Period Two

Ayuthaya Kingdom

A New Dynasty - The Prasat Thong

The first six years of the reign of the new King Prasat Thong were signed by wars and turbulence. In 1632 AD, Chiang Mai, Lannathai, tried again its luck to search independence but was directly sacked by Burma. This fell into a very inconvenient period of Siam as Ayuthaya was in war with Cambodia who were supported by the Portuguese. As the Dutch feared to loose their trading interests in the region, they supported with several vessels King Prasat Thong's troops.

Another kingdom that searched for independence in 1632 AD was Pattani and it was more successful. Ayuthaya tried to win the authority over the kingdom twice back, in 1632 AD and respectively 1634 AD, but a solution to the conflict could only be found after intervention of the Dutch. In 1636 AD, as Ayuthaya prepared another attack on Pattani, the Dutch advised the ruler of the southern kingdom to pay tribute to ayuthaya again and so the conflict between Siam and Pattani was solved for the time being.

After the death of King Prasat Thong it came again to powerstruggle within the kingdom. Initially the selected heir had been the eldest son of the late King, Chao Fa Chai who survived only a short time as he was kidnapped by his uncle, the later King Sutthammaracha and his brother, later King Narai. As the uncle, Sutthammaracha ascends first the throne, the nephew, Narai, started only a few months later a palace revolt in which the uncle got killed and the nephew finally ascended in even the same year of the death of his father, 1655 AD.