His Majesty King Phutthaloetla Naphalai or Rama II, King Rama I's son, acceded to the throne peacefully and was fortunate to have inherited the crown during a time of relative stability. In the beginning, a son of King Taksin rebeled as pretender to the throne. The rebel was crushed by Prince Tub, later Rama III, and his soldiers. The last Burmese invasion also happened during this reign, but the town of Thalang (now Phuket) was recaptured by the king's brother. Rama II's reign was remarkable for the heights attained by Thai poetry, particularly in the works by the King himself and of Sunthorn Phu, one of the court poets. The reigns of King Rama II and his two sons, Rama III and IV, marked the first stage in the Thai kingdom's dealings with the West during the age of Imperialism. He was born a commoner, eldest son of a great general, and king in the making. He lived a life of a noble but not a royal before his father came to the throne.