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Ramathibodi II
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Somdet Phra Chettathiraj or (upon ascension to the Ayutthayan throne) Somdet Phra Ramathibodi II (1473 - 1529) was the King of Sukhothai from 1485 and King of Ayutthaya from 1491 to 1529. His reign was marked by the first Western Contact with the Portuguese.
rince Chettathiraj was the youngest of Trailokanat's three sons. His eldest brother, Prince Borommaracha, was appointed the regent of Ayutthaya during his father's campaigns against Lanna kingdom.
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Somdet Phra Chettathiraj or (upon ascension to the Ayutthayan throne) Somdet Phra Ramathibodi II (1473 - 1529) was the King of Sukhothai from 1485 and King of Ayutthaya from 1491 to 1529. His reign was marked by the first Western Contact with the Portuguese.
King of Sukhothai
Prince Chettathiraj was the youngest of Trailokanat's three sons. His eldest brother, Prince Borommaracha, was appointed the regent of Ayutthaya during his father's campaigns against Lanna kingdom. His another brother, Prince Indraracha, died during the wars with Lanna. In 1485, Prince Chettathiraj was appointed the Uparaja or the Crown Prince and was crowned as the King of Sukhothai (The title King of Sukhathai was the title of Ayutthayan Crown Prince, so).
In 1488, Trailokanat died. Though Chettathiraj was the Crown Prince, the Ayutthayan throne was inherited by his brother Prince Borommaracha, as Borommaracha III. In 1491, Borommaracha III died, leaving the throne to Chettathiraj then, reuniting the two kingdoms.
King of Ayutthaya
Chettathiraj took the reigning name in Ayutthaya as Ramathibodi II.
Invasion of Malacca
In 1500, Ramathibodi II sent the Siamese armies to subjugate the Sultanate of Malacca. Though unable to conquer Malacca, Siam managed to exact tributes from the Malacca sultanate and other sultanates like Pattani, Pahang, and Kelantan.
In 1511, however, Malacca fell to the Portuguese under Alfonso de Albuquerque. De Albuqueque's men arrived Siam in 1511 and the first European contract was established. The Portuguese became the first European to settle in Siam and introduced the arquebus technology.
War with Lanna
In 1513, King Kaew of Lanna invaded Sukhothai. Ramathibodi II led the Siamese armies to crush the invading armies and proceeded further to Lanna heartlands. In 1515, he sacked Lampang (a Southeast Asian practice to sack but not to occupy). He then appointed his son, Prince Atitayawongse as King of Sukhothai.
Establishment of Corvée system
In Southeast Asia, manpower was the source of other powers. In 1518, Ramathibodi II established the Siamese Corvée system, the very system that lasted until its abolition by Chulalongkorn in the 19th century. The Siamese commoners - called prai - were subjected to lifelong labour service to the government. All Siamese men aged 18 would be registered to be conscripted - to went on war or did the constructions. It was similar to modern form of conscription. However, the Siamese Corvée system existed in various forms. The conscriptions was overseen by Krom Phra Suratsawadi.
Ramathibodi II died in 1529 and was succeeded by his son, Prince Atitayawongse.
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