The Front Palace Crisis was a political crisis that took place in the Grand Palace from 28 December 1874 to 24 February 1875.
The crisis was a power struggle between the reformist King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and the conservative Prince Bovon Vichaichan (The eldest son of Vice King Pinklao (King Mongkut – Rama IV’s younger brother). Thus he was the nephew to King Rama IV and King Rama V’s cousin), the Vice King.
When King Rama V came to the throne in 1868, Prince Bovon Vichaichan was appointed Front Palace or Vice King in the same year.
The progressive reforms of King Rama V aroused the ire of Prince Bovon Vichaichan and the nobility, who saw their power and influence being slowly eroded.
A mysterious fire in the Grand Palace led to an open confrontation between the two factions. The result of the crisis reached stalemate prompting Prince Bovon Vichaichan to flee to the British Consulate.
(Not of the same timeline)
The crisis was finally resolved with the presence of Sir Andrew Clarke, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, who supported the King over his Cousin.
Afterwards the Front Palace was stripped of its power and after Prince Bovon Vichaichan's death in 1885 the title was abolished.
The title of Front Palace was the heir presumptive to the throne. It was first created in 1688 by King Petracha of the former kingdom, Ayutthaya Kingdom.
After being abolished, it was replaced with an heir apparent or known in English as ‘Crown Prince’ whose succession is to be based on the principle of male primogeniture. The new invented title brought Siamese succession in line with the European tradition.
Note: the first Crown Prince of Siam was Crown Prince Maha Wachirunahit (detail on page 23)
(to be continued)
Last edited by nathanielnong; 27-04-2021 at 10:26 AM.
We've dismissed the Bunnag's influence and sleight-of-hand in this historic mix?
Related note: The House of Bunnag was a powerful Siamese noble family of Mon-Persian descent.
It was recorded that the very first of the clan was a Persian merchant, a native of Qom from south of Tehran. He established himself as a rich merchant in the late era of Ayutthaya Kingdom.
There, he entered the service of King Songtham (1611–1628) who appointed him as Lord of the Right Pier to supervise traders from the West i.e. Persians, Indians and Europeans.
He was also appointed as Minister of Islamic Affairs to oversee all Shiites I Siam.
Descendants of Sheikh Ahmad exerted control over Siamese politics, trade and foreign affairs. Many of them became ‘Samuha Nayok (The early Thai system of central executive governance during the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Thonburi Kingdom and early Ratanakosin Kingdom).
They also monopolized the post of Chularatchamontri (A leader of Islam who works as an advisor on Islam matters to the King) though most of them converted to Buddhism.
By the nineteenth century, the Clan’s power and influence reached its zenith. A lot of the Clan’s members were favored by Chakri Monarchs and monopolized high-ranking titles.
Three of the four ‘Somdet Chao Praya (The highest rank for commoners ever granted by the king)' came from the Bunnag Clan. They played key roles in government and foreign relations until after the Front Palace Crisis that King Rama V sought to undo the power of nobility and pursue centralization. The Bunnag gradually withdrew from prominent roles in Siamese politics but continued to fill important official ranks.
(Of all of King Rama IV’s and V’s wives (Rama IV’s = 60, Rama V’s = 153), there were 34 that came from the Bunnag Clan, don't count here!)
Last edited by nathanielnong; 28-04-2021 at 10:54 AM.
Some pictures on top of the first matchboxes sold in mass production all over Siam’s markets issued by a rice company named in Thai as ‘Borisat (= company) Makuald (?? cannot find the right English term)’ in the reign of King Rama IV (1851-1868)
This picture on top of a matchbox which was imported from Japan shows the drawing of King Rama V (1868-1910) on horseback. Thai word on the center below reads ‘pra-roop’ meaning ‘royal picture’.
Record says further that a set of Chinese words (I wonder why they hired Japan not China doing it) on below right reads ‘Seam-Ung’ which means ‘the King of Siam’.
Also sold in a set of A – Z (The photo ends at 'O').
Last edited by nathanielnong; 30-04-2021 at 10:38 AM.
Nat, the pictures don't seem to be showing in #785
I can see them.
^ no problems if you are sober
A documentary (photos not included) titled: Palaces, people and the city
Bangkok’s earliest days, city planning was attuned to the siting and expansion of palaces. The Royal Grand Palace and Wang Na – the Palace of the Second King – were built near the Chao Praya River, while others for princes' who had become too old to stay in the Grand Palace were constructed to the north, south and east.
While some of the new capital’s palaces were built on unoccupied land, the construction of others entailed the expropriation of whole communities without compensation.
King Rama IV ultimately put an end to such enforced resettlement, ordering that any occupied land needed for royal projects must be purchased from his subjects.
The early palaces were built in traditional Siamese style, with foreign architecture showing no influence until the reign of King Rama V.
