Chapter – 3: Bangkok Fortresses

Bangkok Fortresses

survival ruins from Ayutthaya period

Figure 22 (left) Siege of the French fortress (A) by Siamese troops and batteries (C), in Bangkok, 1688. The enclosure of the village of Bangkok represented in the lower left corner (M) is today’s Thonburi source: 1690 French work. Reproduction in "Three military accounts of the 1688 revolution in Siam", Michael Smithies. Figure 23 (right) Map of 17th century Bangkok- by Simon de la Loubèr

In the early period - before the Ayutthaya kingdom, the settlements along the river comprised of many orchards and temples in which people were gathered. In the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767), international trades had grown, and Bangkok became a strategic area for trading. The shoreland had been converted to be a tax port. The city's walls and fortresses had been created on the Choa Phraya's riverbank. With the religious mission to introduce Christianity and the French influence in South Asia, the French military established two fortresses on both sides of the river. Still, during the Siege of Bangkok in 1688 (Smithies,2002) (Figure 22), the Siam militaries took over the western side after the French soldiers regrouped at the larger fortress on the east side. After the retreat of French armies in the same year, both forts became Bangkok's strategic area. Subsequently, the city wall had been built expanded from the western fortress. On the contrary, the eastern fortress was presumably demolished later. In the Thonburi period (1768-1782), King Taksin Maharaj established Thonburi on the west island of Chao Phraya River as the new capital and built a new palace inside the existing city wall adjacent to the western fortress. At present, the fortress, called Pom Wichai Prasit, is in the Royal Thai Navy headquarter area and is open to the public (Figure 25).

Figure 24 (left) Pom Wichai Prasit, in Siege of the French source: 1690 French work. Reproduction in "Three military accounts of the 1688 revolution in Siam", Michael Smithies Figure 25 (right) Pom Wichai Prasit source: https://www.facebook.com/boraan.th/posts/200210274337

In the reign of King Rama I (1782-1809), the capital was relocated to the eastern bank. Klong Rob Krung (the second ring canal) and 14 fortresses had been built as a new boundary to protect the city. To construct these fortresses required a significant number of bricks as the main construction material. Thus, the Ayutthaya city wall had been dismantled and brought to Bangkok by the Chao Phraya River for the fortresses’ constructions. In the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910), some fortresses had been broken into pieces of bricks again to fill the waterway and create new roads. There are only two fortresses survived in the present: Pom Maha Kan, which will be discussed in the further chapter, and Pom Phra Sumen (Figure 27), a fortress on the northside of Khlong Rob Krung next to the Chao Phraya River. In 1999, Pom Phra Sumen area was transformed to Santi Chai Prakan Park (Figure 26), a riverside public park of about three acres, on the 72nd anniversary of King Rama XI. The multiple activities, such as aerobic plaza, Tai Chi, various cultural events in the community, the riverside view, and the juxtaposition of a new park and an old fortress draw both local people and visitors to spend their time in this park and the old but dynamic community of

Phra Athit road. It is a good example of the combination between the public space development and preserving historical ruin.

Figure 26 Pom Phra Sumen, Photo by Heinrich Damm Figure 27 Pom Phra Sumen South Elevation source: http://banglamphumuseum.treasury.go.th/news_view.php?nid=102