Thonburi Kingdom - Expansions and Economic Problems

Expansions and Economic Problems

In 1776, a governor of Nangrong (modern Nakhon Nayok) had a row with the governor of Nakhon Ratchasima the head city of the region. The governor then sought supports from King Sayakumane of Champasak. This became a casus bellum for Taksin to sent Chao Phraya Chakri to conquer Champasak. King Sayakumane fled but was captured and detained in Thonburi for two years until he was sent to rule his kingdom again in 1780 paying tribute to Thonburi. The Champasak campaign earned Chakri the title Somdet Chao Phraya Maha Kasatseuk. Taksin invented the title Somdet Chao Phraya for a mandarin with equal honor as a royalty.

In 1778, a Laotian mandarin named Phra Wo sought Siamese supports against King Bunsan of Vientiene but was killed by the Laotian king. Taksin then dispatched the troops in 1779 led by the two famous brothers commanders, Phraya Chakri and his brother, Phraya Surasi to subjugate Vientiene. At the same time King Suriyavong of Luang Prabang submitted himself to Thonburi and joined the invasion of Vientiene. King Bunsan fled and hid in the forests but later gave up himself to the Siamese. The Vientiene royal family was deported to Thonburi as hostages. Thonburi forces took two valuable Buddha images, the symbolic icons of Vientiane – the Emerald Buddha and Phra Bang to Thonburi. Then all of the three Laotian kingdoms became Siamese tributaries and remained under Siamese rule for another hundred years.

Years of warfare and the Burmese invasions prevented any peasants to engage in agricultural activities. Majority of people had been deported to Burma in the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 and the lack of manpower became the source of problems. Taksin had tried his best to encourage people to come out of forest hidings and promote farming. He promulgated the Conscription Tattooing in 1773 to left a permanent mark on commoners' bodies, preventing them from fleeing or moving. The practice continued well into Rattanakosin times until the abolition of levy itself by King Chulalongkorn later. As Taksin was from a Chinese merchant family, he sold his both royal and familial properties and belongings to subsidize the production by giving money off to people. This proved to be a temporary relief for such an economic decline. Nevertheless, the Siamese economy after the catastrophes needed time to rehabilitate.

Taksin himself also commissioned trade missions to the neighboring countries to bring Siam back to outside world, mainly with China. He dispatched several missions with tributes to the Qing in 1781 to resume diplomatic and commercial relationships.