1714 - Sri Timmaraja succeeds to the Cambodian throne by ousting the ruling King Keong Fa with the help of a Cochin Chinese army (Cochin China is the old designation for an area which is now the southernmost part of Vietnam). When himself dethroned, King Sri Timmaraja flees to Ayutthaya for support. This incident gives rise to an armed conflict between Siam and Cambodia, with Siam re-establishing its sovereignty over Cambodia.
1733, Jan - King Taisra dies and his brother succeeds him on the throne under the title King Boromakot. Hardly surprising, he first had to defeat two of King Taisra’s sons who also contended for the throne. This time it happened in a short civil war within the city of Ayutthaya. A third son of King Taisra escapes into the saffron rob.
1733 - Some 300 Chinese settlers attack the palace of Ayutthaya. They are pacified and thereafter executed.
1753 - A Ceylonese embassy is sent to Ayutthaya with the objective to borrow some Siamese Buddhist priests in order to purify and reform Buddhism in Ceylon.
1758, May - Prince Utumpon succeeds King Boromakot on the throne. He is only the second born royal son of Boromakot. However, his older brother, Prince Ekatat, was considered as lacking intelligence by their father and therefore ordered to become a monk. During his first weeks on the throne, King Utumpon has three half-brothers arrested and executed. However, when his elder brother, Prince Ekatat, shows ambitions to become king, he refrains from drastic action and chooses monkshood instead.
1758, Aug - King Utumpon abdicates the throne and retires at Wat Pradu. He is succeeded by Prince Ekatat who assumes the title Boromaraja V.
1758-1760 - It is Siam’s bad luck that while it is ruled by one of its weakest kings, a new powerful dynasty rises in neighboring Burma. After Burma had disintegrated in the preceding decades, a determined former headman of the Burmese village Moksobo (later Shwebo) becomes King Alaungsaya and achieves to reunite the Burmese principalities under his rule after a breathtaking series of battle victories.
1759 - King Alaungsaya invades Siamese territory and regains for Burma the cities of Tavoy, Mergui and Tenesserim (on today’s south Burmese territory).
1760, Apr - King Alaungsaya lays siege on Ayutthaya. Siamese King Ekatat who senses that he is not up to the task of leading the defense of the city invites his younger brother, the former King Utumpon to rule temporarily in his behalf. However, it is not Utumpon’s leadership but an accident on the side of the Burmese that saves Ayutthaya for the time being. When the Burmese King Alaungsaya is badly wounded after handling himself a cannon in the bombardment of Ayutthaya, the Burmese call off their siege and retreat to Burma. King Alaungsaya dies on the way.
1760, May - Alaungsaya’s son Manglok succeeds the throne of Burma.
1762 - With the Burmese danger contained, Utumpon retires again and returns to his monastery, leaving the fate of Siam in the hands of his older brother, King Ekatat.
1763, Nov - The Burmese King Manglok dies and his brother, Mongra, succeeds on the throne.
1763 - The Burmese invade Chiang Mai and the principality of Luang Prabang (now part of Laos) is captured.
1764 - A rebellion against the Burmese breaks out in Chiang Mai but is subdued after a while.
1765, Jun - The Burmese begin a new campaign against Siam, with one army moving south from Chiang Mai and another heading east from Burma. The destination is Ayutthaya.
1765, Oct - The Burmese army occupies much of the southern, western and northern territories of Siam.
1765, Dec - The Burmese army attacks Thonburi (Bangkok). Captain Ponney, an Englishman who supports the Siamese, inflicts heavy losses on the Burmese army. However, because King Ekatat envies Ponney’s popularity, the captain is not given much support by the King which leads to the Burmese conquest of many territories south of Ayutthaya.
