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In April 1782, Chao Phraya Chakri, a general who was significant in reclaiming Siam, accepted the throne of the Kingdom of Siam for the Chakri Dynasty and was named Rama 1. Rama 1 moved the Capital from Thon buri as it was cut in half by a waterway making its defence difficult and reconstructed a new city on the East bank of the River. The old forts and city walls were demolished and replaced with widened walls and moats. New ditches and canals were dug for transport and water consumption.
The new Grand Palace and the Palace to the Front were constructed. The new city was called Krung Rattanakosin Inayodhaya after the Emerald Buddha [ which Rama 1 as General retook for Siam from Vientiane in Laos ]. After the collapse of the Ayuthaya Kingdom a process of nation building was required. Also during this period there were wars with the Burmese, Khmer [ Cambodians ] and Annamese [ Vietnamese ]. The national boundary of Siam was expanded. In the North it conquered Lan Na, the Shan states in Burma and Sip Song Panna in China. In the South it conquered Malacca, Pattan, Pera Trangkanu, Kelantan and Saiburi [ now parts of Malaysia ].
This was a period of imperialism.
In the Rattanakosin period society still followed the Ayuthayan concepts of the divine right of Kings and the division of society between the administrators and those who were administered. People were either nobles [ land owners ] or commoners [ including slaves ]. The concepts were based on Khmer Hindu beliefs and supported by the Buddhist system. Slavery was legally prevalent until 1905.
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