Taksin's reunification of Siam: Difference between revisions

Thonburi reunification of Siam
Date 1767–1770/71[1][2] Location Siam Result Thonburi victory. Reunification of Siam under the Thonburi Kingdom.
Belligerents
State of Thonburi (Thonburi Kingdom)	State of Phimai State of Phitsanulok State of Sawangburi State of Nakhon Si Thammarat Principality of Hà Tiên Konbaung Dynasty (Burma)
Commanders and leaders
Taksin Chao Phraya Chakri Chao Phraya Surasih Phraya Phichai Phraya Chaban Phraya Kawila Phraya Vaiwongsa	Thepphiphit  Rueang Rojanakun † Chao Phra Fang (MIA) Phra Chao Khattiyarachanikhom (POW) Mạc Thiên Tứ
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

Following the Sack of Ayutthaya and the collapse of the Ayutthaya Kingdom during the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–1767), a power vacuum left Siam divided into 5 separate states—Phimai, Phitsanulok, Sawangburi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Thonburi. The state of Thonburi, led by Taksin, would ultimately prevail, subjugating its rivals to successfully reunify Siam by 1771.^[3]

After the sacking of Ayutthaya the country had fallen apart, due to the disappearance of central authority. In its absence, five major rival Siamese states occupied the vacuum.

Prince Thepphiphit (เทพพิพิธ) [th], Borommakot's son, who had been unsuccessful in a diversionary action against the Burmese in 1766, had set himself up as the ruler of Phimai holding sway over land in the Isan region (then known as Khorat), governing from the city of Phimai, which spanned a huge chunk of the Isan region.

Rueang Rojanakun (เรือง โรจนกุล) [th], the governor of Phitsanulok, had proclaimed himself independent, with the territory under his control extending from Tak to Nakhon Sawan.

Chao Phra Fang (เจ้าพระฝาง) [th], an influential monk, established his own state with the capital set in the town of Sawangburi, 10 km east of Uttaradit city. His territory extended from Uttaradit to Nan.

Phra Chao Khattiyarachanikhom (พระเจ้าขัตติยราชนิคม) [th], the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat, declared his independence and raised himself to princely rank.^[4] His territory covered most of what is now southern Thailand.

Phraya Taksin, the governor of Tak, of Teochew and possibly of Thai ancestry, established his new capital at Thonburi, after initially basing his operations out of Chanthaburi.^[5] His following was a varied assortment of Chinese merchants, adventurers, and minor nobles,^[6] and would go on to successfully reunify Siam in the next few years.

Content has been copied from Taksin; see that page's history for attribution.

On 3 January 1767, 3 months before the fall of Ayutthaya,^[7] Taksin made his way out of the city at the head of 500 followers to Rayong, on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand.^[8] This action was never adequately explained, as the royal compound and Ayutthaya proper was on an island. How Taksin and his followers fought their way out of the Burmese encirclement remains a mystery. He 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.^[9] He planned to attack and capture Chanthaburi, according to a popular version of oral history, he said, "We are going to attack Chanthaburi tonight. Destroy all the food and utensils we have, for we will have our food in Chanthaburi tomorrow morning."^[10]

On 7 April 1767, Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese. After the destruction of Ayutthaya and the death of the Thai king, the country was split into six parts, with Taksin controlling the east coast. Together with Thongduang, now Chao Phraya Chakri, he eventually managed to drive back the Burmese, defeat his rivals and reunify the country.^[11]

With his soldiers he moved to Chanthaburi, and being rebuffed by the governor of the town, he made a surprise night attack on it and captured it on 15 June 1767, only two months after the sack of Ayutthaya.^[12] His army was rapidly increasing in numbers, as men of Chanthaburi and Trat, which had not been plundered and depopulated by the Burmese,^[13] naturally constituted a suitable base for him to make preparations for the liberation of his motherland.^[14]

Having thoroughly looted Ayutthaya, the Burmese did not seem to show serious interest in holding the capital of Siam, since they left around 3,000 troops under General Suki to control the shattered city. They turned their attention to the north of their own country which was soon threatened with Chinese invasion.

On 6 November 1767, having amassed 5,000 troops, Taksin sailed up the Chao Phraya River and seized Thonburi opposite present day Bangkok. He executed the puppet Thai governor, Thong-in, whom the Burmese had placed in charge.^[15] He followed up his victory quickly by attacking the main Burmese camp in the Battle of Pho Sam Ton near Ayutthaya.^[16] The Burmese were defeated and Taksin won back Ayutthaya from the enemy within seven months of its destruction.^[14]

Hsinbyushin of Burma had never abandoned his plan to force Siam to its knees, and as soon as he had been informed of the foundation of Thonburi as Taksin's capital, he commanded the Governor of Tavoy to subjugate him in 1767. The Burmese Army advanced to the district of Bang Kung in the province of Samut Songkram to the west of the new capital, but was routed by the Thai king in the Battle of Bang Kung in 1767, which is also the site of Wat Bang Kung.^[17] When more Chinese troops invaded Burma, Hsinbyushin was forced to recall most of his troops back to resist the Chinese.

In 1768, Taksin sent an army to attack Phitsanulok. Taksin was injured during the campaign and had to retreat, however, it was a cadmean victory for the State of Phitsanulok as it was weakened to the point that it was subjugated by the State of Sawangburi. Rueang Rojanakun died on the same year. It is unknown how Rueang Rojanakun died. Some scholars speculate that his death was from tuberculosis.

In the same year, Taksin sent two commanders, Thongduang (later Rama I) and Bunma, both brothers, to attack the State of Phimai. The invasion was a success and forced Thepphiphit, the ruler of Phimai to flee to Vientiane. Thepphiphit was later captured and then executed.

In 1769, Thongduang, now Phraya Chakri, attacked Nakhon Si Thammarat, but got bogged down at Chaiya. Taksin sent his army to help capturing Nakhon Si Thammarat and finally won. The governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat was taken prisoner by the governor of Pattani and delivered to Taksin. The governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat was pardoned by Taksin and given a residence at the capital at Thonburi.^[18]

In 1770, Chao Phra Fang, the ruler of the State of Sawangburi invaded the State of Thonburi. The Sawangburi forces reached as far as Chai Nat. Taksin saw the invasion as a threat to his rule. He decided to deal with this matter and ordered an invasion of the State of Sawangburi. Taksin was accompanied by Phraya Phichai, who led the west army and Bunma who led the east army. The Thonburi forces easily took Phitsanulok and captured Sawangburi in the next 3 days. Thonburi had finally reunified Siam as one kingdom.^[19] Chao Phra Fang's fate is unknown as he disappeared following the capture of Sawangburi.

In 1771, following repeated failed attempts made by the Cantonese merchant ruler of Hà Tiên (Banteay Mas), Mạc Thiên Tứ, to undermine Taksin in a bid to expand his own territory into Siam and Cambodia, Taksin launched a retaliatory land and naval assault on Hà Tiên, which resulted in Mo Thien Tu's flight, thereby ending the last serious threat to Taksin's early rule.^[20] Mạc Thiên Tứ would later return and retake Hà Tiên, with Vietnamese assistance, two years later.

• Taksin the Great
• Thonburi Kingdom

• Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2017). A History of Ayutthaya: Siam in the Early Modern World. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-19076-4 (Hardback), ISBN 978-1-316-64113-2 (Paperback).
• Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2014). A History of Thailand. 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107420212.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
• Damrong Rajanubhab, Prince (1920). The Thais Fight the Burmese (in Thai). Matichon. ISBN 978-974-02-0177-9.
• Wood, W.A.R. (1924). A History of Siam. London: T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd.