Ayutthaya as a port city

Archeological evidence as well as legends and historical records show that Ayutthaya developed from a community in the lower Chaophraya River Basin into a major port that dealt in goods from many surrounding areas. Some goods were purchased from neighboring kingdoms and others were sent as tribute from all parts of the Siamese Kingdom. Many of the goods were processed in Ayutthaya for export to other countries in South and Southeast Asia, including ports on India's East Coast.

Starting in the mid - sixteenth century, ships from Ayutthaya plied the Asian seas and traded at various ports. When Europeans began to visit the city in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries they found a bustling port with a great variety of products that could be bought for export.

Dhow
This type of boat has been around since ancient times and can still be found in use in parts of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

Galliot
In the nineteenth century the Dutch East India Company used these mid-sized boats for trade in Asia.

Chinese junk
Chinese junks plied the waters of South and Southeast Asia and were the most commonly sighted boats to visit the Ayutthaya port.

Carrack
Carracks from Spain and Portugal reached Asia in the eighteenth century.

International trade routes
Ayutthaya kings engaged in maritime trade with ports in China, Ryukyu, Japan, Melaka, java, Annam, Champa and Indian and Persian ports starting in the late sixteenth century. By the eighteenth century merchants from Portugal, Holland, England and France began to visit Ayutthaya.

Domestic trade routes
Tribute, in the form of agricultural produce or other items of value, was collected from all parts of the kingdom and stored at major towns such as Phitsanulok, Tak, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Marit before being transported, mainly by rivers and canals, to Ayutthaya. Towns in the northeast and Phratabong in present day Cambodia sent their tribute mainly by ox cart along mountain passes. These routes were used for the exchange of goods between Ayutthaya, its foreign trade partners, and all inner parts of the kingdom.

Trade in the Ayutthaya Era
The Royal Treasury Department was responsible for managing the king's assets, trade and international relations. The king had a monopoly on certain controlled goods such as sappan wood, eagle wood, leather, tin and rice. Trade was carried out on a government-to-government basis or through private companies. Sometimes Ayutthaya exported its goods on its own ships and sometimes merchants from other countries came to Ayutthaya to purchase and export goods themselves. Ayutthaya was also a center for trading goods produced in other countries.

View from Pompetch Fortress
The point where the Chaophraya and Pasak rivers meet was an important commercial area. Looking out from Pompetch Fortress one could see busy markets both in the water and on land, especially near Wat Mai Bangkacha Temple and Wat Phanan Choeng Temple, where people were engaged in trading a wide variety of goods. Tribute from other parts of the kingdom was stored or repackaged for export. Boats from other countries docked at the port or used the repair service, and warehouses and naval arsenals were located in this area.

Ayutthaya's trade relations with China
China was an important trade partner to Siam for a long time. Many Chinese immigrants came to live in Ayutthaya and some were given positions in the Royal Treasury Department to oversee trade with nations in South and Southeast Asia.

Ayutthaya's trade relations with Holland
In the mid - eighteenth century King Naresuan the Great gave permission for the Dutch East India Company to set up a trade station in Ayutthaya. Dutch merchants then bought products such as leather, sappan wood, tin, and pepper to sell in other countries.

The coronation ceremony
The coronation ceremony used in the Ayutthaya Era was derived from the Brahman belief written in the Law of Three Seals that the king's power and merit were so great that the god Indra bestowed him with special royal ornaments and weapons, Brahman, Buddhist and local animist elements were incorporated into the ceremony. In practice, the ceremony served as a declaration of the king's power as ruler of the universe.

Conflicts and challenges to the throne
Several times during the Ayutthaya Era conflicts of power arose among members of the royal family or leaders of different parts of the empire. Often these leaders or other people of influence attempted to take over the throne. Sometimes these events served to strengthen the absolute monarchy system, however. An example is the rise to power of Chaophraya Klahom Suriyawong, who was crowned as King Prasat Thong.

Royal pilgrimages to the Buddha Footprint
The Buddha Footprint at Saraburi was an important pilgrimage destination in the Siamese Kingdom. In latter Ayutthaya Era it became a tradition that the king should lead a pilgrimage to the Buddha Footprint regularly. The grand royal procession over land and by water was a display of the king's power and hanor that continued on into the Rattankosin Era.