap ketidakpuashatian Siddhārtha mungkin menyebabkannya menjadi sami. Walau bagaimanapun, Siddhārtha telah mendapati bahawa setiap orang yang dilahirkan akan menjadi tua, sakit dan akhirnya meninggal dunia dengan melihat seorang tua, sakit, mayat dan seorang suci apabila baginda berumur 29 tahun. Baginda mengambil keputusan untuk menjadi sami untuk mencari penyelesaian untuk kesusahan dalam kehidupan.
Siddhārtha cuba menyekat hawa nafsunya dan belajar daripada dua orang Brahmin. Baginda berjaya mencapai tahap yang tinggi dalam pertapaan tetapi tidak mencari penyelesainya untuk kesusahan dalam kehidupan walaupun kemampuannya sudah melebihi gurunya. Baginda dan sekumpulan teman telah meninggalkan gurunya lalu cuba menyeksa diri. Selepas enam tahun, baginda hampir meninggal dunia akibat kelaparan tanpa sebarang kebaikan yang diperolehnya. Dia berhenti menyeksa diri dan menumpukan perhatiannya dalam pertapaan. Akhirnya, Siddhārtha menemui "Jalan Tengah", iaitu jalan yang tidak menyeksa diri atau menjadikan diri leka dalam hawa nafsu. Untuk menguatkan badan, baginda menerima susu lembu yang dibekalkan oleh seorang penternak lembu yang melalui tempat itu. Seterusnya, baginda duduk di bawah pokok Bodhi lalu bersumpah dia tidak akan bangun sehingga menemui kebenaran. Baginda menjadi seorang Buddha apabila umurnya 35 tahun. Baginda bermula untuk menyebarkan ajaran Buddha kepada semua orang di bahagian utara timur India.
Seorang Buddha ialah seorang yang mendapati alam semula jadi yang benar melalui pelajarannya yang bertahun-tahun, penyiasatan dengan pengamalan agama pada masanya dan pertapaan. Penemuannya dikenali sebagai Bodhi atau "Pemahaman". Sesiapa yang bangun dari "Ketiduran Kejahilan" secara langsung yang mengenali alam semula jadi nyata yang sebenar dikenali sebagai Buddha.
Sitting Buddha, named "Phra Puttha Palileyaka", Wat Pho, Bangkok
Śākyamuni dikatakan sebagai Buddha yang terkini daripada banyak Buddha. Terdapat banyak Buddha akan dilahirkan selepas Śākyamuni dan banyak Buddha dilahirkan sebelum Śākyamuni. Mengikut ajaran Buddha, sesiapa dapat mempelajarinya dan juga memahami alam semula jadi nyata yang sebenar seperti Buddha dengan menurut kata-kata Buddha yang dikenali sebagai "Dharma" dan mempraktikkannya dengan mengamalkan kehidupan yang bermoral dan pemikiran yang bersih. Secara keseluruhan, tujuan seorang menganut agama Buddha adalah untuk menamati segala kesusahan dalam kehidupan. Bagi mencapai matlamat ini, penganut Buddha harus membersihkan dan melatih minda sendiri dengan mengikut "Lapan Jalan Tepat", atau "Jalan Tengah" supaya memahami kenyataan yang sebenar lalu mencapai kebebasan dari segala kesusahan, iaitu nirodha atau nirvāna (Pāli nibbāna).
[sunting] Gautama Buddha
Menurut semua aliran agama Buddha, Buddha yang terkini ialah Siddhārtha (Sanskrit) atau Siddhattha (Pāli) Gautama (Pāli: Gotama) yang dilahirkan di hutan kecil Lumbinī yang berdekatan dengan pekan Kapilavastu (Pāli: Kapilavatthu), iaitu ibu kota kerajaan Śākyas (Pāli: Sakyas). Lumbinī terletak di selatan Nepal. Kedudukan ini dicatatkan pada tiang Raja Aśoka.
Ayah Siddhārtha ialah Śuddhodana (Pāli: Suddhodana), iaitu ketua Śākyas. Ibu Buddha meninggal dunia semasa atau selepas beberapa hari Buddha dilahirkan. Peramal Asita meramalkan bahawa Siddhārtha akan menjadi raja yang unggul atau orang suci. Ayahnya telah cuba memastikan Siddhārtha tidak akan tidak puas hati dengan kehidupan yang sedia kerana ramalan Asita. Baginda menganggap ketidakpuashatian Siddhārtha mungkin menyebabkannya menjadi sami. Walau bagaimanapun, Siddhārtha telah mendapati bahawa setiap orang yang dilahirkan akan menjadi tua, sakit dan akhirnya meninggal dunia dengan melihat seorang tua, sakit, mayat dan seorang suci apabila baginda berumur 29 tahun. Baginda mengambil keputusan untuk menjadi sami untuk mencari penyelesaian untuk kesusahan dalam kehidupan.
Siddhārtha cuba menyekat hawa nafsunya dan belajar daripada dua orang Brahmin. Baginda berjaya mencapai tahap yang tinggi dalam pertapaan tetapi tidak mencari penyelesainya untuk kesusahan dalam kehidupan walaupun kemampuannya sudah melebihi gurunya. Baginda dan sekumpulan teman telah meninggalkan gurunya lalu cuba menyeksa diri. Selepas enam tahun, baginda hampir meninggal dunia akibat kelaparan tanpa sebarang kebaikan yang diperolehnya. Dia berhenti menyeksa diri dan menumpukan perhatiannya dalam pertapaan. Akhirnya, Siddhārtha menemui "Jalan Tengah", iaitu jalan yang tidak menyeksa diri atau menjadikan diri leka dalam hawa nafsu. Untuk menguatkan badan, baginda menerima susu lembu yang dibekalkan oleh seorang penternak lembu yang melalui tempat itu. Seterusnya, baginda duduk di bawah pokok Bodhi lalu bersumpah dia tidak akan bangun sehingga menemui kebenaran. Baginda menjadi seorang Buddha apabila umurnya 35 tahun. Baginda bermula untuk menyebarkan ajaran Buddha kepada semua orang di bahagian utara timur India.
EKKATHAT.
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Borommaracha Kasat Bowon Sucharit (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระบรมราชากษัตริย์บวรสุจริต), Somdet Phra Chao Yu Hua Phra Thi Nang Suriyat Amarin (Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัวพระที่นั่งสุริยาสน์อมรินทร์) or Somdet Phra Chao Ekkathat (Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าเอกทัศ) was the 33rd and last monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, ruling from 1758 to 1767 prior to the fall of the kingdom. The name "Ekkathat" means the one with only one eye, for the King was believed to have lost one of his eyes. Moreover, he was called by the people at the time being that "Khun Luang Khi Ruean" (Thai: ขุนหลวงขี้เรื้อน), meaning "the mangy king"; he was also believed to have been in leprosy.
[edit] Reign
Prince Ekkathat, or Kromma Khun Anurak Montri (Thai: กรมขุนอนุรักษ์มนตรี), was a son of Borommakot. His elder brother, Prince Thammathibet, was made the Front Palace in 1732. However, Thammathibet had an affair with one of his father's concubines. Ekkathat, upon knowing this, told Boromakot about the lovers. Thammathibet was thus beaten to death in 1746. Ekkathat, who was then next in the succession line, were expected to be the Front Palace. However, Borommakot halted the appointment because of Ekkathat's incompetence.
One year before his death, Borommakot decided to skip Ekkathat and appointted Ekkathat's younger brother, Uthumphon, as the Front Palace. In 1758, Borommakot died. Uthumphon was then crowned, and Ekkathat entered in priesthood to signify his surrender. However, two months after that, Ekkathat returned and claimed for the throne. Ekkathat settled himself in the Suriyat Amarin Palace—therefore came his name Somdet Phra Thi Nang Suriyat Amarin (Literally: the King of Suriyat Amarin Palace). The civil war ensued. He fought against his half-brothers—Kromma Khun Chit Sunthon, Kromma Muen Sunthon Thep and Kromma Muen Sep Phakdi. Ekkathat readily defeated and executed them. Uthumphon was forced to abdicate, and Ekkathat was crowned.
According to an account of Siamese captive after the fall of Ayutthaya, the early years of Ekathat witnessed the revival attempt. The king followed the tradition by donating money to temples. Building of new temples occurred. The trade with foreigners was supported. The western coast ports such as Mergui and Tenasserim were active. However, according to the Burmese and English accounts, when the Mons took refuge in the kingdom, after the Burmese conquest, Ayutthaya became the next target of the Burmese.
[edit] Burmese Invasion and Ayutthaya's Downfall
In 1760, Alaungpaya of Burma led his armies invading Ayutthaya. Ekkathat urged his abdicated brother, Uthumphon, to lead the battles. However, Alaungpaya died during the campaigns, postponing the death of Ayutthaya for another 7 years.
Siam under Ekkathat was in turmoil. Ayutthaya lost its control over network cities and Ekkathat was said to be indulged by the luxury of the court and concubines. The peasants went on the rebellion. In 1766, the Burmese armies again invaded Siam—through Mergui under Mahanoratha and Lanna under Neimyo Thihapate after subjugating Lanna and Laotian kingdoms. The Burmese captured various peripheral cities to cut down any supports given to Ayutthaya. A Dutch source said the court faced bankruptcy. The capital totally lost contact with its satellite. Ayutthaya was then helpless.
Local accounts told that Ekkathat desperately tried to counter the Burmese. He ordered his remaining armies and fleets to counter the Burmese at Ratchaburi and Thon Buri, but the Burmese crushed them all. The two Burmese armies joined at Ayutthaya and laid the siege on the city. A foreign account claimed that Ekathat and his family secretly fled from the capital. The nobles then agreed to surrender. On April 7, 1767, Ayutthaya fell. The Burmese looted and burnt the city to the ground.
Siamese chronicles said Ekkathat died upon having been in starvation for more than ten days while concealing himself at Ban Chik Wood (Thai: ป่าบ้านจิก), adjacent to Wat Sangkhawat (Thai: วัดสังฆาวาส). His dead body was discovered by the Burmese. It was buried at a mound named "Khok Phra Men" (Thai: โคกพระเมรุ), in front of a Siamese revered temple called "Phra Wihan Phra Mongkhonlabophit" (Thai: พระวิหารพระมงคลบพิตร). The Burmese chronicles, however, said that Ekkathat was shot to death while fleeing the palace. Soon after, Taksin (governor of Tak), an Ayutthaya's military tactician and strategist, eventually drove the Burmese out and founded the Kingdom of Thon Buri.
[edit] Reign
Prince Ekkathat, or Kromma Khun Anurak Montri (Thai: กรมขุนอนุรักษ์มนตรี), was a son of Borommakot. His elder brother, Prince Thammathibet, was made the Front Palace in 1732. However, Thammathibet had an affair with one of his father's concubines. Ekkathat, upon knowing this, told Boromakot about the lovers. Thammathibet was thus beaten to death in 1746. Ekkathat, who was then next in the succession line, were expected to be the Front Palace. However, Borommakot halted the appointment because of Ekkathat's incompetence.
One year before his death, Borommakot decided to skip Ekkathat and appointted Ekkathat's younger brother, Uthumphon, as the Front Palace. In 1758, Borommakot died. Uthumphon was then crowned, and Ekkathat entered in priesthood to signify his surrender. However, two months after that, Ekkathat returned and claimed for the throne. Ekkathat settled himself in the Suriyat Amarin Palace—therefore came his name Somdet Phra Thi Nang Suriyat Amarin (Literally: the King of Suriyat Amarin Palace). The civil war ensued. He fought against his half-brothers—Kromma Khun Chit Sunthon, Kromma Muen Sunthon Thep and Kromma Muen Sep Phakdi. Ekkathat readily defeated and executed them. Uthumphon was forced to abdicate, and Ekkathat was crowned.
According to an account of Siamese captive after the fall of Ayutthaya, the early years of Ekathat witnessed the revival attempt. The king followed the tradition by donating money to temples. Building of new temples occurred. The trade with foreigners was supported. The western coast ports such as Mergui and Tenasserim were active. However, according to the Burmese and English accounts, when the Mons took refuge in the kingdom, after the Burmese conquest, Ayutthaya became the next target of the Burmese.
[edit] Burmese Invasion and Ayutthaya's Downfall
In 1760, Alaungpaya of Burma led his armies invading Ayutthaya. Ekkathat urged his abdicated brother, Uthumphon, to lead the battles. However, Alaungpaya died during the campaigns, postponing the death of Ayutthaya for another 7 years.
Siam under Ekkathat was in turmoil. Ayutthaya lost its control over network cities and Ekkathat was said to be indulged by the luxury of the court and concubines. The peasants went on the rebellion. In 1766, the Burmese armies again invaded Siam—through Mergui under Mahanoratha and Lanna under Neimyo Thihapate after subjugating Lanna and Laotian kingdoms. The Burmese captured various peripheral cities to cut down any supports given to Ayutthaya. A Dutch source said the court faced bankruptcy. The capital totally lost contact with its satellite. Ayutthaya was then helpless.
Local accounts told that Ekkathat desperately tried to counter the Burmese. He ordered his remaining armies and fleets to counter the Burmese at Ratchaburi and Thon Buri, but the Burmese crushed them all. The two Burmese armies joined at Ayutthaya and laid the siege on the city. A foreign account claimed that Ekathat and his family secretly fled from the capital. The nobles then agreed to surrender. On April 7, 1767, Ayutthaya fell. The Burmese looted and burnt the city to the ground.