The Royal Grand Palace – and Wat Pra Kaew’s outer grounds – has long been acknowledged as the most beautiful places in Bangkok. Experienced artisans from all over the country were summoned to help building the graceful Wung (palaces) and Wat (temples) of the new Siam, and their distinctive contributions have magnificently reflected the Siamese view of life ever since.
Among the buildings within the Grand Palace compound are throne halls and smaller palaces, all repeatedly renovated and refurbished over the years. There are 25 interior gates linking 35 structures, as well as 13 exterior gates and 17 forts around the long wall.
Pra Maha Monthien in the Grand Palace was the marvelous residential complex of early Chakri kings, who stayed mostly in the chief Throne Hall, the Chakrapatpiman.
(Pra Maha Monthien)
(Chakrapatpiman Throne Hall)
Other interesting buildings in the complex are Dusit Maha Prasat and Chakri Maha Prasat throne halls. The former, displaying traditional Thai architecture, was built in Rama I’s time. The soaring tiers of its red, gold and green roof culminate in a gilded spire shaped like the King’s crown, and each tier bears a typical chor-fa (slender bird’s head), hang hong (a swan’s tail), and a three-headed naga.
In contrast, the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall, built in the days of King Rama V, is a hybrid of Thai and European architecture. The throne hall itself was built in European style and the roof in Thai.
No one other than the King’s children was allowed to be born or die inside the walls of the Royal Grand Palace, but if such a dire event occurred, a Brahmin ceremony to “compensate” each of the palace gates had to be held. For this reason pregnant women were not permitted to enter the complex.
Wat Pra Kaew was built to King Rama I’s specifications as a temple within the royal compound, just as Wat Pra Sri Sanphet had held pride of place in the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (detail on page 25/609).
While the influences of sacred Siamese literature – derived from the Indian epic Ramayana – are much in evidence there, it was a temple without monks.
The Palace of the Second King (Wung Na) was built at the same time on the present sites of Thammasat University, the National Museum and the National Theatre.
There were also three smaller palaces where Silpakorn University and the Fine Arts Department now stand, and these were occupied by some of the highest royalties.
The west exterior gate of the Royal Grand Palace, which opened on to the Chao Praya River, for generations teemed with traders, shoppers and elephants. Among the bustling piers in the area were Ta (= pier) Chang Wung Luang and Ta Chang Wang Na, whose names include “chang” in recognition of the fact that royal elephants (= chang) regularly bathed there.
Ta Chang Wang Luang is today called Ta Pra, because it was the anchorage for the barge that brought the giant Buddha image for Wat Suthat in King Rama I’s time.
Last edited by nathanielnong; 01-05-2021 at 02:41 PM.
Related article
Wat Suthat Thepwararam is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a royal temple of the first grade, one of ten such temples in Bangkok (23 in Thailand).
Construction was begun by King Rama I in 1807. In the beginning, it was located in the combretum grove. Further construction and decorations were carried out by King Rama II who helped carve the wooden doors, but the temple was not completed until the reign of King Rama III in 1847 or 1848.
This temple contains the Buddha image which has been moved from Sukhothai Province (the ancient Sukhothai Kingdom). At the lower terrace of the base, there are 28 Chinese pagodas which symbolize 28 Buddhas, born in various times, on this earth.
In 2005, the temple was submitted to UNESCO for consideration as a future World Heritage Site.
This Wat has a reputation with the stories about a kind of an undead called ‘prate’ of which according to the beliefs of Buddhism and ancient Siamese are often depicted as a tall hungry ghost with a thin body and a scary howling cry.
It was said that it often appears in front of the temple at night. Until it creates a saying that "Prate Wat Suthat" in pair with "Raeng (vultures) Wat Saket" (more details on page 2/46).
However, it is believed that what people see as prate of the Wat Suthat, probably comes from a misunderstanding about seeing the Giant Swing, a towering Hindu structure that stands in front of the temple at night with not enough light.
(The comparison of Wat Suthat shot in the reign of King Rama V (colored version of a B&W photo) and at present time. I can’t find the present photo shot from the same angle as the old one’s so I am not sure if the old photo, seen above, had had the Giant Swing (which was moved in from somewhere else in the same reign) set yet – probably not yet.)
Besides, one mural in the ordination hall of this temple also shows a painting of one prate lying to feed water from the monks.
Last edited by nathanielnong; 02-05-2021 at 02:22 PM.
The Last King of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya
King Ekkatat was the 6th monarch of the Ban Plu Luang Dynasty, the 33rd and the last monarch of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. He ruled from 1758 to April 7th 1767 prior to the fall of the Kingdom. So, he was the last ruler of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
He was also known among the locals at the time being as "King Khiruean (= kee-roean) which means "The king with skin disease"; because he had chloasma.
