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Thailand: A barge port on a canal outside Wat Rajabophit in Bangkok, with the royal cemetery on the left, c. 1900. The royal cemetery contains the remains of and monuments to several members of the Thai royal family, particularly those related to King Chu

Thailand: A barge port on a canal outside Wat Rajabophit in Bangkok, with the royal cemetery on the left, c. 1900. The royal cemetery contains the remains of and monuments to several members of the Thai royal family, particularly those related to King Chu

Bangkok was little more than a small port at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River until the Burmese sacked the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya in 1767. The royal capital was moved to Thonburi on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, then, after the death of King Taksin, to Bangkok on the east bank, heralding the Rattanakosin era (1782—1932) of the Chakri Dynasty. Siam underwent a period of great modernisation under King Mongkut, Rama IV (r. 1851—68) and King Chulalongkorn (r. 1868—1910). Today, Bangkok has a population of some 10 million and is a major hub of trade and commerce, as well as Thailand's political and social center.

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