ABSTRACT
The historical evidence concerning the kingdom of Ayutthaya’s last dynasty, the Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty (1688-1767), comes mainly from the Siamese royal chronicles. These chronicles or phra ratcha phongsawadan are, however, arguably more didactic and literary than they are ‘factual’. When the data in the chronicles are compared with those in other primary sources, they are often found to be chronologically inaccurate and factually suspect. One of the tasks confronting the historian dealing with the institutional history of this period consists in trying to flesh out the rather skeletal outlines of the chronicled evidence. This may perhaps best be done by using other types of sources, such as European archival materials. By using these Western source materials, new ways of looking at the well-known facts of late Ayutthayan history may also emerge.