Siamese chronicles said Ekkathat died upon having been in starvation for more than ten days while concealing himself at Ban Chik Wood (Thai: ป่าบ้านจิก), adjacent to Wat Sangkhawat (Thai: วัดสังฆาวาส). His dead body was discovered by the Burmese. It was buried at a mound named "Khok Phra Men" (Thai: โคกพระเมรุ), in front of a Siamese revered temple called "Phra Wihan Phra Mongkhonlabophit" (Thai: พระวิหารพระมงคลบพิตร). The Burmese chronicles, however, said that Ekkathat was shot to death while fleeing the palace. Soon after, Taksin (governor of Tak), an Ayutthaya's military tactician and strategist, eventually drove the Burmese out and founded the Kingdom of Thon Buri.
UTHUMPHON.
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Chao Uthomphon Mahaphon Phinit (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระอุทุมพรมหาพรพินิต) was the 32nd and penultimate monarch of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, ruling in 1758 for about two months. Facing various throne claimants, Uthumphon was finally forced to abdicate and enter monkhood. For his preference of being a monk to keep the throne, earned him the epithet "Khun Luang Ha Wat" (Thai: ขุนหลวงหาวัด), or "the king who prefers the temple".
Prince Dok Duea or Prince Uthumphon—"Dok Duea" (ดอกเดื่อ) and "Uthmphon" (อุทุมพร) are under the same meaning, "fig"—was a son of Borommakot. In 1746, his elder brother, Prince Thammathibet who had been appointed as the Front Palace, was beaten to death for his affair with one of Borommakot's concubines. Borommakot didn't appoint the new Front Palace as Kromm Khun Anurak Montri or Ekkathat, the next in succession line, was proved to be incompetent. In 1757, Borommakot finally decided to skip Anurak Montri altogether and made Uthumphon the Front Palace—becoming Kromma Khun Phon Phinit.
In 1758, upon the passing of Borommakot, Uthumphon was crowned. However, he faced oppositions from his three half-brothers, namely, Kromma Meun Chit Sunthon, Kromma Meun Sunthon Thep, and Kromma Meun Sep Phakdi. Uthumphon then reconciled with his half-brothers and took the throne peacefully.
Ekkathat, who had become a monk, decided to made himself a king only two months after Uthumphon's coronation. The three half-brothers resented and fought Ekkathat, and they were executed by Ekkathat. Uthumporn then gave up his throne to his brother and leave for the temple outside Ayutthaya so as to become a monk.
In 1760, Alaungpaya of Burma led his armies invading Ayutthaya. Uthumphon was asked to leave monkhood to fight against the Burmese. However, Alongpaya died during the campaigns and the invasion suspended. Uthumphon, once again, returned to monkhood.
The Burmese, however, came back in 1767 under the commission of Hsinbyushin and led by Neimyo Thihapate. Ayutthaya under Ekkathat was in turmoil, without authorities or powers to counter the Burmese invaders. Though he was strongly urged to take role in leading Siamese armies, Uthumphon chose to stay in the monk status. Ayutthaya finally fell. Uthumphon was captured by the Burmese forces and was brought to Burma along with a large number of Ayutthaya's people.
Uthumphon was grounded near Ava, along with other Ayutthaya ex-nobles, where he was forced by the Burmese to give them knowledge about the history and court customs of Ayutthaya—preserved in the Ayutthayan affidavit. Hsinbyushin built a village near Mandalay for Uthumphon and his Siamese people—who then became the Yodia people. In accordance with Burmese chronicles, Uthumphon, as a monk, died in 1796 in the village.
Prince Dok Duea or Prince Uthumphon—"Dok Duea" (ดอกเดื่อ) and "Uthmphon" (อุทุมพร) are under the same meaning, "fig"—was a son of Borommakot. In 1746, his elder brother, Prince Thammathibet who had been appointed as the Front Palace, was beaten to death for his affair with one of Borommakot's concubines. Borommakot didn't appoint the new Front Palace as Kromm Khun Anurak Montri or Ekkathat, the next in succession line, was proved to be incompetent. In 1757, Borommakot finally decided to skip Anurak Montri altogether and made Uthumphon the Front Palace—becoming Kromma Khun Phon Phinit.
In 1758, upon the passing of Borommakot, Uthumphon was crowned. However, he faced oppositions from his three half-brothers, namely, Kromma Meun Chit Sunthon, Kromma Meun Sunthon Thep, and Kromma Meun Sep Phakdi. Uthumphon then reconciled with his half-brothers and took the throne peacefully.
Ekkathat, who had become a monk, decided to made himself a king only two months after Uthumphon's coronation. The three half-brothers resented and fought Ekkathat, and they were executed by Ekkathat. Uthumporn then gave up his throne to his brother and leave for the temple outside Ayutthaya so as to become a monk.
In 1760, Alaungpaya of Burma led his armies invading Ayutthaya. Uthumphon was asked to leave monkhood to fight against the Burmese. However, Alongpaya died during the campaigns and the invasion suspended. Uthumphon, once again, returned to monkhood.
The Burmese, however, came back in 1767 under the commission of Hsinbyushin and led by Neimyo Thihapate. Ayutthaya under Ekkathat was in turmoil, without authorities or powers to counter the Burmese invaders. Though he was strongly urged to take role in leading Siamese armies, Uthumphon chose to stay in the monk status. Ayutthaya finally fell. Uthumphon was captured by the Burmese forces and was brought to Burma along with a large number of Ayutthaya's people.
Uthumphon was grounded near Ava, along with other Ayutthaya ex-nobles, where he was forced by the Burmese to give them knowledge about the history and court customs of Ayutthaya—preserved in the Ayutthayan affidavit. Hsinbyushin built a village near Mandalay for Uthumphon and his Siamese people—who then became the Yodia people. In accordance with Burmese chronicles, Uthumphon, as a monk, died in 1796 in the village.
BOROMAKOT
Somdet Phra Chaoyuhua Boromakot (Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัวบรมโกศ) or Somdet Phra Boromaracha Dhiraj III (Thai: สมเด็จพระบรมราชาธิราชที่ 3) was the king of Ayutthaya from 1732 to 1758. His reign was the last blooming period of Ayutthaya as the kingdom would fall nine years after his death.
Prince Porn was the son of Phra Chao Suea. His elder brother, Prince Petch, succeeded the throne as Tai Sa in 1708. Porn was then appointed as the Front Palace. Upon the death of Tai Sa, however, Tai Sa decided to give his throne to his son, Prince Abhay, instead of his brother. In 1732, Tai Sa died and the civil war commenced. Porn led his armies against his newphews, Prince Abhay and Prince Poramet. The civil war was bloodshed and torn Ayutthaya apart. With the victory ensured, Porn executed his nephews and took the throne as King Boromakot.
Because the Samuha Kalahom had lent the support to Prince Abhay, Boromakot removed the power of Samuha Kalahom by depriving its authorities over southern Siam and transferred the power to Krom Tha instead. The Samuha Kalahom remained as a mere military figurehead.
In spite of the bloodshed that preceded his reign, Boromakot was known for his reconstruction of Buddhist temples and the peace and prosperity Ayutthaya finally enjoyed again. In 1753, Boromakot sent two Siamese monks to rehabitilate Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
In 1741, Boromakot made his son Dharmmadhibet the Front Palace. Dharmmadhibet proved to be an able prince and was a poet. However, Dharmmadhibet had an affair with one of Boromakot's concubines - a crime of great severity. The lovers got caught in 1746 and both of them were executed.
Boromakot then appointed his third son, Duea (later became Uthumporn), as the Front Palace. Boromakot skipped his second son, Ekatat, because he thought that Ekatat was not suitable to be a king. Ekatat always claiming his rights to the throne then and the struggles of princes for the throne would contribute to the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.
Prince Porn was the son of Phra Chao Suea. His elder brother, Prince Petch, succeeded the throne as Tai Sa in 1708. Porn was then appointed as the Front Palace. Upon the death of Tai Sa, however, Tai Sa decided to give his throne to his son, Prince Abhay, instead of his brother. In 1732, Tai Sa died and the civil war commenced. Porn led his armies against his newphews, Prince Abhay and Prince Poramet. The civil war was bloodshed and torn Ayutthaya apart. With the victory ensured, Porn executed his nephews and took the throne as King Boromakot.
Because the Samuha Kalahom had lent the support to Prince Abhay, Boromakot removed the power of Samuha Kalahom by depriving its authorities over southern Siam and transferred the power to Krom Tha instead. The Samuha Kalahom remained as a mere military figurehead.
In spite of the bloodshed that preceded his reign, Boromakot was known for his reconstruction of Buddhist temples and the peace and prosperity Ayutthaya finally enjoyed again. In 1753, Boromakot sent two Siamese monks to rehabitilate Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
In 1741, Boromakot made his son Dharmmadhibet the Front Palace. Dharmmadhibet proved to be an able prince and was a poet. However, Dharmmadhibet had an affair with one of Boromakot's concubines - a crime of great severity. The lovers got caught in 1746 and both of them were executed.
Boromakot then appointed his third son, Duea (later became Uthumporn), as the Front Palace. Boromakot skipped his second son, Ekatat, because he thought that Ekatat was not suitable to be a king. Ekatat always claiming his rights to the throne then and the struggles of princes for the throne would contribute to the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.
SURIYENTHRATHIBODI
Sanphet VIII or Suriyenthrathibodi (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระสรรเพชญที่ ๘, สมเด็จพระเจ้าเสือ, สมเด็จพระเจ้าสุริเยนทราบดี) was the King of Ayutthaya from 1703 to 1709 and the second ruler of the Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty. Suriyenthrathibodi was well known as Luang Sorasak or Phrachao Suea, the latter means the "Tiger King". He was the eldest son of the founder of the Ban Phlu Luang dynasty, Phetracha
PHETRACHA.
Phetracha (alternative spellings: Bedraja, P'etraja, Petraja, Petratcha; also called Phra Phetracha; Thai: สมเด็จพระเพทราชา; 1632 - 1703) was a king of the Ayutthaya kingdom in Thailand, usurping the throne from his predecessor King Narai and founding the Ban Phlu Luang dynasty, the final one of the Ayutthaya kingdom.[1] Originally a member of king Narai's extended family (two of his relatives were among Narai's wives), he was a trusted councilor of Narai, and leader of the Royal Elephant Corps. However in 1688 he led the Siamese revolution of 1688, had Narai's heirs executed, and by marrying Narai's only daughter, took the throne of Thailand upon Narai's death. He reversed the pro-Western policies of Narai, ejecting foreigners from the kingdom, and launched the Siege of Bangkok, to exile all French troops from Siam. As a result, Siam stayed isolated from Western contact until the 19th century.
Contents[hide]
1 Background
2 Crisis in Thailand
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
//
[edit] Background
Phetracha was born in 1632 at Baan Plu Luang, Suphanburi. De la Loubère has recorded that he was a cousin of King Narai, and that his mother was also King Narai's milkmaid. It was also recorded that his sister was one of King Narai's queens.
He started his civil service career as master of the royal elephants, which was a high military position. Hence, he was sometime referred to as "the Elephant Prince".
It is interesting to note that while Thai historians recorded that Phetracha was not interested in being King, Jesuit missionaries stated otherwise, that he was an ambitious man. While this matter is ambiguous, it is generally agreed that he is a very influential figure in that period, harboring respect from many officers. It is also said that he strongly believed in Buddhism, thus gaining support from many monks, who feared Thailand was being converted to Christianity. Moreover, Phetracha seemed to gain King Narai's trust as well, as he was one of King Narai's close aides and confidants. When the royal palace at Lopburi was finished, King Narai would stay there for many months in a year, leaving Phetracha as regent to take care of matters in Ayutthaya.
Phetracha's rivalry with counsellor Constantine Phaulkon is understandable. While Phaulkon's ideology was to open Thailand to the international community (and benefit from the expansion of foreign trading), Phetracha was a traditionalist who was allegedly disgusted by international influence in Thailand. King Narai himself favored the opening of his country and created many diplomatic ties with European countries, notably France.
[edit] Crisis in Thailand
There was a crisis in Thailand in 1686, when British battleships surrounded the port town of Marit (now Mergui) and demanded 65,000 pounds sterling for 60 British men allegedly slain by Phaulkon's men. King Narai decided to give away Marid to France. At the same time, however, the French government sent 6 battleships and 500 troops to Ayutthaya. They demanded the port town of Bangkok, and that King Narai convert to Christianity. Eventually, a treaty was signed on December 11, 1687. The King's conversion was not acceptable, but Thailand had to give Bangkok over to French rule, and the aforementioned troops were stationed in Bangkok.
The crisis did not bode well with Thai society. Many officers felt that national pride was hurt, that Thailand was on the verge of becoming France's colony, and many Buddhist monks were afraid that King Narai would eventually become a Christian. Thus, Phetracha became the center of the nationalist movement and was respected throughout the government.
When he heard that King Narai had become terminally ill, Phetracha killed the rightful heir and beheaded Phaulkon. It was not certain whether he and his son assassinated King Narai or not (official history states that King Narai died in front of him and his son of natural causes). In order to legitimate his coup d'état, Phetracha married the sister and the daughter of the late Narai. His dynasty ruled Ayutthaya for 79 years.
With King Phetracha, according to some modern academics, a representative of the 'nationalist party', who had claimed to defend the kingdom from the French occupation, came to lead the kingdom.[dubious – discuss] He exiled and banned all French representatives. He also negotiated for France to return Bangkok. Only missionaries were allowed to stay.
During his reign, there were many rebellions, as many provinces and vassal states did not accept his rule. Notably, there were wars with Nakhon Si Thammarat and Nakhon Ratchasima 's governors.