King Ekkatat was a son of the former King Borommakot. His eldest brother, Prince Thammathibet, was made the Front Palace (so called of an heir apparent) in 1732. However, later on, Prince Thammathibet had an affair with two of his father's wives.
According to history known to public...
Prince Ekkatat, upon knowing this, told his father, King Boromakot about the lovers. Prince Thammathibet was thus beaten to death in 1746.
Prince Ekkatat, who was then next in the succession line, were expected to be the next Front Palace. However, King Borommakot halted the appointment because of the Prince's incompetence.
One year before his death, King Borommakot decided to skip Prince Ekkatat by forcing him to enter the monk-hood and appointed the Prince's younger brother, Prince Uthumporn as the Front Palace instead.
In May 1758, King Borommakot died. Prince Uthumporn was then crowned as the next king.
However, two months after, Prince Ekkatat left the monk-hood and return to claim for the throne. To eliminate a thorn in his side, he then arrested and executed all of his half-brothers.
King Uthumphon, the Prince’s biological brother, willingly abdicated and entered the monk-hood, to be out of the way.
When all the thorns were eliminated, Prince Ekkatat was crowned in August 1758.
According to an account of Siamese captive after the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom that though in the early years, King Ekkatat was witnessed the revival attempt such as following the tradition by donating money to temples, building new temples and supporting the trade with foreigners, he was concluded as "being incompetent and only interested in the different pleasures of the flesh."
In 1759, the Burmese King Alongpaya ordered his second son to attack Tenasserim and Mergui telling Siam their friendship with Burma was ended since Siam refused to deliver a rebel Mon nobleman who had fled in a French vessel to Mergui.
Meeting little resistance, the Burmese continued their advance by attacking other Siamese provincial towns before taking an advance to the capital of Ayutthaya in 1760.
After the Burmese had taken Ratchaburi, the Siamese capital was in confusion and uproar. King Ekkatat was forced to invite his abdicated brother, ex-King Uthumphon, to leave the monk-hood and resume the sovereignty.
King Uthumphon then prepared the capital for a fight back.
However, the Burmese King Alongpaya was wounded during the siege, and died during the Burmese retreat.
King Uthumphon then went back to resume his monk-hood at the same wat.
That incident postponed the death of the Ayutthaya Kingdom for another 7 years.
However, Siam was, at that time, in turmoil. Ayutthaya lost its control over network cities and King Ekkatat was said to be indulged by the luxury of the court and concubines which caused the peasants moving on the rebellion.
In 1766, under the reign of the new King Mung-ra (or known internationally as King Hsinbyushin), the Burmese armies again invaded Siam. They captured various peripheral cities to cut down any supports given to the capital city.
A Dutch source said the court faced bankruptcy. The capital city totally lost all the contacts. Ayutthaya Kingdom was helpless.
Anyway, according to local accounts telling that King Ekkatat desperately tried to counter the Burmese but the Burmese crushed them all. The two Burmese armies joined at Ayutthaya and laid the siege on the city.
"…Now they lit fires in every vicinity and burned down buildings, houses, hermitages and the Holy Royal Palace Enclosure, including the palaces and royal domicile. The light of the conflagration was as bright as the middle of the day…"
A foreign account claimed that the night the Burmese entered the city of Ayutthaya in 1767, its last ruler, King Ekkatat (r. 1758-1767) was smuggled out of the Grand Palace by his royal pages and put into a small boat and brought to Chik Village near a local wat name Wat Sangkhawat. There the pages, being afraid to fall in the hands of the Burmese, left him alone.
After the victory, on the way back, the Burmese rear guard discovered King Ekkatat. While concealing himself in the woods, the King was out of food for more than ten days.
The Burmese brought him to the fortification at Poe Sam Ton, where he died shortly after. Suki, the Mon General in charge for the Burmese rear guard ordered the body of the last King of the Ayutthaya Kingdom buried at a mound in the Royal cremation grounds called Khok Pra Main in front of the most revered Wat Phra Mongkhon Bophit.
However, the Burmese occupation did not last long. By the end of 1767 or around six months later, the remaining Burmese troops in Siam had been recalled to defend their homeland against the Chinese invasion leaving Siam in a power vacuum.
Governor Taksin declared independence and took back the land from Burma then founded the Kingdom of Thonburi.
King Taksin exhumed of the remains of King Ekkhatat, the last King of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and organized a cremation with all possible ceremony.
(Burmese Depiction of King Ekkatat, British Library, London)
to be continued...
Last edited by nathanielnong; 04-05-2021 at 02:49 PM.
Continuing from last article... What happened to King Uthumphon?
Burmese history tells a little more about the life of King Uthumphon, the king for 3 months, after the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
When Burmese under the new leader of King Hsinbyushin (or known to Siamese as King Mung-ra) came back in 1767 to make a second attempt to destroy Ayutthaya Kingdom, its great city under the ruler, King Ekkatat, was in turmoil without authorities or powers to counter the invaders.
