Untitled - Sabrizain.org

BIBMAH. 61
that nothing short of extermination could long retain,
the kingdom in subjection to the foreign yoke. The
hate of the
the son of
Siamese soon found vent, and Pe-ya-tai,
a rich China man by a native woman,
governor of the province of Muong-tai, led a revolt
which, after a violent struggle, rescued Siam from its
invaders. The capture and plunder of Yuthia, the
ancient capital, by the Birmans, together with the
disastrous events which followed, had induced many
of the inhabitants to abandon the place. Pe-ya-tai,
collecting the scattered remains of the dispirited popu-
lation, was soon in a condition to found a new city.
Bankok, also seated on the great river of Siam, the
Meinam, was at this time a place of little importance,
noted chiefly for the excellence of its fruits, which
were sent in great abundance to Yuthia; but its site
offered several advantages over that of Yuthia, and
Bankok has ever since
dom.
been the capital of the king-
In the year 1744, Shembuan sent a formidable force
against the Munnipoora Rajah and the Cassay Shaan,
carrying his arms into the recesses of the distant hill
districts of the Brahmapootra. The rajah of Cachar
consented to yield as tribute to the Birman monarch,
besides a sum of money, a virgin of the royal blood,
and a tree with the roots bound in their native clay;
thereby indicating that both person and property were
at the disposal of his sovereign pleasure. In the
south of his dominions, Shembuan repressed a most
formidable and dangerous rebellion of the Peguans,
of which he availed himself to bring to a mock trial
and execute as a common criminal, Beinga Delia, the
aged monarch of Pegu, who had lingered for twenty
years in captivity. It deserves notice, however, how
precisely the fate of this unhappy sovereign corre-