Thon Buri

The village of Thoburi, on the right (western) bank of the Chao Phraya (here in the lower left corner of the map), facing the fortress of Bangkok, during the 1688 Siege of Bangkok.^[1]

Thon Buri (Thai: ธนบุรี) was capital of Thailand for a short time during the reign of King Taksin, after the previous capital Ayutthaya was sacked by the Burmese. It is located on the opposite bank of Chao Phraya River, or nowaday Royal Palaces. During Ayutthaya time, Thon Buri was an important garrison town at the mouth of the river.

King Rama I moved the capital to Bangkok in 1782 to the other side of the Chao Phraya River. Thon Buri remained an independent town and province, and was merged into Bangkok in 1972.

Thon Buri stayed less developed than the original Bangkok part of the city, several of the traditional small waterways (Khlongs) still exist there, which are nearly gone on the other side of the river.

In 1950, Bangkok had 1,299,528 people, and the municipality of Thon Buri 403,818.

Thon Buri was Thailand's second largest city proper with around 600,000 residents in 1970. (3 times more than the next largest). No Thai city other than Bangkok since has reached 400,000 residents.

Notes

References

• Smithies, Michael (2002), Three military accounts of the 1688 "Revolution" in Siam, Itineria Asiatica, Orchid Press, Bangkok, ISBN 9745240052.

External links

• Wikitravel: Bangkok/Thonburi

Coordinates: 13°43′30″N 100°29′09″E / 13.725°N 100.485833333°E / 13.725; 100.485833333

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