Traditionally, Thai historians have regarded Phetracha as a traitor who rebelled against his King and have avoided mentioning him. However, in recent time, his role becomes controversial as he is also regarded by many modern writers as a nationalist who rescued Thailand from being a French colony.
Upon his death in February 1703, Phetracha was succeeded by his eldest son Prince Sorasak, who took the title of Sanphet VIII.[2]
[edit]
Contents[hide]
1 Background
2 Crisis in Thailand
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
//
[edit] Background
Phetracha was born in 1632 at Baan Plu Luang, Suphanburi. De la Loubère has recorded that he was a cousin of King Narai, and that his mother was also King Narai's milkmaid. It was also recorded that his sister was one of King Narai's queens.
He started his civil service career as master of the royal elephants, which was a high military position. Hence, he was sometime referred to as "the Elephant Prince".
It is interesting to note that while Thai historians recorded that Phetracha was not interested in being King, Jesuit missionaries stated otherwise, that he was an ambitious man. While this matter is ambiguous, it is generally agreed that he is a very influential figure in that period, harboring respect from many officers. It is also said that he strongly believed in Buddhism, thus gaining support from many monks, who feared Thailand was being converted to Christianity. Moreover, Phetracha seemed to gain King Narai's trust as well, as he was one of King Narai's close aides and confidants. When the royal palace at Lopburi was finished, King Narai would stay there for many months in a year, leaving Phetracha as regent to take care of matters in Ayutthaya.
Phetracha's rivalry with counsellor Constantine Phaulkon is understandable. While Phaulkon's ideology was to open Thailand to the international community (and benefit from the expansion of foreign trading), Phetracha was a traditionalist who was allegedly disgusted by international influence in Thailand. King Narai himself favored the opening of his country and created many diplomatic ties with European countries, notably France.
[edit] Crisis in Thailand
There was a crisis in Thailand in 1686, when British battleships surrounded the port town of Marit (now Mergui) and demanded 65,000 pounds sterling for 60 British men allegedly slain by Phaulkon's men. King Narai decided to give away Marid to France. At the same time, however, the French government sent 6 battleships and 500 troops to Ayutthaya. They demanded the port town of Bangkok, and that King Narai convert to Christianity. Eventually, a treaty was signed on December 11, 1687. The King's conversion was not acceptable, but Thailand had to give Bangkok over to French rule, and the aforementioned troops were stationed in Bangkok.
The crisis did not bode well with Thai society. Many officers felt that national pride was hurt, that Thailand was on the verge of becoming France's colony, and many Buddhist monks were afraid that King Narai would eventually become a Christian. Thus, Phetracha became the center of the nationalist movement and was respected throughout the government.
When he heard that King Narai had become terminally ill, Phetracha killed the rightful heir and beheaded Phaulkon. It was not certain whether he and his son assassinated King Narai or not (official history states that King Narai died in front of him and his son of natural causes). In order to legitimate his coup d'état, Phetracha married the sister and the daughter of the late Narai. His dynasty ruled Ayutthaya for 79 years.
With King Phetracha, according to some modern academics, a representative of the 'nationalist party', who had claimed to defend the kingdom from the French occupation, came to lead the kingdom.[dubious – discuss] He exiled and banned all French representatives. He also negotiated for France to return Bangkok. Only missionaries were allowed to stay.
During his reign, there were many rebellions, as many provinces and vassal states did not accept his rule. Notably, there were wars with Nakhon Si Thammarat and Nakhon Ratchasima 's governors.
Traditionally, Thai historians have regarded Phetracha as a traitor who rebelled against his King and have avoided mentioning him. However, in recent time, his role becomes controversial as he is also regarded by many modern writers as a nationalist who rescued Thailand from being a French colony.
Upon his death in February 1703, Phetracha was succeeded by his eldest son Prince Sorasak, who took the title of Sanphet VIII.[2]
[edit]
KING NARAI.
This article is about the Thai king. For the Japanese village of Narai, see Shiojiri, Nagano.
Narai the Greatสมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช
King of Ayutthaya
Statue of King Narai
King of Siam
Reign
26 August 1656 – 11 July 1688
Predecessor
Suthammaracha (Sanpet IV)
Successor
Phetracha
Issue
Princess Sudavadi
House
Prasat Thong Dynasty
Father
King Prasat Thong
Mother
Princess Siri Galyani
Born
1629
Died
11 July 1688(aged c.58- 59)
Somdet Phra Narai (Thai: สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช 1633 - 11 July 1688) or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi III (Thai: สมเด็จพระรามาธิบดีที่ 3) was the king of Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688 and allegedly the most famous Ayutthayan king. His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw the great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the Persians and the West. During the later years of his reign, Narai gave his favorite – the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon – so much power that Phaulkon technically became the chancellor of the state. Through the arrangements of Phaulkon, the Siamese kingdom came into close diplomatic relations with the court of Louis XIV and French soldiers and missionaries filled the Siamese aristocracy and defense. The dominance of French officials led to frictions between them and the native mandarins and led to the turbulent revolution of 1688 towards the end of his reign. Narai’s reign was also known for a small war with England in 1687 and the invasion of Burmese Lanna in 1662.
Nevertheless, the presence of numerous foreigners from the French Jesuits to the Persian delegates has left historians with rich sources of material on the city of Ayutthaya and its courtly life in the seventeenth century that otherwise would not have survived the complete destruction of the capital in 1767.
Contents[hide]
1 Succession
2 Domestic Policy
3 Foreign Missions
4 The "Revolution" of 1688
5 Legacy
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
//
[edit] Succession
Prince Narai was born in 1633 to King Prasat Thong and his Queen Sirikalayani who was a daughter of Songtham. Prasat Thong had just usurped the throne from the ruling Sukhothai dynasty in 1629 and founded the dynasty of his own. Narai had an elder brother Prince Chai and an Uncle Prince Si Suthammaracha. Upon Prasat Thong’s death in, Prince Chai succeeded his father as King Sanpet VI.
However, it was the Sukhothai tradition that gave brothers a higher priority over sons in succession. Prince Suthammaracha plotted with Prince Narai to bring Sanpet VI down. After nine months of ascension, Sanpet VI was executed in a coup. Narai and his uncle marched[1] into the palace and Si Suthammaracha was made king. Si Suthammaracha appointed Narai as the Uparaja or the Front Palace. However, Narai himself was also an ambitious prince who had requested the Dutch for supports against his uncle. Si Suthammaracha’s rule was weak and he fell under the control of Chao Phraya Chakri – an ambitious mandarin who also wanted the throne himself.
Narai drew his supports from Phraya Sukhothai and Persians mercenaries living in Ayutthaya. In 1656, Narai and his uncle finally alienated each other. Si Suthammaracha had affections of Narai’s sister Princess Racha Kalayani. He ordered his soldiers to enclose her residence and himself invade the house. The princess hid in the book chest and was moved to the Front Palace were he met her brother.
[edit] Domestic Policy
Memorial plate in Lopburi showing king Narai with French ambassadors.
Domestic policies in King Narai's reign were greatly affected by the interference of foreign powers most notably the Chinese to the north, the Dutch to the South, and the English who were making their first forays into India to the west. Policies revolved around either directly countering the influence, or creating a delicate balance of power between the different parties.
Fearing a possible weakening of influence in the northern vassal states following the successful Chinese invasion of Ava in 1660, King Narai mounted an expedition to bring Chiang Mai under the direct control of Ayutthya. Although the expedition was successful in taking control of Lampang and other smaller cities, a second expedition had to be conducted to bring Chiang Mai under control.
There was also trouble on the Tenasserim coast at the port of Mergui. In July 1687, an incident that came to be known as the Mergui massacre occurred that resulted in the massacre of some sixty Englishmen. The incident had origins in a deterioration of the relationship between Siam and the East India Company. Phaulkon had appointed two English acquaintances of his as governors of Mergui, and they used the port as a base for privateering expeditions against the Kingdom of Golconda, which had friendly relations with the East India Company. In April 1687 the East India Company demanded £65,000 compensation from Narai and blockaded Mergui. Fearing a trial on the charge of piracy, the two English governors of Mergui lavishly entertained the captains of the ship. However, the entertainment aroused the suspicion of the Siamese authorities, who took matters into their own hands and opened fire on the English ships and massacred all the Englishmen they could lay their hands on. Narai then declared war on the East India Company, and handed control of Mergui over to a French governor and a small French garrison.[2] At the same time, he also granted a concession of the strategic port of Bangkok to France with the view of countering Dutch influence.[3]
King Narai also constructed a new palace at present-day Lopburi ("Louvo" in the French accounts) utilising the expertise of Jesuit architects and engineers. European influences are clearly evident in the architectural style, especially the use of wide windows. The move to Lopburi was arguably prompted by the Dutch naval blockade of Ayutthaya in 1664 to enforce a fur monopoly.
King Narai observes a lunar eclipse with French Jesuits at Lopburi, 1685
Although Catholic missions had been present in Ayutthaya as early as 1567 under Portuguese Dominicans, King Narai's reign saw the first concerted attempt to convert the monarch to Catholicism under the auspices of French Jesuits who were given permission to settle in Ayutthaya in 1662. The conversion attempt ultimately failed and arguably backfired but Catholics were to remain in Siam up to the present day.
Most controversially, King Narai allowed the rise of Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek adventurer who arrived in Ayutthaya in 1675. Within a few years, Phaulkon had managed to ingratiate himself with the king and became Narai's closest councillor. Under Phaulkon's guidance, King Narai balanced the influence of the Dutch by favouring the French. Phaulkon also encouraged French interest by initially leading them to believe that the king was about to convert to Catholicism. Although King Narai did display a degree of interest in Catholicism, he also displayed an equal interest in Islam and there is no concrete evidence that he wished to convert to either.[4] However, both Catholic and Islamic missions were to come to the conclusion that Phaulkon was responsible for their failures.[5][6] Siamese courtiers also resented Phaulkon's influence and he quickly became the focus of xenophobic sentiments at court, with the future King Phetracha at their head.
[edit] Foreign Missions
See also: France-Thailand relations
The most remarkable aspect of King Narai's reign were the diplomatic missions that he sent and received during his reign. Missions were sent as far afield as France, England, and the Vatican, although at least two missions were lost at sea. Ties with states closer to Ayutthaya were not neglected as missions were also sent to Persia, Golconda (India), China, as well as other neighbouring states.
Undoubtedly, the most celebrated of these missions were those to Europe, in particular France. In 1673, a French ecclesiastical mission arrived at the Siamese court with letters from Pope Clement IX and King Louis XIV of France. King Narai reciprocated by sending a mission to France in 1680 led by Phya Pipatkosa.[7] Although the mission was lost at sea near Madagascar,[8] the French responded positively by sending a commercial mission to Ayutthaya headed by Monsignor Pallu in 1682.
Kosa Pan presents King Narai's letter to Louis XIV at Versailles, 1 September 1686
In 1684, another mission was sent to France. However, they made little impact as according to their missionary interpreter, Benigne Vachet, they were ill-informed and uncouth. The same year also saw the wreck of another Siamese embassy to Portugal near the Cape of Good Hope, under Ok-khun Chamnan who survived. After a series of adventures, Chamnan made his way to the Dutch outpost on the Cape and managed to return via a roundabout route to Siam in 1687, in the process acquiring the Portuguese language, then the lingua franca of Southeast Asia.
Despite the disappointment of the 1684 mission, the French court sent another mission under the Chevalier de Chaumont to Ayutthaya ostensibly to convert King Narai to Catholicism. However at the same time the Persian shah, Suleiman I, had also despatched a mission of his own with the intention of converting Narai to Islam. Ultimately, the result of the de Chaumont mission was some commercial concessions that were equal to those that had been given to the Dutch.
Siamese embassy to Louis XIV in 1686, by Nicolas Larmessin.
A further mission headed by Kosa Pan, a foster brother of King Narai, was sent to France in 1686. However, unlike the first embassy, the second was met with a rapturous reception and caused a sensation in the courts and society of Europe. The mission landed at the French port of Brest before continuing its journey to Versailles, constantly surrounded by crowds of curious onlookers. The "exotic" clothes as well as manners of the envoys (including their kowtowing to Louis XIV), together with a special "machine" that was used to carry King Narai's missive to the French monarch caused much comment in French high society. A fragmentary Siamese account of the mission compiled by Kosa Pan was re-discovered in Paris in the 1980s.[9]
In September 1687, another French mission arrived under Claude Cébéret du Boullay, director of the French East India Company. However, apart from the reaffirmation of the 1685 commercial treaty, the mission achieved little else.
Pope Innocent XI receives the Siamese envoys, led by Father Tachard who reads the translation of the message from King Narai, December 1688
A final mission under Fr. Guy Tachard and Ok-khun Chamnan was dispatched to France and the Vatican in January 1688. However, by the time it returned to Thailand, King Narai was already dead and a new king was on the throne.
[edit] The "Revolution" of 1688
Main article: Siamese revolution (1688)
By 1688 anti-foreign sentiments mainly directed at the French and Phaulkon were reaching their zenith. The Siamese courtiers resented the dominance of the Greek Phaulkon in state affairs, along with his Japanese wife and European lifestyle whilst the Buddhist clergy were uneasy with the increasing prominence of the French Jesuits. The courtiers eventually formed themselves into an Antiforeign faction. It is also notable, however, that other foreigners who had established themselves in Ayutthaya before the French, in particular the Protestant Dutch, English, and the Persians resented the growing political and economic influence of the Catholic French. Even other established Catholic factions, such as the Portuguese, had reason to resent the French presence, a violation of the Treaty of Tordesillas. The increasing French influence not only increased competition but were also an unwelcome reminder of the declining fortunes of Portugal.
