Page 269 - A History of Siam

A HISTORY OF SIAM
253
and later for several of the Princesses
respect, provided
them himself. The fate of
by marrying subsequent
two of these ladies was an unhappy one. They were
accused of and executed.
adultery
The remains of King Ekat'at were exhumed from the
where had been buried the Burmese,
place they by
and cremated with all
possible ceremony.
But P'ya Taksin, while prepared to show proper
to the members of the whether
respect ex-Royal Family,
or had no idea of one of them on
living dead, placing any
the throne. He set to work to render hijnself popular
by distributing money and food to the population,
and it soon became known that he intended to make
himself King.
P'ya Taksin at first intended to re-establish Ayut'ia
as the of but later his mind and
capital Siam, changed
returned to Bangkok, 1 where he was crowned as King
of Siam. His decision was a wise one. To restore

Ayut'ia would have cost a great deal of money, and
to defend it would have needed a large army, neither of
which the ruined land could at that time provide.
was
P'ya Taksin, at the time of his coronation, only
of His father was Chinese, or
thirty-four years age.
partly Chinese, and his mother Siamese. They were
not people of any high position. P'ya Taksin rose to
be King through his own courage and ability ; perhaps

partly, also, through his faith in his destiny, which was
a prominent feature of his character throughout his
career. He believed that even the forces of Nature
were under his control when he was destined to succeed,
and this faith led him to and achieve tasks
attempt
1
The city of King Taksin was on the west bank of the Menam, and is usually
referred to by Siamese writers as T'onburi or T'anaburi. Chao P'ya Chakrf,
on becoming King, founded the present city of Bangkok. To the average European
mind the distinction between T'anaburi and Bangkok is a distinction without
a difference.