Though being strongly urged to take role in leading Siamese armies once again, King Uthumphon chose to stay in the monk status.
Ayutthaya Kingdom finally fell. King Uthumphon was captured by the Burmese forces and was brought to Burma along with a large number of Ayutthaya people.
(Burmese Depiction of King Uthumphon, courtesy of Dr. W. Sailer)
There, he was resettled near Ava along with other Ayutthaya ex-nobles, numbering over 2,000 princes and princesses and their entourages, and over 800 queens (I just knew!) bearing titles.
At Ava, the history, government, and ceremonies of the Ayutthaya court were documented in Burmese language chronicle called the Yodaya Chronicle.
The Yodaya Chronicle was later translated back into Thai entitled Ayutthayan affidavit or The Testimony of the King who Entered a Wat although there is no evidence that King Uthumphon provided input into the testimony.
King Hsinbyushin built a village near Mandalay for King Uthumphon and his Siamese people—who then became the Yodaya people.
Per Burmese chronicles, King Uthumphon, remained in the village, living as a monk until his death in 1796.
Upon his death, King Uthumphon was entombed in a pagoda at the Linzin Hill graveyard on the edge of Taungthaman Lake, Mandalay Region’s Amarapura Township about 500 meters northwest of U Bein Bridge.
Note:
On 29 June 2013, Burmese and Thai authorities announced that the site of King Uthumphon's memorial tomb would be renovated and turned into a historical park.
Since February 2013, a joint Burmese-Thai excavation team of archaeologists have worked on their project and found a gilt glass mosaic alm bowl containing bones and monk's pieces of robe. Anyway, these solid evidences have yet to be confirmed.
(Burmese stone inscription mentioning of King Uthumphon in priesthood took refuge here, Amarapura Township)
(The pagoda believed to be King Utumphon's tomb in Amarapura Township, Myanmar)
Last edited by nathanielnong; 05-05-2021 at 03:02 PM.
In the very old days, people used this thing to compress ground mixed herbs into tablets.
Siam troop [the uniform this troop was wearing is the prototype of the Royal Thai Navy at present, then called ‘Tahan (= soldier) Ma-rin (= marine)’] sent to defeat Chinese rebellion called ‘Haw (detail on page 29)’ in 1884
(Note: A cannon on an elephant’s back)
I just knew…
A Siamese connection or splitter in fire protection engineering is a pipe fitting that allows two or more fire hoses to be connected to a single standpipe riser at the same general location. It is so-called due to the visual similarity to Siamese twins.
Sala Chalermkrung was originally a movie theater sited on Charoenkrung Road, Bangkok. It was built in Modernist style and was opened on 2 July 1933.
In 1932, the construction of Sala Chalermkrung was sponsored by King Prachatipok (Rama VII) as part of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Bangkok.
Being an enthusiastic supporter of movies, he invested 9,000,000 baht of his personal funds to construct the theater. The whole project was run by all Siamese starting from architect, construction director and etc. which was said to be quite bold of a choice for so far, all the important constructions were always done by foreigners.
The name 'Sala Chalermkrung' means 'Pavilion (= sala) to Celebrate (=chalerm) the City (=krung)'.
Back in the past, Bangkok's first movie screening was recorded to take place in June 1897. Subsequently, cinemas became immensely popular in the capital city. However the condition of those cinemas were under standard with the bodies made of wood and covered with zinc roofs. Of which, inside were extremely dirty and unpleasant including disorderly behavior.
Sala Chalermkrung was therefore constructed as an intention to provide Bangkok citizens with a clean, orderly and modern cinema. It was equipped with the latest sound and lighting system also fixed with modern central air conditioning at the time, the American chilled water system.
The main auditorium seated 1,500 customers whilst there was a smaller 350 seat auditorium plus private rooms for royal screenings as well as dance rooms and a dining salon.
The neon lights on the top of the front facade displaying the name Sala Chalerm Krung were said to be the largest in Asia.
The theater opened to massive crowds on 2 July 1933. By this time however, the Siamese Revolution of 1932 had displaced the King from his throne so, the opening was presided over by the Governor of the State (I am not sure if this is the right term). However, King Prachatipok was believed to have visited the theater himself only twice.
On the opening night, everyone was there but it was said that they were there to witness the extravagance of the theater that they had never seen from anywhere before. The movie, which was a farang feature film of which the English title was not recorded (probably "Below the Sea"), was just a plus.
Before the movie began, a grand prelude showed off parade of lights and sounds while the air conditioning system was working at its best. People said in unison that "Just that and it's worth the money being paid for".
Last edited by nathanielnong; 07-05-2021 at 09:25 AM.
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