Matters were brought to a head when King Narai fell gravely ill in March 1688. Aware of the coming succession dispute, in May Narai called together his closest councillors: Phaulkon, Phra Phetracha, and Mom Pi and nominated his daughter, Kromluang Yothathep to succeed him. The three councillors were to act as regents until the princess took on a partner of her choice from one of the two Siamese councillors.[10] Far from calming the situation, Narai's decision spurred Phetracha to act. With Narai essentially incapacitated by his illness, Phetracha was given a free hand to stage a coup d'état with the support of a resentful court as well as the Buddhist clergy. Mom Pi and Phaulkon were executed as Narai laid furious on his deathbed, unable to do anything to save his favourite.
On the death of King Narai, Phetracha proclaimed himself king, expelled the French and virtually severed all ties with the West. After an initial confinement, missionaries were allowed to continue their work in Ayutthaya, albeit with some restrictions. Contact between Siam and the West remained sporadic, and would not return to the level seen in the reign of King Narai until the reign of King Mongkut in the mid-nineteenth century.
[edit] Legacy
Contemporary French depiction of King Narai.
Although King Narai's reign witnessed the greatest extent of foreign influence at the Siamese court, his diplomatic achievements were to be reversed by his successor. It is debatable whether the new introspective attitude of his successors contributed to the weakening and eventual fall of Ayutthaya. On the other hand, the curtailing of foreign influences in the court may have prevented the colonisation of Ayutthaya. Nevertheless, his reign's diplomatic achievements contributed to him being posthumously styled "the Great," one of seven recognised as such in the history of Thailand.
At the same time, the records of those involved in the diplomatic missions, particularly those from the west, have allowed historians to obtain a rare glimpse into the world of the Ayutthayan court as most original Ayutthaya records were destroyed with the city in 1767. These include the French accounts of the Chevalier de Chaumont, the Abbé de Choisy, Fr. Tachard, Claude de Forbin, de la Loubere and the Persian account of Muhammad Rabi' ibn Muhammad Ibrahim. Domestically, the relative stability during his reign also gave rise to the revival of Siamese literature during his reign.[11]
Further afield, one of the main streets of the city of Brest as well as another in Marseilles have been named "Rue de Siam" to commemorate Narai's missions. In addition, among the gifts that were exchanged between the Siamese and the French courts, two items from Siam were to have an unexpected impact on French history. The items were a pair of silver cannons that were eventually stored in the Royal Furniture Repository in Paris since they were classed as gifts rather than weapons. After failing to find usable weapons at the Arsenal, rioting Parisians broke into the Repository and discovered some 20 cannons. However, the Siamese cannons were the only ones that still functioned, and so they were hauled to the Bastille. The date was 14 July 1789.[12]
[edit]
Narai the Greatสมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช
King of Ayutthaya
Statue of King Narai
King of Siam
Reign
26 August 1656 – 11 July 1688
Predecessor
Suthammaracha (Sanpet IV)
Successor
Phetracha
Issue
Princess Sudavadi
House
Prasat Thong Dynasty
Father
King Prasat Thong
Mother
Princess Siri Galyani
Born
1629
Died
11 July 1688(aged c.58- 59)
Somdet Phra Narai (Thai: สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช 1633 - 11 July 1688) or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi III (Thai: สมเด็จพระรามาธิบดีที่ 3) was the king of Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688 and allegedly the most famous Ayutthayan king. His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw the great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the Persians and the West. During the later years of his reign, Narai gave his favorite – the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon – so much power that Phaulkon technically became the chancellor of the state. Through the arrangements of Phaulkon, the Siamese kingdom came into close diplomatic relations with the court of Louis XIV and French soldiers and missionaries filled the Siamese aristocracy and defense. The dominance of French officials led to frictions between them and the native mandarins and led to the turbulent revolution of 1688 towards the end of his reign. Narai’s reign was also known for a small war with England in 1687 and the invasion of Burmese Lanna in 1662.
Nevertheless, the presence of numerous foreigners from the French Jesuits to the Persian delegates has left historians with rich sources of material on the city of Ayutthaya and its courtly life in the seventeenth century that otherwise would not have survived the complete destruction of the capital in 1767.
Contents[hide]
1 Succession
2 Domestic Policy
3 Foreign Missions
4 The "Revolution" of 1688
5 Legacy
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
//
[edit] Succession
Prince Narai was born in 1633 to King Prasat Thong and his Queen Sirikalayani who was a daughter of Songtham. Prasat Thong had just usurped the throne from the ruling Sukhothai dynasty in 1629 and founded the dynasty of his own. Narai had an elder brother Prince Chai and an Uncle Prince Si Suthammaracha. Upon Prasat Thong’s death in, Prince Chai succeeded his father as King Sanpet VI.
However, it was the Sukhothai tradition that gave brothers a higher priority over sons in succession. Prince Suthammaracha plotted with Prince Narai to bring Sanpet VI down. After nine months of ascension, Sanpet VI was executed in a coup. Narai and his uncle marched[1] into the palace and Si Suthammaracha was made king. Si Suthammaracha appointed Narai as the Uparaja or the Front Palace. However, Narai himself was also an ambitious prince who had requested the Dutch for supports against his uncle. Si Suthammaracha’s rule was weak and he fell under the control of Chao Phraya Chakri – an ambitious mandarin who also wanted the throne himself.
Narai drew his supports from Phraya Sukhothai and Persians mercenaries living in Ayutthaya. In 1656, Narai and his uncle finally alienated each other. Si Suthammaracha had affections of Narai’s sister Princess Racha Kalayani. He ordered his soldiers to enclose her residence and himself invade the house. The princess hid in the book chest and was moved to the Front Palace were he met her brother.
[edit] Domestic Policy
Memorial plate in Lopburi showing king Narai with French ambassadors.
Domestic policies in King Narai's reign were greatly affected by the interference of foreign powers most notably the Chinese to the north, the Dutch to the South, and the English who were making their first forays into India to the west. Policies revolved around either directly countering the influence, or creating a delicate balance of power between the different parties.
Fearing a possible weakening of influence in the northern vassal states following the successful Chinese invasion of Ava in 1660, King Narai mounted an expedition to bring Chiang Mai under the direct control of Ayutthya. Although the expedition was successful in taking control of Lampang and other smaller cities, a second expedition had to be conducted to bring Chiang Mai under control.
There was also trouble on the Tenasserim coast at the port of Mergui. In July 1687, an incident that came to be known as the Mergui massacre occurred that resulted in the massacre of some sixty Englishmen. The incident had origins in a deterioration of the relationship between Siam and the East India Company. Phaulkon had appointed two English acquaintances of his as governors of Mergui, and they used the port as a base for privateering expeditions against the Kingdom of Golconda, which had friendly relations with the East India Company. In April 1687 the East India Company demanded £65,000 compensation from Narai and blockaded Mergui. Fearing a trial on the charge of piracy, the two English governors of Mergui lavishly entertained the captains of the ship. However, the entertainment aroused the suspicion of the Siamese authorities, who took matters into their own hands and opened fire on the English ships and massacred all the Englishmen they could lay their hands on. Narai then declared war on the East India Company, and handed control of Mergui over to a French governor and a small French garrison.[2] At the same time, he also granted a concession of the strategic port of Bangkok to France with the view of countering Dutch influence.[3]
King Narai also constructed a new palace at present-day Lopburi ("Louvo" in the French accounts) utilising the expertise of Jesuit architects and engineers. European influences are clearly evident in the architectural style, especially the use of wide windows. The move to Lopburi was arguably prompted by the Dutch naval blockade of Ayutthaya in 1664 to enforce a fur monopoly.
King Narai observes a lunar eclipse with French Jesuits at Lopburi, 1685
Although Catholic missions had been present in Ayutthaya as early as 1567 under Portuguese Dominicans, King Narai's reign saw the first concerted attempt to convert the monarch to Catholicism under the auspices of French Jesuits who were given permission to settle in Ayutthaya in 1662. The conversion attempt ultimately failed and arguably backfired but Catholics were to remain in Siam up to the present day.
Most controversially, King Narai allowed the rise of Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek adventurer who arrived in Ayutthaya in 1675. Within a few years, Phaulkon had managed to ingratiate himself with the king and became Narai's closest councillor. Under Phaulkon's guidance, King Narai balanced the influence of the Dutch by favouring the French. Phaulkon also encouraged French interest by initially leading them to believe that the king was about to convert to Catholicism. Although King Narai did display a degree of interest in Catholicism, he also displayed an equal interest in Islam and there is no concrete evidence that he wished to convert to either.[4] However, both Catholic and Islamic missions were to come to the conclusion that Phaulkon was responsible for their failures.[5][6] Siamese courtiers also resented Phaulkon's influence and he quickly became the focus of xenophobic sentiments at court, with the future King Phetracha at their head.
[edit] Foreign Missions
See also: France-Thailand relations
The most remarkable aspect of King Narai's reign were the diplomatic missions that he sent and received during his reign. Missions were sent as far afield as France, England, and the Vatican, although at least two missions were lost at sea. Ties with states closer to Ayutthaya were not neglected as missions were also sent to Persia, Golconda (India), China, as well as other neighbouring states.
Undoubtedly, the most celebrated of these missions were those to Europe, in particular France. In 1673, a French ecclesiastical mission arrived at the Siamese court with letters from Pope Clement IX and King Louis XIV of France. King Narai reciprocated by sending a mission to France in 1680 led by Phya Pipatkosa.[7] Although the mission was lost at sea near Madagascar,[8] the French responded positively by sending a commercial mission to Ayutthaya headed by Monsignor Pallu in 1682.
Kosa Pan presents King Narai's letter to Louis XIV at Versailles, 1 September 1686
In 1684, another mission was sent to France. However, they made little impact as according to their missionary interpreter, Benigne Vachet, they were ill-informed and uncouth. The same year also saw the wreck of another Siamese embassy to Portugal near the Cape of Good Hope, under Ok-khun Chamnan who survived. After a series of adventures, Chamnan made his way to the Dutch outpost on the Cape and managed to return via a roundabout route to Siam in 1687, in the process acquiring the Portuguese language, then the lingua franca of Southeast Asia.
Despite the disappointment of the 1684 mission, the French court sent another mission under the Chevalier de Chaumont to Ayutthaya ostensibly to convert King Narai to Catholicism. However at the same time the Persian shah, Suleiman I, had also despatched a mission of his own with the intention of converting Narai to Islam. Ultimately, the result of the de Chaumont mission was some commercial concessions that were equal to those that had been given to the Dutch.
Siamese embassy to Louis XIV in 1686, by Nicolas Larmessin.
A further mission headed by Kosa Pan, a foster brother of King Narai, was sent to France in 1686. However, unlike the first embassy, the second was met with a rapturous reception and caused a sensation in the courts and society of Europe. The mission landed at the French port of Brest before continuing its journey to Versailles, constantly surrounded by crowds of curious onlookers. The "exotic" clothes as well as manners of the envoys (including their kowtowing to Louis XIV), together with a special "machine" that was used to carry King Narai's missive to the French monarch caused much comment in French high society. A fragmentary Siamese account of the mission compiled by Kosa Pan was re-discovered in Paris in the 1980s.[9]
In September 1687, another French mission arrived under Claude Cébéret du Boullay, director of the French East India Company. However, apart from the reaffirmation of the 1685 commercial treaty, the mission achieved little else.
Pope Innocent XI receives the Siamese envoys, led by Father Tachard who reads the translation of the message from King Narai, December 1688
A final mission under Fr. Guy Tachard and Ok-khun Chamnan was dispatched to France and the Vatican in January 1688. However, by the time it returned to Thailand, King Narai was already dead and a new king was on the throne.
[edit] The "Revolution" of 1688
Main article: Siamese revolution (1688)
By 1688 anti-foreign sentiments mainly directed at the French and Phaulkon were reaching their zenith. The Siamese courtiers resented the dominance of the Greek Phaulkon in state affairs, along with his Japanese wife and European lifestyle whilst the Buddhist clergy were uneasy with the increasing prominence of the French Jesuits. The courtiers eventually formed themselves into an Antiforeign faction. It is also notable, however, that other foreigners who had established themselves in Ayutthaya before the French, in particular the Protestant Dutch, English, and the Persians resented the growing political and economic influence of the Catholic French. Even other established Catholic factions, such as the Portuguese, had reason to resent the French presence, a violation of the Treaty of Tordesillas. The increasing French influence not only increased competition but were also an unwelcome reminder of the declining fortunes of Portugal.
Matters were brought to a head when King Narai fell gravely ill in March 1688. Aware of the coming succession dispute, in May Narai called together his closest councillors: Phaulkon, Phra Phetracha, and Mom Pi and nominated his daughter, Kromluang Yothathep to succeed him. The three councillors were to act as regents until the princess took on a partner of her choice from one of the two Siamese councillors.[10] Far from calming the situation, Narai's decision spurred Phetracha to act. With Narai essentially incapacitated by his illness, Phetracha was given a free hand to stage a coup d'état with the support of a resentful court as well as the Buddhist clergy. Mom Pi and Phaulkon were executed as Narai laid furious on his deathbed, unable to do anything to save his favourite.
On the death of King Narai, Phetracha proclaimed himself king, expelled the French and virtually severed all ties with the West. After an initial confinement, missionaries were allowed to continue their work in Ayutthaya, albeit with some restrictions. Contact between Siam and the West remained sporadic, and would not return to the level seen in the reign of King Narai until the reign of King Mongkut in the mid-nineteenth century.
