Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke
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| Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke Rama I of Siam |
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| King of Siam | |
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| Reign | 6 April 1782 – 7 September 1809 |
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| Coronation | 6 April 1782 |
| Full name | Thong Duang (birth name) |
| Titles | Chao Phraya Chakri (pre-reign military title) |
| Born | 20 March 1737 |
| Birthplace | Ayutthaya |
| Died | 7 September 1809 (aged 72) |
| Predecessor | King Taksin (of Thonburi) |
| Successor | King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai |
| Consort | Queen Amarindra |
| Issue | 42 sons and daughters |
| Dynasty | Chakri Dynasty |
Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke or Phutthayotfa (1737 – 1809), posthumously titled Rama I, was King of Siam (now called Thailand) from 1782 to 1809, and the founder of the Chakri dynasty which rules Thailand to this day.
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[edit] Early Life
Phutthayotfa was born Thong Duang on March 20, 1737 in Ayutthaya, the son of Phra Aksorn Sundara Smiantra, a minor noble of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya of Mon descent,[1][2] and his part-Chinese wife.[3][4][5] Phra Aksorn later assumed the title of Chao Phya Chakri Pitsanuloke following the fall of Ayutthaya.
After receiving his education in a Buddhist temple, his father sent him to become a squire for King Uthumphon, and it was at this moment that he met his childhood friend Taksin, who would become King Taksin, Phutthayotfa's future predecessor. At the age of 25, Phutthayotfa became the Governor of Ratchaburi province and later became one of Taksin's six ministers.[6] After the fall of Ayutthaya, he rejoined the ranks of King Taksin under the name Chao Phraya Chakri, and together with Phraya Pichai were they were regarded by Taksin as his two most valuable generals.
[edit] King of Siam
While serving as Taksin's general, Phutthayotfa conquered Vientiane in 1778-79, bringing the country back under control, and reclaiming the Emerald Buddha and Phra Bang. On April 4, 1782, when Taksin was declared mad after a coup d'etat and was later executed, Phutthayotfa assumed power, establishing the Chakri dynasty. He was crowned on April 6, 1782 as Rama I. His coronation date has since become a public holiday in Thailand, the Chakri Memorial Day. Shortly after his ascendency, Rama I created a new code of laws, the Book of Three Seals.
In 1784-1785, the first of the Nguyen Lords, Nguyen Anh convinced King Chulaloke to give him forces to attack Vietnam (which was under the control of the Tay Son brothers). However, the joint Nguyen-Siam fleet was destroyed in the Battle of Rach Gam–Xoai Mut in the Mekong delta region. Nguyen's appeal for Siamese assistance enabled the Siamese to exert considerable political influence over Nguyen's court. Mac Tu Sinh, who was the son of Mac Thien Tu and his Siamese wife and raised among the Siamese, was appointed the governor of Hà Tiên until his death in 1787. Ngo Ma, a general of Siamese descent was appointed as its acting governor in Mac's place.[7] The Cambodians also came under the influence of the Siamese, who frequently paid tribute to the Siamese court. Nguyen managed to recapture Saigon by 1788 with Siamese help and later became emperor Gia Long in 1802.[8]
King Rama I continued Taksin's task of saving the newly reunited country from attack by Burma, and repulsed several Burmese invasions. Chinese immigration continued into Rama I's reign, who maintained Taksin's policy of allowing Chinese immigration as a factor to keep the country's economy going. The Chinese were found mainly in the trading sector, and by the time his son and grandson came to the throne, European explorers noted that Bangkok was filled with Chinese junks of all sizes. [9]
Rama I also moved the capital from Thonburi, which was founded by his predecessor Taksin, and built the new capital Bangkok. During the first few years prior to the founding of the current capital, he saw the construction of the palaces and the Chapel Royal. The Chapel Royal of which the Emerald Buddha was enshrined in was located in his palace, Wat Phra Kaew. With the completion of the new capital, Rama I held an official ceremony naming the new capital.[10]
Rama I was also noted for instituting major reforms in Buddhism as well as restoring moral discipline among the monks in the country, which had gradually eroded with the fall of Ayutthaya. Monks had already dabbled in superstitions when he first came to power, and Rama I implemented a law which required a monk who wished to travel to another principality for further education to present a certificate bearing his personal particulars, which would prove a monk own's legitimacy that he had been properly ordained. The king also repeated emphasised in state ceremonies to place devotion to the Buddha over guardian spirits and past rulers, of which vestiges of ancient Animist worship had a persisted among the Thais prior to his rule.[11]
The king also appointed the first supreme patriarch of Thai Buddhism, whose responsibilities included the duty of ensuring that Rama I's laws are maintained which was to ensure law and order within Buddhist Sangha.[12] Rama I's passion for literature, which was also connected with his concern for Buddhist order within the country. He was noted for advocating important Thai translation of important Pali works.[13]and Buddhist texts lost in the chaos after the sacking of Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767 were salvaged under the direction of Rama I. He also wrote a Thai version of the Ramayana epos called Ramakian.
[edit] Death and Legacy
Rama I died on September 7, 1809 after a short but sharp illness.[14] Upon his death, he was succeeded by his son Prince Isarasundorn, who assumed the throne name of King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai (now posthumously titled Rama II). He was later given the name Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke posthumously by his grandson Nangklao, who later became King Rama III.
[edit] References
- ^ Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit (2005). A History of Thailand. Cambridge University Press, 32 and 288. ISBN 0521816157.
- ^ The following article was written by King Rama IV of the Kingdom of Thailand in 1855 in response to the British Governor to Hongkong. And another related article from The Nation newspaper on 13 December 1999.
- ^ Britannica encyclopedia
- ^ Down Sampeng Lane: The Story of Bangkok's China Town
- ^ Thailand, doing business in
- ^ Clark D. Neher. Modern Thai Politics: From Village to Nation. Transaction Publishers, 50. ISBN 0870739166.
- ^ Nola Cooke, Tana Li (2004). Water Frontier: Commerce and the Chinese in the Lower Mekong Region, 1750-1880. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0742530833.
- ^ Nicholas Tarling (1999). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press, 584. ISBN 0521355052.
- ^ Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit (2005). A History of Thailand. Cambridge University Press, 32-3. ISBN 0521816157.
- ^ Urban Council. Sculptures from Thailand: 16.10.82--12.12.82, Hong Kong Museum. University of California, 33.
- ^ Nicholas Tarling (1999). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press, 221-2. ISBN 0521355052.
- ^ Nicholas Tarling (1999). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press, 222. ISBN 0521355052.
- ^ Nicholas Tarling (1999). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press, 221. ISBN 0521355052.
- ^ Čhunlačhakkraphong (1960). Lords of Life: The Paternal Monarchy of Bangkok, 1782-1932. Taplinger, 114.
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Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke
Chakri Dynasty
Born: 20 March 1737 Died: 7 September 1809 |
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| Preceded by Taksin (of Thonburi) |
King of Siam 1782–1809 |
Succeeded by Buddha Loetla Nabhalai |
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