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History
Home » Thailand » Bangkok Overview and History » HistoryThe Burmese destroyed the city of Ayutthaya in the year 1767 after it had been the glorious capital and a beacon of civilization in Southeast Asia for nearly four hundred years. The capital was moved to the Thon Buri area of present day Bangkok (west of the Chao Praya River). The first of the Chankri dynasty kings, who later became known as Rama I, established the capital there. Erosion problems and the fact that there were two monasteries that prevented outward growth forced the move to the present site in 1782. Canals were dug around the city and work on the Grand Palace began under Rama I, who named this new city, Krung Thep Mahanakhon Bowon Rattanakosin Mahinthrayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udom Ratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathatiya Witsanukam Prasit. This name is a world record for its length, but is known by Thais as the shortened version, Krung Thep, which means “City of Angels.” The name, “Bangkok” originates from the name of a fishing village on the Chao Praya River and means “city of wild olives” or “grove of olives.” Waterways remained the chief means of transportation until the mid to late 19th Century when Rama IV and V began a lot of construction projects, including roads and buildings, which began the change of making Bangkok a modern city.
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