[edit] Legacy
Contemporary French depiction of King Narai.
Although King Narai's reign witnessed the greatest extent of foreign influence at the Siamese court, his diplomatic achievements were to be reversed by his successor. It is debatable whether the new introspective attitude of his successors contributed to the weakening and eventual fall of Ayutthaya. On the other hand, the curtailing of foreign influences in the court may have prevented the colonisation of Ayutthaya. Nevertheless, his reign's diplomatic achievements contributed to him being posthumously styled "the Great," one of seven recognised as such in the history of Thailand.
At the same time, the records of those involved in the diplomatic missions, particularly those from the west, have allowed historians to obtain a rare glimpse into the world of the Ayutthayan court as most original Ayutthaya records were destroyed with the city in 1767. These include the French accounts of the Chevalier de Chaumont, the Abbé de Choisy, Fr. Tachard, Claude de Forbin, de la Loubere and the Persian account of Muhammad Rabi' ibn Muhammad Ibrahim. Domestically, the relative stability during his reign also gave rise to the revival of Siamese literature during his reign.[11]
Further afield, one of the main streets of the city of Brest as well as another in Marseilles have been named "Rue de Siam" to commemorate Narai's missions. In addition, among the gifts that were exchanged between the Siamese and the French courts, two items from Siam were to have an unexpected impact on French history. The items were a pair of silver cannons that were eventually stored in the Royal Furniture Repository in Paris since they were classed as gifts rather than weapons. After failing to find usable weapons at the Arsenal, rioting Parisians broke into the Repository and discovered some 20 cannons. However, the Siamese cannons were the only ones that still functioned, and so they were hauled to the Bastille. The date was 14 July 1789.[12]
[edit]
KING PRASAT THONG.
King Prasat Thong (Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าปราสาททอง) (reigned 1629-1656) was the first king of Prasat Thong dynasty, the 4th dynasty of Ayutthaya kingdom. He was the Defense minister (ออกญากลาโหม) of King Songtham.
It is said that Prasat Thong was a secret son of King Ekathotsarot and a villager. He came to power by a coup, murdering a young king. Jeremias Van Vliet's History of Siam tells his story in great details. He was known as an able leader but also brutal. As he rose by violence, he then crushed any suspects who could be a threat. Many officials and even some royal relatives of previous reign were arrested and executed with high treason charge.
As a powerful and decisive leader, he promulgated many criminal laws and sometimes, according to Van Vliet, he even executed prisoners by himself.
Siam was a major trading center attracting Europeans merchants. Prasat Thong was interested in controlling the towns in the southern peninsular, perhaps, because of profits from oversea trade. Ayutthaya lost northern subjugated principalities such as Chiangmai.
His son, Narai, eventually began a significant relationship with European countries
It is said that Prasat Thong was a secret son of King Ekathotsarot and a villager. He came to power by a coup, murdering a young king. Jeremias Van Vliet's History of Siam tells his story in great details. He was known as an able leader but also brutal. As he rose by violence, he then crushed any suspects who could be a threat. Many officials and even some royal relatives of previous reign were arrested and executed with high treason charge.
As a powerful and decisive leader, he promulgated many criminal laws and sometimes, according to Van Vliet, he even executed prisoners by himself.
Siam was a major trading center attracting Europeans merchants. Prasat Thong was interested in controlling the towns in the southern peninsular, perhaps, because of profits from oversea trade. Ayutthaya lost northern subjugated principalities such as Chiangmai.
His son, Narai, eventually began a significant relationship with European countries
PRASAT THONG.
King Prasat Thong (Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าปราสาททอง) (reigned 1629-1656) was the first king of Prasat Thong dynasty, the 4th dynasty of Ayutthaya kingdom. He was the Defense minister (ออกญากลาโหม) of King Songtham.
It is said that Prasat Thong was a secret son of King Ekathotsarot and a villager. He came to power by a coup, murdering a young king. Jeremias Van Vliet's History of Siam tells his story in great details. He was known as an able leader but also brutal. As he rose by violence, he then crushed any suspects who could be a threat. Many officials and even some royal relatives of previous reign were arrested and executed with high treason charge.
As a powerful and decisive leader, he promulgated many criminal laws and sometimes, according to Van Vliet, he even executed prisoners by himself.
Siam was a major trading center attracting Europeans merchants. Prasat Thong was interested in controlling the towns in the southern peninsular, perhaps, because of profits from oversea trade. Ayutthaya lost northern subjugated principalities such as Chiangmai.
His son, Narai, eventually began a significant relationship with European countries
It is said that Prasat Thong was a secret son of King Ekathotsarot and a villager. He came to power by a coup, murdering a young king. Jeremias Van Vliet's History of Siam tells his story in great details. He was known as an able leader but also brutal. As he rose by violence, he then crushed any suspects who could be a threat. Many officials and even some royal relatives of previous reign were arrested and executed with high treason charge.
As a powerful and decisive leader, he promulgated many criminal laws and sometimes, according to Van Vliet, he even executed prisoners by himself.
Siam was a major trading center attracting Europeans merchants. Prasat Thong was interested in controlling the towns in the southern peninsular, perhaps, because of profits from oversea trade. Ayutthaya lost northern subjugated principalities such as Chiangmai.
His son, Narai, eventually began a significant relationship with European countries
ATHITTAYAWONG
King Athittayawong (full Thai title: สมเด็จพระอาทิตยวงศ์; RTGS: Somdet Phra Athittayawong) (born 1618) was the 23rd monarch of Ayuthia (or 24th if including Khun Worawongsathirat) who reigned for a period of 38 days in the year 1629. He was the second son of King Droṇdharm and the younger brother of King Chetthathirat and so was of the House of Sukhothai. When the previous ruler King Chetthathirat died, Minister for Defence Suriyawong (สุริยวงศ์) installed Athittayawong on the throne despite his being only ten years of age, with Suriyawong seeing to the king's affairs in his stead. However in less than a month court nobles and officials found the king too young to oversee the affairs of state and removed him from the throne, thereby declaring Suriyawong take his place as reigning monarch as King Prasat Thong.
CHETTHATHIRAT.
King Chetthathirat (c. 1613 - 1629, full Thai title: สมเด็จพระเชษฐาธิราช; RTGS: Somdet Phra Chetthathirat) was the eldest son of King Song Tham and older brother of King Athittayawong, all three of the House of Sukhothai. In childhood he was known as Chetthakuman (พระเชษฐากุมาร), meaning 'Chettha the Infant', or simply Chettha. He reigned for a period of eight months from 1628-1630.
When his father King Song Tham died there was a scramble for the crown between Prince Chettha and his younger brother Prince Si Sin (พระศรีศิลป์). On Chettha's side were Ok-ya Si Worawong and Ok-ya Senaphimuk is a title above Khun) who were influential enough to capture Si Sin and have him executed. After doing just this, they then informed Chettha of the deed and he ascended the throne as His Majesty King Chetthathirat or His Majesty King Borommarachathirat II (สมเด็จพระบรมราชาธิราชที่ ๒; Somdet Phra Borommarachathirat thi Song); he was fifteen years old at the time. Ok-ya Si Worawong was then also promoted to the title of Chao Phraya Kalahom Suriyawong (เจ้าพระยากลาโหมสุริยวงศ์).
After reigning for eight months he became suspicious of Chao Phraya Kalahom Suriyawong's ambition to take the crown for himself and plotted out a way to get rid of him. This was discovered by Chao Phraya Kalahom Suriyawong before it could be realised however, and the latter thus launched an attack on the residential palace with King Chetthathirat fleeing rather than countering the attack. Chao Phraya Kalahom Suriyawong dispatched two figures, the Phraya Decho (เดโช) and Phraya Thai Nam (ท้ายน้ำ) to follow suit immediately and capture Chetthathirat in the Mok Noi Forests (ป่าโมกน้อย; Pa Mok Noi), where Chetthathirat was subsequently caught and killed.
When his father King Song Tham died there was a scramble for the crown between Prince Chettha and his younger brother Prince Si Sin (พระศรีศิลป์). On Chettha's side were Ok-ya Si Worawong and Ok-ya Senaphimuk is a title above Khun) who were influential enough to capture Si Sin and have him executed. After doing just this, they then informed Chettha of the deed and he ascended the throne as His Majesty King Chetthathirat or His Majesty King Borommarachathirat II (สมเด็จพระบรมราชาธิราชที่ ๒; Somdet Phra Borommarachathirat thi Song); he was fifteen years old at the time. Ok-ya Si Worawong was then also promoted to the title of Chao Phraya Kalahom Suriyawong (เจ้าพระยากลาโหมสุริยวงศ์).
After reigning for eight months he became suspicious of Chao Phraya Kalahom Suriyawong's ambition to take the crown for himself and plotted out a way to get rid of him. This was discovered by Chao Phraya Kalahom Suriyawong before it could be realised however, and the latter thus launched an attack on the residential palace with King Chetthathirat fleeing rather than countering the attack. Chao Phraya Kalahom Suriyawong dispatched two figures, the Phraya Decho (เดโช) and Phraya Thai Nam (ท้ายน้ำ) to follow suit immediately and capture Chetthathirat in the Mok Noi Forests (ป่าโมกน้อย; Pa Mok Noi), where Chetthathirat was subsequently caught and killed.
SONGTHAM
Somdet Phra Boromma Trailokanat Songtham (full Thai title: สมเด็จพระเจ้าทรงธรรม; RTGS: Somdet Phra Chao Songtham) was the King of Ayutthaya from 1611 to 1628 of the House of Sukhōday. His reign was marked as prosperity after the First Fall of Ayutthaya and saw the commencement of trade with foreign nations especially the Dutch and the Japanese. Songtham filled his guards with foreign mercenaries most notably the Japanese – Yamada Nagamasa.
Sources varied in Songtham’s origin. The Royal Secretariat’s Chronicles (1912) named him Prince Si Sin but other chronicles named him Prince Inthraraja. The prince was a minor prince born to Ekatotsarot with one of his concubines. As a minor prince, Inthraraja pursed religious ordination and became a respectful monk with the name Pimol Anantapreecha.
Ekatotsarot died in 1610, to be succeeded by incapable and one-eyed Sri Saowapak. Sri Saowapak’s weak rule gave opportunities for the nobility to usurp the throne. Here the Royal Chronicles told that Songtham’s adoptive son Chameun Sri Sorarak conspired a rebellion and marched to the palace in 1611 and held a ceremony for Sri Saowapak’s execution at Wat Kok Phraya. However, other chronicles said that it was Songtham’s younger brother Si Sin who did this. Nevertheless, as a popular religious prince, Songtham was given the Ayutthayan throne.
Songtham appointed Sri Soralak the Uparaja but he died only a week after. The most prominent achievement in his reign was the discovery of Buddha's Footprint at Saraburi. Songtham ordered the construction of a temple over the footprint - the footprint itself can still be seen today. From Songhtam onwards, Ayutthayan kings paid annual respect to the Buddha's Footprint in a grand river procession.
Songtham sent four embassies (about 20 people each) to the Japanese Shogun in 1621, 1623, 1626, 1629.
Sources varied in Songtham’s origin. The Royal Secretariat’s Chronicles (1912) named him Prince Si Sin but other chronicles named him Prince Inthraraja. The prince was a minor prince born to Ekatotsarot with one of his concubines. As a minor prince, Inthraraja pursed religious ordination and became a respectful monk with the name Pimol Anantapreecha.
Ekatotsarot died in 1610, to be succeeded by incapable and one-eyed Sri Saowapak. Sri Saowapak’s weak rule gave opportunities for the nobility to usurp the throne. Here the Royal Chronicles told that Songtham’s adoptive son Chameun Sri Sorarak conspired a rebellion and marched to the palace in 1611 and held a ceremony for Sri Saowapak’s execution at Wat Kok Phraya. However, other chronicles said that it was Songtham’s younger brother Si Sin who did this. Nevertheless, as a popular religious prince, Songtham was given the Ayutthayan throne.
Songtham appointed Sri Soralak the Uparaja but he died only a week after. The most prominent achievement in his reign was the discovery of Buddha's Footprint at Saraburi. Songtham ordered the construction of a temple over the footprint - the footprint itself can still be seen today. From Songhtam onwards, Ayutthayan kings paid annual respect to the Buddha's Footprint in a grand river procession.
Songtham sent four embassies (about 20 people each) to the Japanese Shogun in 1621, 1623, 1626, 1629.
SI SAOWAPHAK.
Phrabat Somdet Phra Sanphet IV (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระสรรเพชญที่ ๔) or Somdet Phra Si Saowaphak (Thai: สมเด็จพระศรีเสาวภาคย์) (- 1611) was a short-reigning king of Ayutthaya of the Sukhothai dynasty in 1610. Prince Si Saowaphak was the son of Ekatotsarot and had an elder brother Prince Suthat who was made the Uparaja in 1607 but committed suicide the same year. Prince Si Saowaphak, as his father's second son, was expected to be invested the title of Crown Prince. However, Ekathotsarot did nothing to make Si Saowaphak his successor .
When Ekathotsarot died in 1610, Prince Si Saowaphak succeeded his father on the throne. Si Saowaphak was said to be one-eyed and incompetent as he fell under the influences of the nobility. In the same year the Japanese bandits looted Ayutthaya, entered the palace, and held Si Saowaphak for a custody. Only when Si Saowaphak vowed not to hurt any Japanese people the bandits released the king but held the Sankharat (Supreme Patrairch) to the mouth of Chao Phraya where they left.
