King Taksin's rationale had been to have the river flowing through the capital as he feared another Burmese attack after Ayuthaya had been leveled by Burmese armies in 1767; in the case of a new attack he wanted to have an easy escape option. This option was maintained by having the river flowing through, not just alongside the capital. His idea was that he could embark his people and troops then make a getaway on the Chao Phaya. The destination would have been his old stronghold of Chantaburi on the east coast, close to what is now Cambodia.
On the other hand, when Chao Phaya Chakri became King of Siam, the Burmese threat was no longer as eminent as before; Siam was again a strong power, on equal footing with the Burmese. Rama I, didn't think in terms of easy escape routes anymore, but in terms of strong defence. He had no intention of vacating his capital, should the Burmese march on it - he wanted to defend it by all means. For this purpose, a river flowing through the capital was a disadvantage as it would be difficult to secure. Therefore, he decided to neglect the western, larger side of what had been Thonburi, instead concentrating everything important on the eastern side. This of course included his own palace.
To make space for his palace where it is still located, a large settlement on the eastern side of Thonburi had to be razed. At the end of the 18th century, Chinese inhabitants had chiefly occupied the present palace area. Chao Phaya Chakri had the whole Chinese community transferred some three kilometers downstream, to an area then known as Sampheng. The Chinese still live in that area, and Sampheng Lane now is a famous Chinese shopping area.
Work on the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha was by and large completed in 1785. The new capital, now more or less just covering the area on the eastern side of the Chao Phaya was inaugurated under the new name "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amorn Rattanakosindra Mahindrayutthaya Mahadilokpop Noparattana Radchhani Burirom Udom Rachnivet Mahastan Amorn Pimarn Avatarn Satit Sakatuttiya Vishnukarm Prasit. |
