45 Facts About Taksin

Taksin had been an aristocrat in the Ayutthaya Kingdom and then was a major leader during the liberation of Siam from Burmese occupation after the Second Fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, and the subsequent unification of Siam after it fell under various warlords.

Taksin established the city of Thonburi as the new capital, as the city of Ayutthaya had been almost completely destroyed by the invaders.

Taksin's reign was characterized by numerous wars; he fought to repel new Burmese invasions and to subjugate the northern Thai kingdom of Lanna, the Laotian principalities, and a threatening Cambodia.

Taksin issued regulations for the collection and arrangement of various texts to promote education and religious studies.

Taksin was taken in a coup d'etat and executed, and succeeded by his long-time friend Maha Ksatriyaseuk, who then assumed the throne, founding the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the Chakri dynasty, which has since ruled Thailand.

Taksin studied Hokkien-Chinese, Vietnamese, and several Indian languages, and became fluent in them.

In 1765, when the Burmese attacked Ayutthaya, Phraya Taksin defended the capital, for which he was given the title Phraya Wachiraprakan of Kamphaeng Phet.

Taksin travelled first to Chonburi, a town on the Gulf of Thailand's eastern coast, and then to Rayong, where he raised a small army and his supporters began to address him as Prince Tak.

Taksin's army was rapidly increasing in numbers, as men of Chanthaburi and Trat, which had not been plundered and depopulated by the Burmese, naturally constituted a suitable base for him to make preparations for the liberation of his motherland.

Taksin executed the puppet Thai governor, Thong-in, whom the Burmese had placed in charge.

Taksin followed up his victory quickly by attacking the main Burmese camp numbering 3,000 men, led by General Suki at the Battle of Pho Sam Ton near Ayutthaya.

The Burmese were defeated, General Suki was killed in the fighting, and Taksin won back Ayutthaya from the enemy within seven months of its destruction.

King Taksin took important steps to show that he was a worthy successor to the throne.

Taksin ensured appropriate treatment to the remnants of the ex-royal family, arranged a grand cremation of the remains of the former ruler Ekkathat, and tackled the problem of establishing the capital.

Taksin likely realized that the city of Ayutthaya had suffered such destruction that to restore it to its former state would have strained his resources.

Taksin was born in 1737 in Ayutthaya and later was to be the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, while the younger one, Bunma, born six years later, served as his deputy.

However, while King Taksin was assembling his forces at Chanthaburi, Nai Sudchinda brought his retainers to join him, thus helping to increase his fighting strength.

Just after his coronation, Taksin secured the service of Luang Yokkrabut on the recommendation of Phra Mahamontri and as he was equally familiar with him as with his brother, he raised him to be Phra Rajwarin.

From 1768 to 1771, Taksin launched campaigns to subjugate these rivals, and Thonburi emerged as the new center of power within Siam.

In 1767, Hsinbyushin sent an army of 2,000 men under the command of Maengki Manya, the governor of Tavoy to invade Siam after Taksin as established Thonburi as the capital.

Taksin launched campaigns to stabilize the northern frontier with Lanna, whose capital Chiang Mai, under Burmese rule, served as launching bases for Burmese incursions.

In 1770, Taksin started his first expedition to capture Chiang Mai, but he was pushed back.

In 1774, Taksin led an army to attack Chiang Mai for the second time.

Taksin had distinguished himself as a first rate general in the wars with China and in the suppression of a recent Peguan rising.

Taksin ordered Maha Sura Singhanat, the governor of Phitsanulok to meet up with Phraya Kawila, the ruler of Lampang to retake Chiang Mai.

Taksin made a formal submission to the Thonburi Kingdom when he annexed Champasak, but after the withdrawal of Taksin army, he was attacked and killed by troops from Vientiane.

When King Taksin established Thonburi as his capital, people were living in abject poverty, and food and clothing were scarce.

The King Taksin was well aware of the plight of his subjects, so in order to legitimize his claim for the kingdom, he made economic problems his priority.

Taksin paid high prices for rice from his own money to induce foreign traders to bring in adequate amounts of basic necessities to satisfy the need of the people.

Taksin then distributed rice and clothing to all his starving subjects.

Taksin had to fight almost constantly for most of his reign to maintain the independence of his country.

Simultaneously Taksin was deeply engaged in restoring law and order in the kingdom and administering a public welfare programme.

Taksin invited ecclesiastical dignitaries from the capital to teach those monks and brought them back in line with the main teachings of Buddhism.

Taksin, then, sent a tributary mission to require the royal seal, claiming that the throne of Ayutthaya Kingdom had come to an end.

However, his attempt was hindered by Mac Thien Tu, the governor of Ha Tien, whom had thorough knowledge of Chinese diplomatic practices and alleged that Taksin was a usurper.

Taksin believed himself to be a future Buddha, expecting to change the color of his blood from red to white.

King Taksin punished them harshly, torturing and executing high officials.

King Taksin surrendered to the rebels without resistance, and requested to be allowed to join the monkhood in Wat Chaeng.

The Chronicles stated that, while being taken to the executing venue, Taksin asked for an audience with General Chao Phraya Chakri, but was turned down by the general.

An alternative account states that Taksin was ordered to be executed in the traditional Siamese way by General Chao Phraya Chakri at Wat Chaeng: by being sealed in a velvet sack and beaten to death with a scented sandalwood club.

Vietnamese royal records reported that King Taksin had some kind of psychosis in his final years; he imprisoned Chakri and Surasi's family.

Some Vietnamese sources stated that Taksin was assassinated by General Chakri, others that Taksin was sentenced to death and executed in a public place.

However, prior to returning to Thonburi, Chao Phraya Chakri had Taksin's son summoned to Cambodia and executed.

King Taksin was seen by some radical historians as a king who differed from the kings of Ayutthaya, in his origins, his policies, and his leadership style, as a representative of a new class.

The monument featuring King Taksin riding on a horseback surrounded by his four trusted soldiers: Pra Chiang-ngen, Luang Pichai-asa, Luang Prom-sena, Luang Raj-saneha.