The nobility viewed Si Saowaphak as an incompetent monarch so they lauched a coup deposing him in 1611 led by Suriyawong the Minister of Defence (later Prasat Thong). Si Saowaphak was then executed and the throne was given to his half-brother Prince Si Sin who was a monk.
When Ekathotsarot died in 1610, Prince Si Saowaphak succeeded his father on the throne. Si Saowaphak was said to be one-eyed and incompetent as he fell under the influences of the nobility. In the same year the Japanese bandits looted Ayutthaya, entered the palace, and held Si Saowaphak for a custody. Only when Si Saowaphak vowed not to hurt any Japanese people the bandits released the king but held the Sankharat (Supreme Patrairch) to the mouth of Chao Phraya where they left.
The nobility viewed Si Saowaphak as an incompetent monarch so they lauched a coup deposing him in 1611 led by Suriyawong the Minister of Defence (later Prasat Thong). Si Saowaphak was then executed and the throne was given to his half-brother Prince Si Sin who was a monk.
EKATHOTSAROT.
Prabat Somdet Phra Sanpet III (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระสรรเพชญ์ที่ 3) or Somdet Phra Ekatotsarot (Thai: สมเด็จพระเอกาทศรถ;-1610) was the King of Ayutthaya from 1605 to 1610 succeeding his brother Naresuan. His reign was mostly peaceful as Siam was then a powerful state through the conquests of Naresuan. Also during his reign that foreigners of various origin began to fill the mercenary corps.
Contents[hide]
1 The White Prince
2 The Second King
3 King of Siam
3.1 Mission to Dutch Republic
3.2 Foreign Mercenaries
3.3 Prince Sutat
4 Notes
5 References
//
[edit] The White Prince
The White Prince was the son of Maha Thammarachathirat of Phitsanulok and Queen Wisutkasat. White Prince had an elder brother who was epitheted The Black Prince and an elder sister the Golden Princess.
In 1563, Bayinnaung laid siege on Phitsanulok and Maha Thammarachathirat readily surrendered and made his kingdom a Burmese tributary. Bayinnaung requested for the Black Prince and White Prince as captives at Pegu to ensure their father's fidelity. So, the two went to Pegu, where they were educated and overseen by Bayinnaung along with other captive princes.
Ayutthaya fell in 1569. Bayinnaung installed Maha Thammarachathirat as the puppet king of Siam. The Black and White Prince then returned to Ayutthaya in exchange for their sister Supankanlaya as Bayinnaung's concubine.
[edit] The Second King
Prince Ekatotsarot joined his brother Naresuan in various wars with the Burmese. Naresuan declared the end of Burmese tributary in 1583 and was followed by series of Burmese invasions. In 1590, Maha Thammarachathirat died. Naresuan was crowned as the King of Ayutthaya while Ekatotsarot was made Uparaja but with equal honor to Naresuan (As in the case of Mongkut and Pinklao).
In 1592, Nanda Bayin sent his son Minchit Sra the Burmese Uparaja to subjugate Siam. Naresuan and Ekatotsarot then marched and met the Burmese armies in the Battle of Nong Sarai. However, the elephants of the two brothers went mad and ran themselves into the midst of the Burmese, culminating the Yuttahadhi of Naresuan. Minchit Sra was slain and the Burmese invasion ceased for several years.
in 1595, Pegu faced rebellions by various tributaries and royal princes. Naresuan planned a massive invasion of Pegu but the city was taken beforehand by the Lord of Toungoo with the support of Rakhine. The efforts to capture Toungoo falied and Naresuan decided to retreat. In Lanna, however, a conflict arose between Noratra Mangsosri the Burmese king of Lanna and Phraya Ram a Siamese-installed Lanna noble. Naresuan sent Ekatotsarot to claim the conflicts by dividing Lanna into two parts.
Naresuan died during his campaigns to subjugate the Shans in 1605. Ekatotsarot was crowned as his successor.
[edit] King of Siam
Upon his coronation, the Ayutthaya kingdom had reached the maximum extent. However, immediately after the coronation, the Lanna kingdom broke away. In 1610, Anaukpetlun invaded Tavoy and Tenasserim but was repelled.
[edit] Mission to Dutch Republic
During the reign of Ekathotsarot, a Siamese embassy reached the Dutch city of The Hague, in 1608.[1] The embassy of 16 was brought to Holland by Admiral Matelief onboard L'Orange, leaving Bantam on January 28, 1608.[2] The embassy arrived in The Hague on September 10, 1608, and met with Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange.[3]. This visit coincided with the first recorded mention of the observation of the heavens with a spyglass:[4] the application of a patent by the inventor of the telescope, the Dutch Hans Lippershey, was mentioned at the end of a diplomatic report on the Siamese Embassy, Ambassades du Roy de Siam envoyé à l'Excellence du Prince Maurice, arrive a La Haye, le 10. septembr. 1608 ("Embassy of the King of Siam sent to his Excellence Prince Maurice, September 10, 1608"), which soon diffused across Europe.[5]
Following the embassy, a treaty was concluded between Holland and Siam in 1617.[6]
[edit] Foreign Mercenaries
Ekatotsarot's reign saw the influx of foreigners into Siam as traders and mercenaries. Ekatotsarot established Krom Asas (i.e. volunteered regiments) of foreign soldiers, for example; Krom Asa Mon, Krom Asa Cham, Krom Asa Yipun (Japanese mercenaries), and Krom Asa Maen Puen (Arquebusiers - the Portuguese and Dutch). Ekatotsarot had a close relations with the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Ieyasu who commissioned Red Seal Ships to Siam. Around this time the Siamese metallurgists learned the arts of forging mortars from the Westerners and combined with traditional methods giving rise to the praised Siamese mortars known for their qualities.
[edit] Prince Sutat
Ekatotsarot had two legitimate sons: Prince Sutat and Prince Sri Saowabhak. Prince Sutat was invested with the title of Uparaja in 1607. However, only four months later, Prince Sutat asked his father to release a prisoner; but instead angered his father, who accused Prince Sutat of a rebellion. Prince Sutat committed suicide by poison the same night - much to the grief of Ekatotsarot. This is one of the most mysterious historical scenes of Siamese history, as no one knows who was the prisoner Prince Sutat tried to free, nor why Ekatotsarot was so angry. Some historians hypothesized that the prisoner was one of the powerful nobles whose power was a challenge to the monarchy. The nature of Prince Sutat's death was also disputed, as he may have been poisoned by someone else.
Whatever the fact may be, the Prince Sutat incident laid the grounds for future princely struggles that would plague Ayutthaya for about another century. As his son was dead, Ekatotsarot did not appoint his second son, Prince Sri Saowabhak, Uparaja, as expected. It was said that Ekatotsarot died of depression following the Prince Sutat incident, in 1610. Prince Sri Saowabhak succeeded to the throne anyway.
Preceded bySanphet II(Naresuan)
Kings of Ayutthaya1605-1610
Succeeded bySanpet IV(Sri Saowabhak)
[edit]
Contents[hide]
1 The White Prince
2 The Second King
3 King of Siam
3.1 Mission to Dutch Republic
3.2 Foreign Mercenaries
3.3 Prince Sutat
4 Notes
5 References
//
[edit] The White Prince
The White Prince was the son of Maha Thammarachathirat of Phitsanulok and Queen Wisutkasat. White Prince had an elder brother who was epitheted The Black Prince and an elder sister the Golden Princess.
In 1563, Bayinnaung laid siege on Phitsanulok and Maha Thammarachathirat readily surrendered and made his kingdom a Burmese tributary. Bayinnaung requested for the Black Prince and White Prince as captives at Pegu to ensure their father's fidelity. So, the two went to Pegu, where they were educated and overseen by Bayinnaung along with other captive princes.
Ayutthaya fell in 1569. Bayinnaung installed Maha Thammarachathirat as the puppet king of Siam. The Black and White Prince then returned to Ayutthaya in exchange for their sister Supankanlaya as Bayinnaung's concubine.
[edit] The Second King
Prince Ekatotsarot joined his brother Naresuan in various wars with the Burmese. Naresuan declared the end of Burmese tributary in 1583 and was followed by series of Burmese invasions. In 1590, Maha Thammarachathirat died. Naresuan was crowned as the King of Ayutthaya while Ekatotsarot was made Uparaja but with equal honor to Naresuan (As in the case of Mongkut and Pinklao).
In 1592, Nanda Bayin sent his son Minchit Sra the Burmese Uparaja to subjugate Siam. Naresuan and Ekatotsarot then marched and met the Burmese armies in the Battle of Nong Sarai. However, the elephants of the two brothers went mad and ran themselves into the midst of the Burmese, culminating the Yuttahadhi of Naresuan. Minchit Sra was slain and the Burmese invasion ceased for several years.
in 1595, Pegu faced rebellions by various tributaries and royal princes. Naresuan planned a massive invasion of Pegu but the city was taken beforehand by the Lord of Toungoo with the support of Rakhine. The efforts to capture Toungoo falied and Naresuan decided to retreat. In Lanna, however, a conflict arose between Noratra Mangsosri the Burmese king of Lanna and Phraya Ram a Siamese-installed Lanna noble. Naresuan sent Ekatotsarot to claim the conflicts by dividing Lanna into two parts.
Naresuan died during his campaigns to subjugate the Shans in 1605. Ekatotsarot was crowned as his successor.
[edit] King of Siam
Upon his coronation, the Ayutthaya kingdom had reached the maximum extent. However, immediately after the coronation, the Lanna kingdom broke away. In 1610, Anaukpetlun invaded Tavoy and Tenasserim but was repelled.
[edit] Mission to Dutch Republic
During the reign of Ekathotsarot, a Siamese embassy reached the Dutch city of The Hague, in 1608.[1] The embassy of 16 was brought to Holland by Admiral Matelief onboard L'Orange, leaving Bantam on January 28, 1608.[2] The embassy arrived in The Hague on September 10, 1608, and met with Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange.[3]. This visit coincided with the first recorded mention of the observation of the heavens with a spyglass:[4] the application of a patent by the inventor of the telescope, the Dutch Hans Lippershey, was mentioned at the end of a diplomatic report on the Siamese Embassy, Ambassades du Roy de Siam envoyé à l'Excellence du Prince Maurice, arrive a La Haye, le 10. septembr. 1608 ("Embassy of the King of Siam sent to his Excellence Prince Maurice, September 10, 1608"), which soon diffused across Europe.[5]
Following the embassy, a treaty was concluded between Holland and Siam in 1617.[6]
[edit] Foreign Mercenaries
Ekatotsarot's reign saw the influx of foreigners into Siam as traders and mercenaries. Ekatotsarot established Krom Asas (i.e. volunteered regiments) of foreign soldiers, for example; Krom Asa Mon, Krom Asa Cham, Krom Asa Yipun (Japanese mercenaries), and Krom Asa Maen Puen (Arquebusiers - the Portuguese and Dutch). Ekatotsarot had a close relations with the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Ieyasu who commissioned Red Seal Ships to Siam. Around this time the Siamese metallurgists learned the arts of forging mortars from the Westerners and combined with traditional methods giving rise to the praised Siamese mortars known for their qualities.
[edit] Prince Sutat
Ekatotsarot had two legitimate sons: Prince Sutat and Prince Sri Saowabhak. Prince Sutat was invested with the title of Uparaja in 1607. However, only four months later, Prince Sutat asked his father to release a prisoner; but instead angered his father, who accused Prince Sutat of a rebellion. Prince Sutat committed suicide by poison the same night - much to the grief of Ekatotsarot. This is one of the most mysterious historical scenes of Siamese history, as no one knows who was the prisoner Prince Sutat tried to free, nor why Ekatotsarot was so angry. Some historians hypothesized that the prisoner was one of the powerful nobles whose power was a challenge to the monarchy. The nature of Prince Sutat's death was also disputed, as he may have been poisoned by someone else.
Whatever the fact may be, the Prince Sutat incident laid the grounds for future princely struggles that would plague Ayutthaya for about another century. As his son was dead, Ekatotsarot did not appoint his second son, Prince Sri Saowabhak, Uparaja, as expected. It was said that Ekatotsarot died of depression following the Prince Sutat incident, in 1610. Prince Sri Saowabhak succeeded to the throne anyway.
Preceded bySanphet II(Naresuan)
Kings of Ayutthaya1605-1610
Succeeded bySanpet IV(Sri Saowabhak)
[edit]
NARESUAN.
This article is about the Siamese king. For other uses, see Naresuan (disambiguation).
Naresuan The Greatสมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช
King of Ayutthaya
Royal statue of King Naresuan at Naresuan university , Phitsanulok province , Thailand
King of Siam
Reign
29 July 1590 – 25 April 1605
Predecessor
Maha Thammaracha (Sanphet I)
Ekathotsarot (Sanphet III)
House
Sukhothai dynasty
Father
Maha Thammaracha (Sanphet I)
Mother
Wisutkasat
Born
25 April 1555(1555-04-25)Chan Palace, Phitsanulok, Thailand
Died
April 7, 1605 (aged 49)Haeng, Thailand
Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat (Thai: สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช) or Somdet Phra Sanphet II (Thai: สมเด็จพระสรรเพชญ์ที่ 2) (1555, 25 April - 1605) was the King of Ayutthaya kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605. Naresuan was one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese tributary. Numerous wars against Burma were fought in his reign and Siam reached greatest territorial extent and influence.
