Independent but impoverished, 19th-century Lanna was governed by the family of Kawila, nominally a vassal of Thailand, but in fact autonomous. Not until 1874 was a Thai High Commissioner sent to administer the north and during the reign of King Rama V the region was slowly incorporated into the Thai kingdom. Laos, east of the [...]
|
||||||
|
In 1615, the Burmese King of Ava reestablished control over Lanna, which lasted for more than a century. Actual Burmese presence in the north, however, remained minimal and had very little effect on most of the population. The darkest period in the history of the north began with the rebellion of General Thip, who defeated [...] Quarrels over the possession of a powerful talisman, and image of the Buddha, led to a Burmese invasion in 1558 and Lanna became a vassal state of the King of Pegu, governed by Burmese-appointed rulers. king Naresuan of Ayutthaya, fighting the Burmese who and invaded Siam, expelled these rulers from Lanna in 1598 and for [...] The 15th century saw the flowering of the Lanna kingdom, which was powerful enough to host an international buddhist gathering in 1455. Trade, art and education flourished, despite the occasional feudal battles between vassals and princes. The west bank of the Mekong (today parts of Laos, Burma and Thailand) was also ruled by the King [...] Unification of the small northern principalities was achieved by King Mengrai, a Ngong Yang chief of mixed Thai and Lawa blood. Embarking on a grand scheme for conquering the whole region, he founded Chiang Rai, seized Haripunchai in 1292, annexed Payao and, in 1296, founded his new capital of Chiang Mai. He thus established the [...] The fall of Ayutthaya Shortly after King Ekatat assumed the throne in 1758, Ayutthaya was attacked once more by the Burmese under King Alaungpaya. A second invasion led by Alaungpaya’s son, Hsinbyushin, succeeded in capturing Ayutthaya, after a siege lasting more than a year. The city was burned and looted by the victors and more than [...] The Rise of Ayutthaya. Avulthaya was founded on the Chao Phrava River by King Ramathibodi in 1350. Over the next four centuries, it grew from a small, fortified city into one of the great capitals of the region, its power reaching far beyond the fertile river valley. The capital fell to the Burmese in 1569, but [...] |
||||||
|
Copyright © 2010 Thailand History Guide - All Rights Reserved |
||||||