Abstract
The arrival of European imperialism during the nineteenth century had a great impact on Asia. Each Asian country responded differently to the challenges. Fortunately for Thailand or Siam (Siam is the former name of Thailand. The Thai Government changed the name of the country from Siam to Thailand in 1939), King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn ably faced up to the challenge, employing diplomatic strategies which helped protect Siam from imperialist domination. Their reforms helped Siam become a modern nation. A number of Thai scholars recognize the so-called First Grand European Visit of King Chulalongkorn in 1897 as an important turning point for a new and modern Siam. As a result of that trip, many historic reforms and modernizing projects were undertaken. In fact, however, some degree of modernization had taken place in Siam even before King Chulalongkorn visited Europe. Networks of roads and other modern innovations were first introduced in Bangkok during the reign of King Mongkut (1851–1868) and extended by King Chulalongkorn (1868–1910). As Bangkok continued to integrate into the Western economy, King Mongkut understood that the capital needed to become a modern city of international stature. To achieve this aim, a model, a European-like city in the region, was needed to guide the transformation. Two prominent cities in Southeast Asia, Singapore and Batavia, were selected. During the reigns of King Mongkut and his son, King Chulalongkorn, both Singapore and Batavia were scrutinized for this purpose. During his first overseas journey in 1871, King Chulalongkorn visited Singapore and Batavia. Back in Bangkok, he moved ahead with more changes that would eventually result in far-reaching physical and administrative reforms in the capital city.
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Notes
- 1.
After the fall of Ayutthaya, the new center of Siam moved south from Ayutthaya. At that time, King Taksin established a new capital city, Thonburi, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River in 1767. Later King Rama I founded his own Chakri Dynasty and moved the capital again, this time to the east bank. The new city was called (in short) Krung Thep (the City of Angels).
- 2.
- 3.
Originally, Chinese trader recommended the Siamese court to cultivate the sugarcane plantation for producing sugar (Kullada 2000).
- 4.
Farang originates from ‘foreigner,’ in particular, Caucasians.
- 5.
The ancestors of the Bunnag family were Persian merchants who came to Siam during the Ayutthaya period. they served as officials of the royal court during the Ayutthaya and Bangkok periods. The powerful Bunnag clan supported the Chakri Dynasty in the early Bangkok period. In Thai history, they are known as ‘king makers.’
- 6.
‘Phra Khang’ refers to a position as head of the Royal Treasury in Siam.
- 7.
In addition to his military role, Prince Chuthamani served King Rama III as official translator of English documents and secretary for English correspondence (Cady 1964).
- 8.
He took up the medical profession and learned Western medicine from American missionaries (Damrong 1925).
- 9.
He was fascinated with the art of shipbuilding and continued to study building ships of war and steamers more than languages (Damrong 1925).
- 10.
He later became a director of the Mint and studied chemistry and machinery (Damrong 1925).
- 11.
During the 1850s and 1860s, the number of steamships operating out of Siam doubled from 146 in 1850 to 302. At the same time, the value of Siam’s international trade increased from 5.6 million to 10 million baht (Wyatt 1984).
- 12.
Ban Kok was a village in existence since the Ayutthaya period. Located near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, it was established as a small fortress town to protect the strategic waterway leading to Ayutthaya city and to collect taxes from merchants who sailed upriver to Ayutthaya for trade (Sujit 1999).
- 13.
During Rama III’s reign, the Saen Saep Canal was built toward the east for sending reinforcements to support armies fighting in Cambodia (Sternstein 1985).
- 14.
Its principle purpose was as a cremation ground for royal funerals. During the 1830s when Siam was threatened by Vietnamese armies, King Rama III ordered that the Sanam Sumen be sown in rice seed to intimidate the enemy (Van Beek 1982).
- 15.
The Phra Sumen Fortress was located on the most northern point of the Rattanakosin Island and duplicated the Phet Fortress in Ayutthaya (Wongtes 1999).
- 16.
Since the early Bangkok period, the area around Boworn Niwet Temple was an area of settlement for immigrants who moved from the city of Tanao. At first, they lived along the Bang Lampu Canal and then moved to this area when King Rama III built Boworn Niwet Temple as a center of this community. King Mongkut later ordered the construction of Tanao Road to link Bamrung Muang with Bang Lampu. This area was developed into a new zone with a row of Singaporean-style shophouses (Rasri 2004).
- 17.
Batavia was included in that trip of 1871. The regent (the former Chao Phraya Srisuriyawonge—Juang Bunnag) recognized the need to realize a balance of power in relation to the Europeans. He had once expressed a desire to visit Batavia and Surabaya when a representative of the Dutch East Indies had an audience with King Mongkut. Hence, he was quite ready to organize a trip to Java for the young King.
- 18.
In 1607, during the reign of King Ekatosarot, the first recorded Siamese embassy was sent to Holland to deliver messages and to establish diplomatic relations with Prince Maurice of Orange. Siam’s first official envoy was sent during the reign of King Narai. Several diplomatic envoys were also sent to France in that period (Prachum Phongsawadarn Lemtee 27 1968).
- 19.
He was a member of the royal family. He had, in his youth, served Prince Mongkut. When the Prince was in the priesthood, he made friends with American missionaries and studied English with them, as did Mom Rachothai. His English was very good, and he was at ease communicating with foreigners. After Prince Mongkut came to the throne, Mom Rachothai was promoted and served the king in foreign affairs. When the first diplomatic envoy was sent to England in 1857, Mom Rachothai was the ambassador’s chief translator. Mom Rachothai also made a record of this voyage for King Mongkut. The translator’s own diary explains what he saw throughout the voyage. When published in book form, it was very popular. When King Chulalongkorn paid his first visit to Europe, he used ‘Voyage to London’ as a guidebook (Rachothai 2010).
- 20.
This book was the first to be copyrighted by a Thai author. Dr. Bradley gave it the title, ‘Niras London (Voyage to London).’
- 21.
In a written reply in 1849 to Mr. and Mrs. Eddy of Waterford, his friends in New York, Prince Mongkut explained that it was due to ancient custom that the royal family never went abroad, except for expeditions of war. As a result, he was not at liberty to accept their invitations (Pramoj and Pramoj 1987).
- 22.
Chao Phraya Sri Suriyawongse was one of the most important figures in King Mongkut’s court. He was well known among the new generation for his interest in Western science, engineering, and steamship construction. After King Mongkut died of malaria in 1868, the Chao Phraya served as regent during the early reign of young King Chulalongkorn (1868–1873) (Straits Times 3 August 1861).
- 23.
In 1868, King Mongkut led an expedition to the Malay Peninsula south of Hua Hin, to verify his calculations of the solar eclipse of August 18, 1868. Upon his return, the King fell ill of Malaria and died on October 1, 1868.
- 24.
The two roads refer to Rachinee and Assadang roads.
- 25.
In fact, the crossing drawbridge or Vilanda Bridge was a Dutch model from the reign of King Mongkut (Sansani 2004).
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Teeraviriyakul, U. (2016). Bangkok: From an Antique to a Modern City. In: Wongsurawat, W. (eds) Sites of Modernity. The Humanities in Asia, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45726-9_8
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