Contents[hide]
1 Early life
2 At Pegu
3 King of Sukhothai
4 Reign as King of Ayutthaya
4.1 Yuttahadhi
4.2 Tavoy and Tenasserim
4.3 Capture of Lovek
4.4 Capture of Martaban
4.5 Invasion of Pegu
4.6 Invasion of Toungoo and Lanna
5 Death
6 Legacy
7 In media
8 References
9 External links
//
[edit] Early life
Prince Naret was born in the city of Phitsanulok on 25 April 1555. He was the son of King Maha Thammarachathirat of Phitsanulok and his queen Wisutkasat. His mother Wisukasat was a daughter of Maha Chakkrapat and Queen Sri Suriyothai. His father Maha Thammarachathirat was a Sukhothai noble who had defeated Vorawongsathirat in 1548 and put Maha Chakkrapat on the throne - therefore wielding much power.
Prince Naret was also known as the Black Prince (Thai: พระองค์ดำ) to distinguish him from his siblings. The Black Prince had a younger brother Ekathotsarot who was known as the White Prince and an elder sister Suphankanlaya or the Golden Princess.
In 1563, Bayinnaung the King of Pegu marched massive Burmese armies to invade Siam. Bayinnuang laid siege on Phitsanulok. Maha Thammarachathirat was then convinced that he would be unable to hold the city for long. So he surrendered. Bayinnuang took Phitsanulok and made the Kingdom of Sukhothai a Burmese tributary. Maha Thammarachathirat had to send his sons - the Black and the White Prince - to Pegu as captives to ensure the king's fidelity.
[edit] At Pegu
Naret, along with other captive princes from other kingdoms, were educated in martial arts and war strategy of Burmese and Portuguese style. He was later noted for his new tactics that enabled him to gain victory over the Burmese. Naret then found himself under competition with Bayinnuang's grandson (Nanda Bayin's son) Minchit Sra.
In 1569, Bayinnuang was able to take Ayutthaya and installed Maha Thammarachathirat as the King of Ayutthaya. After seven years of captivity, Prince Naret, along with his brother the White Prince, was released to Ayutthaya in exchange for his sister Supankanlaya as Bayinnuang's concubine.
[edit] King of Sukhothai
Phitsanulok History
This box contains links to selectedarticles with information relatedto the history of Phitsanulok Province.
Prehistoric Era
Early Nan River Civilizations · Tai
Khmer Empire
Song Khwae
Singhanavati City-State
Boromma Chayasiri · Nakhon Thai
Sukhothai Period
Wat Chula Manee · Wat AranyikWat Chedi Yod ThongWat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat
Ayutthaya Period
Boromma TrailokanatWat Ratchaburana · Wat Nang PhayaBoromma Racha III · NaresuanBoromma Kot
Modern Siam / Thailand
19th Century · 20th Century · Recent Events
This box: view • talk • edit
Maha Thammarachathirat made Naret the Uparaja and King of Phitsanulok as Naresuan in 1569, aged 14. In 1574, Naresuan joined his father in the expedition to conquer Vientiane but he suffered smallpox.
In 1581, Bayinnuang died, to be succeeded by his son Nanda Bayin. In 1583, Nanda Bayin's uncle who was the Lord of Innwa rebelled against his newphew at Pegu. Nanda Bayin then requested for Siamese troops and supports against Innwa. Naresuan marched the Siamese armies to Innwa but slowly to leave the rebellion defeated before he would reach Innwa or else the Lord of Innwa would get Nanda Bayin.
However, this raised Nanda Bayin's suspicions about Naresuan's loyalty. Nanda Bayin then secretly ordered his son Minchit Sra to defeat Naresuan's army and kill him upon reaching Pegu and ordered Kiet and Ram - the two Mons of the city of Kraeng on the Sittoung River - to attack Naresuan on the rear after he had passed Kraeng while Minchit Sra would attack the front.
Naresuan reached Kraeng in 1584. However, Ram and Kiet were Naresuan's childhood acquintances, so they informed Naresuan about Nanda Bayin's plans. Naresuan, upon realising the intentions of Nanda Bayin, performed a ceremony to denounce Burmese tributary, saying;
All the holy deities with universal knowledge, the King of Hanthawaddi doesn't embrace the fidelity as the kings should do but is indeed intended to hurt me. From now on, the alliance of Ayutthaya and Hanthawaddi breaks, forever.
Naresuan then levied the Mons to join his campaigns under the leadership of Kiet and Ram and then marched to Pegu. However, Nanda Bayin had already defeated the Lord of Innwa and was marching back to Pegu. Naresuan decided to retreat but Minchit Sra himself led the Peguan army to follow Naresuan. The Burmese caught the Siamese at Sittoung River, culminating the Battle of Sittoung River. The legend says that Naresuan shot a fire at a Burmese general accurately across the Sittoung River - called the Royal Shot Across the Sittoung River (Thai: พระแสงปืนข้ามแม่น้ำสะโตง). After the death of his general, Minchit Sra retreated.
In 1583, Naresuan ordered all northern cities including Phitsanulok to be evacuated as it would became the warfronts between Ayutthaya and Pegu. So, Phitsanulok ceased to be the seat of Sukhothai kingdom and Naresuan became, therefore, the last king of Sukhothai.
In the same year Nanda Bayin ordered his uncle the Lord of Pathein and Noratra Mangsosri the Burmese King of Lanna to lead the Burmese armies into Siam but was defeated by the Siamese. In 1586, Nanda Bayin himself led the Burmese armies to Ayutthaya and laid siege on the city for 13 months and failed. In 1590, Maha Thammarachathirat died. Naresuan was crowned as the King of Ayutthaya as Sanphet II.
[edit] Reign as King of Ayutthaya
King Naresuan made his brother the White Prince the Uparaja with equal honor as Naresuan himself. In 1590, Minchit Sra marched into Siam through Chedi Sam Ong. Instead of taking defensives at Ayutthaya, Naresuan chose to march to Chedi Sam Ong. Minchit Sra, thinking that the Siamese would stay at Ayutthaya for defensive, marched unprepared. The Burmese were persuaded into a field and ambushed by Naresuan's armies. With his armies scatttered, Minchit Sra retreated back to Pegu.
[edit] Yuttahadhi
Main articles: Battle of Nong Sarai and Yuttahadhi
Battle of King Naresuan and Minchit Sra at Nong Sarai, Suphan Buri (mural painting by Phraya Anusatchitrakon, Wat Suwandararam, Ayutthaya).
In 1592, Nanda Bayin ordered his son to attack Ayutthaya again. Minchit Sra, along with the Lord of Pyay, Nat Shin Naung the son of the Lord of Toungoo, and the Burmese King of Lanna, led the Burmese into Siam. Minchit Sra himself went through Chedi Sam Ong peacefully and reached Suphanburi, while other came from the north. Naresuan was planning to conquer Cambodia, but then he had to change his intentions. Naresuan encamped his armies at Nong Sarai. The Burmese then arrived, leading to the Battle of Nong Sarai.
During the battle, the elephants of Naresuan and Ekathotsarot went mad and ran into the midst of the Burmese. Siamese Chronicles stated that there were fake Minchit Sras but Naresuan pointed out the real one from the honorary decorations. Naresuan then urged Minchit Sra to fight with him:
My brother, why do you hide yourself in the canopy shadows? Let us fight the elephant battle for our own honors. No future kings will do what we are going to do.[1]
The personal battle between Naresuan and Minchit Sra was a highly-romanticized historical scene known as Yuttahadhi, the Elephant battle. After narrowly missing Naresuan and cutting his hat (on display in Bangkok) Minchit Sra was slashed to death on the back of his elephant. This was on Monday, the 2nd waning day of the 2nd month of the Buddhist calendar Chulasakarat Era year 954. Calculated to correspond to Monday, 18 January, AD 1593 of the Gregorian calendar, this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day. Naresuan then built a pagoda on the site of Yutthahadhi as a victory monument. However, modern historians are still unable to locate the pagoda.
Naresuan intended to execute all the soldiers in the battle of Nong Sarai who had provided no support to him and his brother. Somdet Phra Wannarat - a bhikkhu - calmed Naresuan to get him to lift the punishment. Naresuan then instead ordered them to take Tavoy and Tenasserim.
[edit] Tavoy and Tenasserim
In 1593, Naresuan sent Siamese forces to lay siege on Tavoy - a Mon city - by the Minister of Kromma Tha and Tenasserim and Mergui by the Samuha Kalahom , all quickly fell. Nanda Bayin lauched Burmese fleets to recapture the cities. The Samuha Kalahom then seized the galleons at Mergui to construct a fleet and sailed and marched his armies on land to counter Burmese attack from Martaban. The Siamese were then able to repel the Burmese.
[edit] Capture of Lovek
After Yuttahadhi, Naresuan then launched his campaigns to subjugate Cambodia. He sent four armies to capture Champasak, Banteymas (modern Ha Tien in Vietnam), Siem Reap, and Naresuan himself Battambang - all to be joined at Lovek. In 1594, they all reached Lovek and looted Lovek to the grounds. King Chetta of Lovek was executed by the Prathomkarm ceremony (breaking one's head). The Siamese then took the Cambodian royal family as captives.
Naresuan later installed a new king of Cambodia, now centered on Srey Santhor, as a Siamese tributary
[edit] Capture of Martaban
As Burmese control over the tributaries had weakened, the Mons took this opportunity to free themselves. The Mon governor of Moulmein rebelled against Pegu and requested Siamese support. Naresuan sent troops to take the Mon city of Martaban that sided with Pegu. Nanda Bayin sent the Lord of Toungoo to Martaban but was repelled and retreated. Capture of Martaban exerted Siamese control over the Mon state.[2]
[edit] Invasion of Pegu
King Naresuan entered Hanthawadi (now Pegu), mural painting by Phraya Anusatchitrakon, Wat Suwandararam, Ayutthaya.
Naresuan eventually marched his troops to Pegu in 1595. He laid siege on the city for three months but was unable to enter. The huge forces of the Lords of Pyay, Toungoo, and Ava then arrived to free Pegu. Naresuan decided to retreat.
The Lord of Pyay staged a rebellion against Nanda Bayin in 1595, followed by Toungoo, Rakhine, Lanna, and Lan Xang. King Nokeo of Lan Xang prepared to march through Lanna to Pegu to rescue the Laotian captives. Noratra Mangsosri of Lanna (Nanda Bayin's brother) then put his kingdom under Siamese tributary to get Ayutthayan supports. Naresuan sent Siamese forces to prevent Laotian forces from entering Lanna.
After the series of upheavals in the Burmese Empire, Naresuan decided to invade Pegu again in 1599. Naresuan allied himself with Rakhine. However, the Lord of Toungoo feared that if Naresuan had taken Pegu the Siamese power would have been too large and might engulf Toungoo itself. So, the Lord of Toungoo encouraged the Mons to rebel against Siam. Naresuan then had to subjugate the Mon rebellions.
Toungoo finally took Pegu the same year with the help of Rakhine. Toungoo took Nanda Bayin and left for Toungoo. When Naresuan reached Pegu, what he found was only the city ruins. He requested Toungoo to sent Nanda Bayin back to him but Toungoo refused.
[edit] Invasion of Toungoo and Lanna
Naresuan laid the siege on Toungoo but readily failed. Naresuan then went back. He sent his brother Ekathotsarot to calm Lanna inner conflicts.
As in 1600, the Kingdom of Ayutthaya reached the greatest extend.
[edit] Death
Anaukpetlun crowned himself as the King of Ava to counter Toungoo and went on his campaigns to subjugate the Shans. However, the Shan King of Hsenwi was Naresuan's childhood friend. So, he marched armies to rescue Hsenwi. During his journey, however, Naresuan died in 1605.
According to Prince Damrong's Our Wars with the Burmese, King Naresuan died in 1605 during another battle with the Burmese, speared by Burmese soldiers as he attempted to climb over a garrison's wall in Tambon Thung Kaew, Mueang Hang.
However, recent studies of Burmese records by historians of Silpakorn University showed that he actually returned to Wiang Haeng, where he died of disease, probably smallpox.
His brother King Ekathotsarot became his successor as king.
According to the Shan, King Naresuan helped them win independence for the Shan State in 1600 with his ally, the Prince of Hsenwi. Both had been hostages at the Burmese court, and King Naresuan died while rushing to the aid of a friend of his youth, they say.
Many Shan believe King Naresuan was cremated and his ashes interred in a stupa in Mongton, in the southern part of the Shan State.[3]
[edit] Legacy
The film King Naresuan
Royal Thai Armed Forces Day, 18 January, commemorates victory.
HTMS Naresuan, Royal Thai Navy frigate.
Naresuan University in Phitsanulok is named after the king and features a large statue of the king.
One of the two largest dams in Phitsanulok Province is named the Naresuan Dam. It controls water flow of the Nan River north of the city of Phitsanulok.
King Naresuan has been incorrectly attributed to winning his freedom through kickboxing matches with Burmese fighters, a feat actually accredited to Nai Khanom Tom.
[edit] In media
King Naresuan is a 2007 film series based on the king's life.
Khan Kluay is a 2006 animated Thai film based on the life of the king's war elephant.
King Naresuan Online is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2010.
Naresuan The Greatสมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช
King of Ayutthaya
Royal statue of King Naresuan at Naresuan university , Phitsanulok province , Thailand
King of Siam
Reign
29 July 1590 – 25 April 1605
Predecessor
Maha Thammaracha (Sanphet I)
Ekathotsarot (Sanphet III)
House
Sukhothai dynasty
Father
Maha Thammaracha (Sanphet I)
Mother
Wisutkasat
Born
25 April 1555(1555-04-25)Chan Palace, Phitsanulok, Thailand
Died
April 7, 1605 (aged 49)Haeng, Thailand
Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat (Thai: สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช) or Somdet Phra Sanphet II (Thai: สมเด็จพระสรรเพชญ์ที่ 2) (1555, 25 April - 1605) was the King of Ayutthaya kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605. Naresuan was one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese tributary. Numerous wars against Burma were fought in his reign and Siam reached greatest territorial extent and influence.
