Portuguese descendants of the early traders in Ayutthaya first settled at the other bank of the river in Thonburi (at the site of the Santa Cruz Church), but gradually moved to the opposite bank of the river. As the Portuguese were one of the most important trading nations in Siam, this church was built with a land grant from King Rama I in 1786, about four years after Bangkok was established as Siam’s capital. As Portugal’s influence overseas diminished, the Portuguese community was dispersed and the church fell into disuse. Due to the Indochina Wars of the mid-20th century, many Catholic Vietnamese and Cambodians fled to Bangkok and adopted this church as their main house of worship. Throughout its history, it has been rebuilt twice, with the present church dating from the 1890s. The cream-coloured church has a towering spire, an interesting set of European-style stained-glass windows, as well as a statue of Christ that is carried through the streets at Easter.