At the turn of the 20th century; the vast majority of Siamese were rice farmers who lived and worked along waterways. Fishermen; too; lived close to or on the rivers and canals. Every household had a boat; an estimated 600;000 of which navigated the canals and rivers of Bangkok. During the reign of King Chulalongkorn (1868鈥?910); many irrigation projects were ordered; the first of which was the Rangsit Canal in 1890.