Old Ayutthaya as a City---Lecture by Dr. Chris Baker

Ayutthaya, one of Thailand's capital cities, was sacked by the Burmese in 1767

Siam Society. Bangkok, Thailand. September 20, 2011. The ancient city of Ayutthaya, about a two hour drive from Bangkok, is a World Heritage Site, and a major tourist attraction. Its magnificent ruins give some indication of how grand a place it must have been in the late Ayutthaya period (1630-1767). A former capital city, it housed between 200,000-300,000 people from numerous countries and regions. European travelers reported that it was one of the great cities of Asia. It was port city, a trading hub, and a manufacturing center with a cosmopolitan population, among other attributes.

But, alas, it became self-satisfied, rich, and had no concept of a standing army. When attacked by the Burmese in 1767, it didn’t want to fight and easily fell. The Burmese were ruthless in sacking Ayutthaya and looting it of its wealth, while burning and destroying its buildings. Ayutthaya never recovered and today’s ruins date back to Ayutthaya’s fall in 1767.

Dr. Chris Baker is an English scholar and historian who has lived in Thailand for many years. He’s authored a number of books about Thailand, including the best history of Thailand in English, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2005. I’ve read it and use it as a reference source. I’ve heard Dr. Baker speak many times and he has a gift for making his subjects interesting, indeed spell-binding. His very well attended lecture at the Siam Society was designed to provide a picture of what life was like in Ayutthaya during the last decades prior to its fall. Through quotes from original sources, maps, and his vast knowledge of the period, he was successful in making Ayutthaya comes alive in a way that even a visit to the site cannot do.
(Photo above: Scholar and author, Dr. Chris Baker, lectures at the Siam Society, Bangkok.)