Ayutthaya Kingdom · 1351-1767

Ayutthaya: Siam's island capital

For four centuries Ayutthaya, an island city ringed by rivers, was the capital of Siam and one of the great trading cities of Asia. Students explore its rivers, its foreign quarters and its fall in 1767, and see how Siam recovered.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1650 to AD 1783
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

For four centuries Ayutthaya, an island city ringed by rivers, was the capital of Siam and one of the great trading cities of Asia. Students explore its rivers, its foreign quarters and its fall in 1767, and see how Siam recovered.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Ayutthaya and explain how its rivers made it a strong trading capital.
  • Describe Ayutthaya's contacts with Asian and European traders.
  • Explain how Ayutthaya fell in 1767 and how Siam recovered.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1650

An island city

Open the map in 1650 and zoom in on Ayutthaya, ringed by three rivers. Why would a capital on a river island be hard to attack, and easy to reach by boat?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1783

A new capital

Drag the slider to 1783. Ayutthaya was destroyed in 1767. Find Bangkok, the new capital founded downriver in 1782. What does the map call the kingdom now?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did Ayutthaya grow rich between China, India and the islands?
  2. Why might a king let foreign traders live in their own quarters of the city?
  3. Ayutthaya took over many customs of the Khmer court after 1431. Why would a conqueror copy the conquered?
  4. France tried to win influence in Siam in the 1680s. Why did Siamese nobles turn against it?
  5. Ayutthaya was destroyed in 1767, but a new capital rose within 15 years. What helps a people recover from disaster?
4

Game round

9 min

Rule History has no Siamese ruler, so play Akbar, who ruled the Mughal Empire while Ayutthaya traded across the Bay of Bengal. Let students take turns ruling. Then compare how Akbar and the kings of Ayutthaya dealt with foreigners and many faiths.

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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