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250 Years Ago in Southeast Asia

The French are expelled from Siam after the death of King Narai in 1688. The Thai word for foreigner, "farang", literally means "French". General Phra Petraja murders Narai's heirs and becomes king. During his rule, in 1697, Cambodia sent a white elephant to Siam to show its submission. Petraja dies in 1703.

In 1720, the Vietnamese empire (sometimes called Annam) attacks the Champa kingdom in what is now the southern part of modern Vietnam. Out of fear of the Vietnamese, the whole Cham population moves to an area in what is now part of the modern state of Cambodia. During the 1970s, the Pol Pot government in Cambodia kills more than half of the 350,000 Chams still living there.

In 1758, a new powerful dynasty rises in Burma, once again challenging the dominance of Siam. Siam and Burma had been enemies for more than 200 years. It is Siam's bad luck that it is ruled by one of its weakest kings. In 1759, the Burmese King Alaungsaya invades Siamese territory and regains the cities of Tavoy, Mergui and Tenesserim (still part of Burma today). King Alaungsaya besieges Ayutthaya, the Siamese capital, in April 1760. However, the Burmese king is seriously wounded while aiming a cannon during the siege. The Burmese army retreats, but Alaungsaya dies on the way. The war continues, and Burma takes Laos and most of Siam by 1765.

After a siege of 14 months, on April 7, 1767, the city of Ayutthaya is captured and burned to the ground.

Thinking Siam is defeated for good, the Burmese army goes back home. But a Siamese noble, Chao Phaya Taksin, leads a rebellion. Taksin's father was Chinese, and his mother was Thai. He defeats the Burmese and moves his capital to Thonburi. Taksin is not strong enough to become king, and civil war lasts until 1775. Another Burmese attack that year is also defeated. Taksin recaptures Chiang Mai and reunites the kingdom.

In 1782, there is a revolt against Taksin. One of his generals, Chao Phaya Chakri is declared king. He rules under the name of King Rama I. The Chakri dynasty is still in power in Thailand. Rama keeps the capital at Thonburi, but rebuilds much of the city. His new Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha are two of the most important of his works. Because the palace was located in the village of Bangkok just beside Thonburi, the city was now usually called Bangkok. King Rama died in 1809.

A traditonal form of theatre in Java is a kind of dance drama called wayang topeng. The plots of the dramas are taken either from traditional Javanese stories about the hero Panji or from the two great epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Both epics came originally from India, but for more than a thousand years have been an integral part of the cultures of Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia. Wayang topeng performances are held at night and last for at least several hours. The performers are professionals who may be permanently employed at the courts of the sultans of Solo and Jogjakarta. The actors wear masks which show their character.

This example, made more than a hundred years ago, is a tiger demon. In the days before movies and television, these plays were exciting events for rural people. Now they are becoming rare.

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