Rama I
Phutthayotfa Chulalok, posthumously honoured as King Phutthayotfa Chulalok the Great, also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He ascended the throne in 1782, following the deposition of King Taksin of Thonburi. He was also celebrated as the founder of Rattanakosin as the new capital of the reunited kingdom.
Rama I, whose given name was Thongduang, was born from a Mon male line descent family, great-grandson of Kosa Pan. His father served in the royal court of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Thongduang and his younger brother Bunma served King Taksin in wars against the Burmese Konbaung dynasty and helped him in the reunification of Siam. During this time he emerged as Siam's most powerful military leader. Thongduang was the first Somdet Chao Phraya, the highest rank the nobility could attain, equaled to that of royalty. In 1782, he took control of Siam and crowned himself as the monarch. The most famous event in his reign was the Burmese–Siamese War, which was the last major Burmese assault on Siam.
Rama I's reign marked a revival of Siamese culture and state organization following the collapse of the Siamese kingdom in 1767, whose capital was then situated at Ayutthaya. He established a new purified Buddhist sect which allied and tied together Buddhism and the monarchy. Rama I consolidated and expanded on Taksin's military campaigns throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, whose mandala in 1809 stretched north to the Shan States, south to the northern Malay Peninsula and east to the Annamite Range. His reign also marked the beginning of a new "Golden Age of Culture", which continued in the footsteps of the blossoming of the arts during the Late Ayutthaya Period.
Name
Like many high-ranking figures in premodern Siam, Rama I bore several names and titles over the course of his life—and even posthumously—reflecting his changing offices. His given name at birth was Thongduang ; family names had not yet been introduced in Siam.When Thongduang served as the deputy governor of Ratchaburi Province during the reign of King Ekkathat of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, he held the title Luang Yokkrabat. After the fall of Ayutthaya, the new monarch, King Taksin, under whom he served as an important military commander, successively promoted him to the titles of Phra Ratcharin Chao Krom Phra Tamruat, Phraya Aphaironnarit, Phraya Yommarat, Phraya Chakri, and eventually Chaophraya Chakri.
As Chaophraya Chakri, he commanded royal armies in campaigns against the Burmese, the Khmer, and the Lao, earning great distinction in royal service. Consequently, he was elevated to the rank of Somdet Chao Phraya and was granted a royal palanquin, an ivory sedan chair with parasol, and various gold regalia—privileges equal to those of a Chao Fa-ranked prince or Chao Tang Krom.
When he ascended to the throne in 1782, he took the name Ramathibodi, just like the founder of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. His full title was much longer, intended to demonstrate his universal claim to power like of earlier Siamese kings.
After his death, the people referred to him simply as Phaendin Ton, to his son as Phaendin Klang. Continuing this system consequently, his grandson Rama III would have been "the last reign". To avoid this inauspicious title, he ended this practice by donating two Buddha statues that were placed to the sides of the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaeo and dedicated one each to his father and grandfather. He demanded to refer to his two predecessors using the names of these Buddha statues. The one dedicated to the first Chakri king was named Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok. This is how this king is still referred to in Thai history books.
His descendant Vajiravudh who had studied in England, realised that most Siamese kings' names were difficult to reproduce and remember for Westerners. He therefore disposed to use for all kings of the Chakri dynasty the name Rama together with the respective ordinal number. So this king is Rama I in Western literature. In 1982, 200 years after his accession, the Thai cabinet decided to award him the epithet Maharat.
Early life
An Ayuttayan aristocrat
Thongduang was born in 1737, during the reign of King Boromakot of Ayutthaya. His father was Thongdi, a nobleman of Mon ancestry who served at the royal court. Thongdi held the title Phra Akson Sunthonsat and was later posthumously elevated to Somdet Phra Prathom Borommahachonnok. Phra Akson Sunthonsat was also a descendant of Kosa Pan, the leader of King Narai's embassy to the French court. His mother, Daoreung, was the eldest daughter of a wealthy Hokkien Chinese magnate. Thongduang had six other siblings.Thongduang at a young age entered the royal palace as one of the royal pages of King Uthumphon, where he met his childhood friend Sin. In 1757, aged 21, he temporarily entered the monkhood in accordance with Siamese custom. In 1760, he married Nak, the daughter of a local patron in Samut Sakhon. He was later appointed Luang Yokkrabat of Ratchaburi, then an important frontier town and frequent battlefield on the western approaches to the kingdom, during the late Ayutthaya period.
