The European presence in Ayutthaya simply fed into this continuing process of state development, mainly due to the military technology they introduced at a time when Ayutthayan kings were attempting to assert their superiority over often reluctant vassals.
However, it was in Burma where European military technology apparently had its greatest appeal, and may have made a measurable contribution to the resurgence of Burman strength. The founders of a new dynasty originating from Toungoo, Tabinshwehti (r. 1531-50) and his successor Bayinnaung (r. 1551-81), aimed from the outset to recreate a centralized state in the Irrawaddy basin, and the advent of the Europeans was thus timely. • Besieged by Bayinnaung's army, Ayutthaya fell in August 1569 and by 1574 Vientiane in Lan Sang was also in Burman hands. For the first time in history Burman rulers had been able to subdue the 'great arc of Tai-speaking peoples', and from Chiengmai to Ayutthaya splendid new pagodas built at Bayinnaung's direction proclaimed the power of the king whom the Mons referred to in awe as the 'Victor of the Ten Directions'
For the Portuguese in mid-century it was no longer Ayutthaya but Pegu which was 'the most powerful monarchy in Asia, except that of China' and it was not lightly that Bayinnaung termed himself the King of Kings • European involvement in mainland Southeast Asia did not affect the overall direction of political developments during the sixteenth century, although in some cases it may have hastened the movement towards a greater centralization of authority. • In island Southeast Asia, however, the impact of the European presence was far greater. In part this was because most 'states' Europeans encountered were smaller than were those on the mainland, and therefore more easily dominated. Even in the larger kingdoms European influence was extensive because of their attempts to gain trading advantages through alliances with local rulers, whom they mistakenly believed had powers similar to kings in Europe