Ayutthaya: The Venice of the East

European visitors called it the Venice of the East: a city of canals and floating markets, where merchants from China, Japan, Persia, Portugal, and the Netherlands all traded under the protection of a single king. For four centuries, Ayutthaya was the richest city in Southeast Asia — until the Burmese army burned it to the ground in 1767. In this episode of Empires & Economics: The royal monopoly: how Ayutthaya's kings controlled trade The floating markets and canal economy Foreign quarters: the Chinese, Japanese, and European merchants The elephant trade and the forest products economy Why the city's wealth made it a target Sources: Baker & Phongpaichit (2017), Reid (1993), Wyatt (2003), Smithies (2002) #Ayutthaya #Thailand #SoutheastAsia #Trade #HistoryDocumentary #AncientEconomics #EmpiresAndEconomics #AncientHistory #EconomicHistory #HistoryDocumentary #AncientEconomics