The physical condition of Thon Buri in 1767 when it was established as the
new administrative center after the fall of Ayutthaya was deteriorated,
deserted and scarcely inhabited. Its outer fringe was a wilderness. However,
due to a problem of high-priced rice and starvation among people, king
Taksin ordered farmers and royal officials to grow rice on the outer fringe
areas along both banks of the Chao Phraya river, especially on the Thon Buri
(western) side in order to solve the problem.
The revival of rice paddies went well. When the famine was gone, the outer
fringe area of Thon Buri was abandoned. A century later, in the reign of
King Mongkut Rama IV, Siam signed the Bowring Treaty with British Government
in 1855. The Siamese government changed its policy and exported more rice to
foreign countries. This resulted in more rice cultivation.