Contents[hide]
1 Early life
2 At Pegu
3 King of Sukhothai
4 Reign as King of Ayutthaya
4.1 Yuttahadhi
4.2 Tavoy and Tenasserim
4.3 Capture of Lovek
4.4 Capture of Martaban
4.5 Invasion of Pegu
4.6 Invasion of Toungoo and Lanna
5 Death
6 Legacy
7 In media
8 References
9 External links
//
[edit] Early life
Prince Naret was born in the city of Phitsanulok on 25 April 1555. He was the son of King Maha Thammarachathirat of Phitsanulok and his queen Wisutkasat. His mother Wisukasat was a daughter of Maha Chakkrapat and Queen Sri Suriyothai. His father Maha Thammarachathirat was a Sukhothai noble who had defeated Vorawongsathirat in 1548 and put Maha Chakkrapat on the throne - therefore wielding much power.
Prince Naret was also known as the Black Prince (Thai: พระองค์ดำ) to distinguish him from his siblings. The Black Prince had a younger brother Ekathotsarot who was known as the White Prince and an elder sister Suphankanlaya or the Golden Princess.
In 1563, Bayinnaung the King of Pegu marched massive Burmese armies to invade Siam. Bayinnuang laid siege on Phitsanulok. Maha Thammarachathirat was then convinced that he would be unable to hold the city for long. So he surrendered. Bayinnuang took Phitsanulok and made the Kingdom of Sukhothai a Burmese tributary. Maha Thammarachathirat had to send his sons - the Black and the White Prince - to Pegu as captives to ensure the king's fidelity.
[edit] At Pegu
Naret, along with other captive princes from other kingdoms, were educated in martial arts and war strategy of Burmese and Portuguese style. He was later noted for his new tactics that enabled him to gain victory over the Burmese. Naret then found himself under competition with Bayinnuang's grandson (Nanda Bayin's son) Minchit Sra.
In 1569, Bayinnuang was able to take Ayutthaya and installed Maha Thammarachathirat as the King of Ayutthaya. After seven years of captivity, Prince Naret, along with his brother the White Prince, was released to Ayutthaya in exchange for his sister Supankanlaya as Bayinnuang's concubine.
[edit] King of Sukhothai
Phitsanulok History
This box contains links to selectedarticles with information relatedto the history of Phitsanulok Province.
Prehistoric Era
Early Nan River Civilizations · Tai
Khmer Empire
Song Khwae
Singhanavati City-State
Boromma Chayasiri · Nakhon Thai
Sukhothai Period
Wat Chula Manee · Wat AranyikWat Chedi Yod ThongWat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat
Ayutthaya Period
Boromma TrailokanatWat Ratchaburana · Wat Nang PhayaBoromma Racha III · NaresuanBoromma Kot
Modern Siam / Thailand
19th Century · 20th Century · Recent Events
This box: view • talk • edit
Maha Thammarachathirat made Naret the Uparaja and King of Phitsanulok as Naresuan in 1569, aged 14. In 1574, Naresuan joined his father in the expedition to conquer Vientiane but he suffered smallpox.
In 1581, Bayinnuang died, to be succeeded by his son Nanda Bayin. In 1583, Nanda Bayin's uncle who was the Lord of Innwa rebelled against his newphew at Pegu. Nanda Bayin then requested for Siamese troops and supports against Innwa. Naresuan marched the Siamese armies to Innwa but slowly to leave the rebellion defeated before he would reach Innwa or else the Lord of Innwa would get Nanda Bayin.
However, this raised Nanda Bayin's suspicions about Naresuan's loyalty. Nanda Bayin then secretly ordered his son Minchit Sra to defeat Naresuan's army and kill him upon reaching Pegu and ordered Kiet and Ram - the two Mons of the city of Kraeng on the Sittoung River - to attack Naresuan on the rear after he had passed Kraeng while Minchit Sra would attack the front.
Naresuan reached Kraeng in 1584. However, Ram and Kiet were Naresuan's childhood acquintances, so they informed Naresuan about Nanda Bayin's plans. Naresuan, upon realising the intentions of Nanda Bayin, performed a ceremony to denounce Burmese tributary, saying;
All the holy deities with universal knowledge, the King of Hanthawaddi doesn't embrace the fidelity as the kings should do but is indeed intended to hurt me. From now on, the alliance of Ayutthaya and Hanthawaddi breaks, forever.
Naresuan then levied the Mons to join his campaigns under the leadership of Kiet and Ram and then marched to Pegu. However, Nanda Bayin had already defeated the Lord of Innwa and was marching back to Pegu. Naresuan decided to retreat but Minchit Sra himself led the Peguan army to follow Naresuan. The Burmese caught the Siamese at Sittoung River, culminating the Battle of Sittoung River. The legend says that Naresuan shot a fire at a Burmese general accurately across the Sittoung River - called the Royal Shot Across the Sittoung River (Thai: พระแสงปืนข้ามแม่น้ำสะโตง). After the death of his general, Minchit Sra retreated.
In 1583, Naresuan ordered all northern cities including Phitsanulok to be evacuated as it would became the warfronts between Ayutthaya and Pegu. So, Phitsanulok ceased to be the seat of Sukhothai kingdom and Naresuan became, therefore, the last king of Sukhothai.
In the same year Nanda Bayin ordered his uncle the Lord of Pathein and Noratra Mangsosri the Burmese King of Lanna to lead the Burmese armies into Siam but was defeated by the Siamese. In 1586, Nanda Bayin himself led the Burmese armies to Ayutthaya and laid siege on the city for 13 months and failed. In 1590, Maha Thammarachathirat died. Naresuan was crowned as the King of Ayutthaya as Sanphet II.
[edit] Reign as King of Ayutthaya
King Naresuan made his brother the White Prince the Uparaja with equal honor as Naresuan himself. In 1590, Minchit Sra marched into Siam through Chedi Sam Ong. Instead of taking defensives at Ayutthaya, Naresuan chose to march to Chedi Sam Ong. Minchit Sra, thinking that the Siamese would stay at Ayutthaya for defensive, marched unprepared. The Burmese were persuaded into a field and ambushed by Naresuan's armies. With his armies scatttered, Minchit Sra retreated back to Pegu.
[edit] Yuttahadhi
Main articles: Battle of Nong Sarai and Yuttahadhi
Battle of King Naresuan and Minchit Sra at Nong Sarai, Suphan Buri (mural painting by Phraya Anusatchitrakon, Wat Suwandararam, Ayutthaya).
In 1592, Nanda Bayin ordered his son to attack Ayutthaya again. Minchit Sra, along with the Lord of Pyay, Nat Shin Naung the son of the Lord of Toungoo, and the Burmese King of Lanna, led the Burmese into Siam. Minchit Sra himself went through Chedi Sam Ong peacefully and reached Suphanburi, while other came from the north. Naresuan was planning to conquer Cambodia, but then he had to change his intentions. Naresuan encamped his armies at Nong Sarai. The Burmese then arrived, leading to the Battle of Nong Sarai.
During the battle, the elephants of Naresuan and Ekathotsarot went mad and ran into the midst of the Burmese. Siamese Chronicles stated that there were fake Minchit Sras but Naresuan pointed out the real one from the honorary decorations. Naresuan then urged Minchit Sra to fight with him:
My brother, why do you hide yourself in the canopy shadows? Let us fight the elephant battle for our own honors. No future kings will do what we are going to do.[1]
The personal battle between Naresuan and Minchit Sra was a highly-romanticized historical scene known as Yuttahadhi, the Elephant battle. After narrowly missing Naresuan and cutting his hat (on display in Bangkok) Minchit Sra was slashed to death on the back of his elephant. This was on Monday, the 2nd waning day of the 2nd month of the Buddhist calendar Chulasakarat Era year 954. Calculated to correspond to Monday, 18 January, AD 1593 of the Gregorian calendar, this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day. Naresuan then built a pagoda on the site of Yutthahadhi as a victory monument. However, modern historians are still unable to locate the pagoda.
Naresuan intended to execute all the soldiers in the battle of Nong Sarai who had provided no support to him and his brother. Somdet Phra Wannarat - a bhikkhu - calmed Naresuan to get him to lift the punishment. Naresuan then instead ordered them to take Tavoy and Tenasserim.
[edit] Tavoy and Tenasserim
In 1593, Naresuan sent Siamese forces to lay siege on Tavoy - a Mon city - by the Minister of Kromma Tha and Tenasserim and Mergui by the Samuha Kalahom , all quickly fell. Nanda Bayin lauched Burmese fleets to recapture the cities. The Samuha Kalahom then seized the galleons at Mergui to construct a fleet and sailed and marched his armies on land to counter Burmese attack from Martaban. The Siamese were then able to repel the Burmese.
[edit] Capture of Lovek
After Yuttahadhi, Naresuan then launched his campaigns to subjugate Cambodia. He sent four armies to capture Champasak, Banteymas (modern Ha Tien in Vietnam), Siem Reap, and Naresuan himself Battambang - all to be joined at Lovek. In 1594, they all reached Lovek and looted Lovek to the grounds. King Chetta of Lovek was executed by the Prathomkarm ceremony (breaking one's head). The Siamese then took the Cambodian royal family as captives.
Naresuan later installed a new king of Cambodia, now centered on Srey Santhor, as a Siamese tributary
[edit] Capture of Martaban
As Burmese control over the tributaries had weakened, the Mons took this opportunity to free themselves. The Mon governor of Moulmein rebelled against Pegu and requested Siamese support. Naresuan sent troops to take the Mon city of Martaban that sided with Pegu. Nanda Bayin sent the Lord of Toungoo to Martaban but was repelled and retreated. Capture of Martaban exerted Siamese control over the Mon state.[2]
[edit] Invasion of Pegu
King Naresuan entered Hanthawadi (now Pegu), mural painting by Phraya Anusatchitrakon, Wat Suwandararam, Ayutthaya.
Naresuan eventually marched his troops to Pegu in 1595. He laid siege on the city for three months but was unable to enter. The huge forces of the Lords of Pyay, Toungoo, and Ava then arrived to free Pegu. Naresuan decided to retreat.
The Lord of Pyay staged a rebellion against Nanda Bayin in 1595, followed by Toungoo, Rakhine, Lanna, and Lan Xang. King Nokeo of Lan Xang prepared to march through Lanna to Pegu to rescue the Laotian captives. Noratra Mangsosri of Lanna (Nanda Bayin's brother) then put his kingdom under Siamese tributary to get Ayutthayan supports. Naresuan sent Siamese forces to prevent Laotian forces from entering Lanna.
After the series of upheavals in the Burmese Empire, Naresuan decided to invade Pegu again in 1599. Naresuan allied himself with Rakhine. However, the Lord of Toungoo feared that if Naresuan had taken Pegu the Siamese power would have been too large and might engulf Toungoo itself. So, the Lord of Toungoo encouraged the Mons to rebel against Siam. Naresuan then had to subjugate the Mon rebellions.
Toungoo finally took Pegu the same year with the help of Rakhine. Toungoo took Nanda Bayin and left for Toungoo. When Naresuan reached Pegu, what he found was only the city ruins. He requested Toungoo to sent Nanda Bayin back to him but Toungoo refused.
[edit] Invasion of Toungoo and Lanna
Naresuan laid the siege on Toungoo but readily failed. Naresuan then went back. He sent his brother Ekathotsarot to calm Lanna inner conflicts.
As in 1600, the Kingdom of Ayutthaya reached the greatest extend.
[edit] Death
Anaukpetlun crowned himself as the King of Ava to counter Toungoo and went on his campaigns to subjugate the Shans. However, the Shan King of Hsenwi was Naresuan's childhood friend. So, he marched armies to rescue Hsenwi. During his journey, however, Naresuan died in 1605.
According to Prince Damrong's Our Wars with the Burmese, King Naresuan died in 1605 during another battle with the Burmese, speared by Burmese soldiers as he attempted to climb over a garrison's wall in Tambon Thung Kaew, Mueang Hang.
However, recent studies of Burmese records by historians of Silpakorn University showed that he actually returned to Wiang Haeng, where he died of disease, probably smallpox.
His brother King Ekathotsarot became his successor as king.
According to the Shan, King Naresuan helped them win independence for the Shan State in 1600 with his ally, the Prince of Hsenwi. Both had been hostages at the Burmese court, and King Naresuan died while rushing to the aid of a friend of his youth, they say.
Many Shan believe King Naresuan was cremated and his ashes interred in a stupa in Mongton, in the southern part of the Shan State.[3]
[edit] Legacy
The film King Naresuan
Royal Thai Armed Forces Day, 18 January, commemorates victory.
HTMS Naresuan, Royal Thai Navy frigate.
Naresuan University in Phitsanulok is named after the king and features a large statue of the king.
One of the two largest dams in Phitsanulok Province is named the Naresuan Dam. It controls water flow of the Nan River north of the city of Phitsanulok.
King Naresuan has been incorrectly attributed to winning his freedom through kickboxing matches with Burmese fighters, a feat actually accredited to Nai Khanom Tom.
[edit] In media
King Naresuan is a 2007 film series based on the king's life.
Khan Kluay is a 2006 animated Thai film based on the life of the king's war elephant.
King Naresuan Online is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2010.
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