Service under Taksin
On the eve of the fall of Ayutthaya, Phraya Wachiraprakan had foreseen that the fall of the city was certain. Wachiraprakan decided to break the siege of the city of Ayutthaya by the Burmese army and establish a new base outside. Phraya Ratchaburi also joined this venture. In 1767, Ayutthaya under King Ekkathat fell to Burmese invaders, the city was completely destroyed; burned and looted. Local warlords rose up to establish their supremacy in the absence of a central authority.Despite the fall of Ayutthaya, Taksin and his men managed to capture Chantaburi and Trat in the same year. During this time, Phraya Ratchaburi became one of Taksin's six ministers, and together with Bunma, the two became Taksin's most successful generals.
Military leader
Swiftly Taksin made a strategic plan and under it recaptured Ayutthaya in one year. In 1768 Taksin crowned himself and founded the Kingdom of Thonburi on the west bank of the mouth of the Chao Phraya river, using Thonburi as a new capital. Under the new Thonburi regime, Thongduang was appointed head of the royal police department, bearing the title Phra Ratcharin. After subjugating the warlord of Phimai with his brother Bunma, he was raised to Phraya AphairanaritAfter the campaign to subdue the lord of Fang in 1769, Thongduang was raised to Phraya Yommarat. and in the next year became Chao Phraya Chakri – the Samuhanayok. Chakri commanded the Siamese troops in the wars against Burma and went on to subjugate Cambodia. His brother Bunma, accompanied him in various campaigns. Chakri and his brother were sent to the north to Lan Na in 1774 to free the kingdom from Burmese rule with the help of Phraya Kawila, a prince from Lampang. In 1776, he conquered Khmer Pa Dong. He was assigned the task of conquering Lao kingdoms in 1778 and all the three kingdoms fell to the Siamese in the same year. He was eventually raised to Somdet Chao Phraya Maha Kasat Suek, the first vassal to ever hold this rank.
Ascension as King
In 1781, he went on the campaigns against Cambodia, only to return prematurely due to the instability of Thonburi. The rebellion of Phraya Sun had broken out and the rebels deposed King Taksin. Some sources report that Taksin was consigned to a monastery. After arriving in Thonburi in 1782, Chao Phraya defeated the Phraya Sun with his forces. Later sources widely reported that the general eventually executed the ousted Taksin, contradicting to some earlier sources. He then seized power and made himself King, establishing the Chakri dynasty, which continues to rule Thailand to this day.General Maha Kasatsuek crowned himself on 6 April 1782. Soon after, he decided to move the capital of Siam to the east bank of the Chao Phraya river for several reasons, including its better strategic location and a desire to promote his legitimacy by starting from a clean slate. He decided to name his new capital "Rattanakosin". Rama I also raised various members of his family to royalty. He appointed his brother Surasi or Maha Sura Singhanat as the "Front Palace" and his nephew Thong-In or Anurak Devesh as the "Rear Palace".
The King had 42 children. Ten of these were born to Queen Amarinda, the others by various concubines. The Queen's children included Prince Isarasundhorn, later King Phutthaloetla Naphalai , Prince Maha Senanurak and Prince Maha Sakdi Polsep.
Foreign policy and war
Vietnam and Cambodia
In 1784–1785, the last of the Nguyễn Lords, Nguyễn Ánh, convinced Rama I to give him forces to attack Vietnam, which was then under the control of the Tây Sơn brothers. However, the joint Nguyễn-Siam fleet was destroyed in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút in the Mekong Delta region. Nguyễn's appeal for Siamese assistance enabled the Siamese to exert considerable political influence over Nguyễn's court. Mac Tu Sinh, the son of Mạc Thiên Tứ and his Siamese wife, was raised among the Siamese, and held office as 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. Nguyễn Ánh also took refuge in Siam at the King's court waiting for the opportunities to defeat Tây Sơn. These episodes demonstrated Rama I's willingness to extend Siamese power beyond his Kingdom.In Cambodia, King Reamraja was deposed in 1779 and the throne was given to the young prince Ang Eng. However, the pro-Vietnamese policies of certain Cambodian aristocrats under Ang Eng alarmed Rama I. As a result, Rama I had Ang Eng captured and deported to Bangkok, where Rama adopted him as his son, the purpose of which was to impose pro-Siamese sentiments on him. Rama I also imposed Chaophraya Aphaiphubet as the Regent of Cambodia.
Nguyễn Ánh secretly left for Vietnam in 1787, leaving Rama I a note. Ánh managed to recapture Saigon by 1788 and later ascended as Emperor Gia Long in 1802.
In 1794, upon Ang Eng's majority, Rama I reinstalled him as the Neareay Reachea III. The area around Siem Reap and Battambang was annexed by Siam, and were governed by Aphaiphubet. However, Rama I allowed these territories to be ruled in accordance with Cambodian traditions.