Thonburi was the third capital city of Thailand from 1767 until 1782. In the Ayutthaya period, the city was named Thonburisrimahasamut , but it was already know by western merchants as "Bangkok"
            The word "Bangkok" originally meant the community on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River where the land was bent into a horseshoe shape, which looked like an island surround by water. The area covered the land between the bankok Noi and the BangkokYai (or Bang Luang) canals. One hypothesis (as to the origins of the name is) that the word Bangkok came from "Bang koh", meaning "island village" in Thai.
            Bangkok was the first community of Thonburi, to which people had been comimg to settle since the Ayutthaya period. Bacause its location was convenient for transportation both domestic and outbound, it was a storage point for goods before they were shipped futher to Ayutthaya. During the reign of King Borommarajathirat II (Chao Sam Phraya), in 1433, Bangkok was a customs duty port of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. The rank of the person in charge was "Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi" which is the earliest documented appearance of the name "Thonburi" in the history of Bangkok.
            In 1522, during the reign of king Chairajathiraj of Ayutthaya, the King commanded thet a canal be dug in order to make a shortcut in the Chao Phraya River between the mouth of the Bangkok Noi canal and the old river in front of the Temple of the Dawn, forming a straight shoreline for the convenience of the international cargo ships that sailed to Ayutthaya. As a result, the old river become a canal while the new manmade section become a part of the river. With this new streamlined shore, Thonburi 's importance increased continuously up to 1557.
            In 1767,Ayutthaya was invaded and conquered by the Burmese for the second time. However, King Taksin the Great gained the country's independence back within 6-7 months Taking in to account that Ayutthaya had suffered extensive damage and that the city was too large for his army to protect, he moved his people to Thonburi establishing it as the new capital city.

            The town center of Thonburi had long been an old town community located at the Old Palace (the Royal Navy Base at present). In 1665 a Fort, "Vichaiprasit" was built by command of King Narai the Great of Ayutthaya, at the
mouth of the Bangkok Yai canal. It was designed and constructed by French architects and engineers of King Narai's however, after King Narai's death, The Great Phra Phetraja, the new king, had all French soldiers captured and demolished the fort. King Taksin later had his palace built at the place that was once Vichaiprasit Fort.
            The main strategic reason for making Thonburi the capital city was its outstanding location. This city was a customs duty and seaport outpost, which controlled all inbound and outbound cargo ships. Moreover, it was an old town with many forts already built, as well as a large number of temples. There was no need to waste time for reconstruction, as its location was near the river mouth. And in case of enemy attack, it was easy to escape to the sea.
            During the 14 yearreign of King Taksin the Great, he helped the economy recover and united the land and the people. The capital become replete with wealth and food, which made Thonburi the countre of political and economic power, It become a worthy successor to Ayutthaya. After the death of King Taksin in 1782, King Rama I of the Chakkri dynasty had the city moved to the East bank of the Chao Phraya River, establishing Bangkok as the new capital. From that time, Thonburi become a part to Bangkok metropolis.

            Geographically, Thonburi has area of only 25 square kilometers. The neighburing province to the North is Nonthaburi, to the West is Nakorn Pathom, and the south is Samutprakarn, whrer some parts reach the Gulf of Siam. East of Thonburi is the Chao Phraya River. Since Thonburi is in the tropics, the weather is hot and humid all year round. Since the land is a delta on the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the soil is fertile, and suitable for agriculture. As a result, in farmer time people in Thonburi typically worked in agriculture, notably cultivating orchards. The land at the mouth of the river where Thonburi is located was once a sea and later become a fertile delta with several waterways, which made constructing canals in this area easy to do. Consequently, there are so many canals in Thonburi that this city has been called " the Venice of the East. "

            Even though Thonburi was the capital city for only 15 years, this place had long been on old city community which was economically important as a tax collecting gateway town. It has also been a fertile land for agriculture. Moreover, Thonburi has long been a multi-cultural community of different ethnic groups of people: the Chinese, Mon, Indian, Japanese and Dutch merchants were present since the Ayutthaya period. One of this distinguished proof is a Dutch Warehouse in Bang Pakok district, being called New Amsterdam.

            The identity of Thonburi is entirely different from Bangkok. Besides having several canal, this city is the centre for arts, architecture as well as Thai ways of life in Thonburi from past to present are generally peaceful and happy, onces due to the simple style of living on the river and canal banks with the cool atmosphere, all make Thonburi a surprisingly fascinating city.