Thonburi

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For the Thon Buri District of Bangkok, see Thon Buri (district)

Thon Buri (Thai: ธนบุรี) was capital of Thailand for a short time during the reign of King Taksin, after the previous capital Ayutthaya was sacked by the Burmese. King Rama I moved the capital to Bangkok in 1782 to the other side of the Chao Phraya River. Thon Buri stayed an independent town and province, and was merged into Bangkok in 1972.

Thon Buri stayed less developed than the original Bangkok part of the city, several of the traditional small waterways (Khlongs) still exist there, which are nearly gone on the other side of the river.

Bangkok in 1950 had 1,299,528 people, and that of the municipality of Thon Buri was 403,818.

Thon Buri was Thailand's second largest city proper with around 600,000 residents in 1970. (3 times more than the next largest). No Thai city other than Bangkok since has reached 400,000 residents.