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Did you know! That: Southern Thailand has been inhabited since the early days of mankind by ancient tribes who settled and or adapted their lifestyles to the local environment. Who arrived first and who pushed out or assimilated who has kept archaeologists occupied for a long time, and promises to keep them working for a good while to come. Read more

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Ayutthaya

After the death of King Ramkhamhaeng the then vassal kingdom of Pegu (Burma) rebelled and conquered Thailand’s west coast port cities of Mergui and Tenesserim. King Loetai (King Ramkhamhaeng’s son) apparently did not realize the strategic significance of these ports and made only a half-hearted and unsuccessful attempt to retake them. This allowed the young Thai Prince Bodi, who was the governor of the central Thailand district of Supanburi, an opportunity to fill this void. He did so by raising an army and capturing the ports back from the Burmese and adding them to his district.

Sailing ships of that day had only limited ability to sail against the wind. Because of the prevailing winds it could take a ship six months or more to sail the three thousand miles from India to Thailand. Pirates that plagued the Straits of Malacca, and the monsoons that sweep across the Andaman Sea could be very dangerous for the merchant ships so careful planning was required to transport goods on a regular basis. Many Indian and Arab traders and the Europeans who followed chose to land at Mergui and travel by barge upriver to Tenesserim, which took them roughly half way across the peninsula. They would then portage their goods the rest of the way over the mountains and through the jungle to the Gulf of Thailand (see map back cover). This was not an easy journey, as was attested to by an early Jesuit priest who reported seeing a traveling companion ripped to pieces by a tiger. But it reduced the distance by half and lessened the travel time from India to a little over one month.

Control over this strategic trade route gave Prince Bodi access to wealth and foreign technology. The prince then moved to annex the central Thai port city of Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is situated on an island, the confluence of three rivers, the Chao Phya, the Lopburi, and the Pasak, being at a distance of about 110 kilometers or 70 miles upriver from the Gulf of Thailand. Controlling Ayutthaya effectively reduced the kings control to the landlocked central and northern parts of Thailand. The prince was soon too powerful to be controlled by the rulers of Sukothai who were still preoccupied with internal problems. In 1350 Prince Bodi promoted himself to King Ramatibodi established his capital in Ayutthaya and ruled for nineteen years until his death in 1369.

Ayutthaya, who now controlled both the overland trade routes and sea lanes between India and China, quickly developed into the wealthiest and most important city in Southeast Asia. It was a thriving seaport with ships from all over the world, a center of culture, religion and commerce. Through an unbroken succession of thirty-four kings and covering a period of over four hundred years, the Ayutthaya period was the pinnacle of Thai power and influence. The kingdom extended across the whole of northern Thailand to include the (‘Million Elephant’) kingdom known today as Laos, most of Cambodia, part of Burma, and Malaysia.

Ayutthaya was built on trade, and the king and his ministers acquired great wealth. The king maintained a royal monopoly on the acquisition and trade of tin, lead, elephants, salt, betal nuts, scented woods (like sappanwood), deerskins, and pearls. Any merchant who wished to trade in these commodities or export them to India was obliged to deal with the king at his terms -- under pain of death. To facilitate trade with India the king built and operated a royal fleet of ships based at Mergui. At first these ships were commanded and manned by Indians and Arabs, who were later supplanted by Europeans. One large and very profitable item of trade between Thailand and India was ‘elephants’. There were always wars in India, and in warfare of that day elephants had a tactical importance similar to that of tanks today. Up to thirty elephants at a time were loaded onto what were presumably very stout ships for the sixteen to twenty day journey to India. Trade was not limited to India. Ships from Ayutthaya in the mid 16th century annually shipped 2,000 tons of sappanwood a year to China, and 300,000 deerskins to Japan.

Trade with China increased dramatically after 1408 when the Chinese explorer and trader ‘Zheng He’ arrived on a trading mission in Ayutthaya, with a large fleet of ships. In 1511, the Portuguese were the first European power to arrive in Ayutthaya (via Cape Horn) and established an embassy and built trading posts on Phuket and at Mergui. The Thais quickly tired of overzealous attempts by the Portuguese to convert them to Christianity. The Thais wanted to trade for weapons and manufactured goods from the Portuguese but were not interested in adopting a new religion. The Portuguese may have failed to convert Thailand to Christianity, but they did have an almost spiritual impact on Thai food; the Portuguese are credited with introducing chilies to Thailand.

The gate was open and the Portuguese were soon followed by the other major European trading nations. Many of early European traders were clearly in awe of the capital city of Ayutthaya and described it as making the European cities of the day seem to be common villages in comparison. One report suggested that London should adopt the idea of erecting street lights on the roads at night as they did in Ayutthaya. Many of the traders were astonished to discover that even the common people of Ayutthaya lived in comfortable surroundings and were far better off than the ragged starving peasantry of Europe.

Reports on the living conditions of the rural Thais in places such as Phuket contrasted starkly with those about life in Ayutthaya and the royal court. Thailand then used a system of corvee (state labor). When males attained the height of 3 cubits (about 4 feet) they were obligated to pay a tax or provide free labor to the king for a fixed period of time each year.

A French official with the embassy in Ayutthaya mentioned Phuket in a report. He noted that islanders were granted the privilege of working their own tin mines, paying a royalty to the king. However, allowing corrupt officials to control the weighing and smelting of tin often rendered the mining of tin an unprofitable exercise for the miners and production was only a fraction of potential.

Another early French visitor filed the following report: "The trade from this province (Phuket) is small, considering its potential; however numerous taxes, slavery and never-ending forced labor imposed on the people by the ruling class, coupled with the corruption and dishonesty of the government officials engulf and ruin whole families and render all work fruitless. Still despite the small size of the population, exports to the royal court include substantial quantities of black pepper, sugar, coffee, salted fish and sea slugs, turtle shells and elegant reed mats that are often exported to China.".

Once the strategic location and abundant wealth of Phuket were noted the race was on among the various European countries to gain the upper hand and control the trade with this vital island. Bringing guns, ironworks and other manufactured goods from Europe (and later opium from India) to Phuket and trading for tin, spices, ivory, pearls and ambergris (a greyish slime that is spewed by sick sperm whales and collected by fisherman). Ambergris was used in the production of perfume, and was so highly prized in Europe that its value was set as ounce for ounce the same as gold. Blocks of Phuket tin were used as currency and could be easily traded elsewhere in Asia for silks, spices, gems, and other products.

The French were the next western power to temporarily gain the upper hand in Thailand -- thanks in part to an enterprising Greek named Constantine Phaulkon, who became a very high official in Siam under King Narai from 1675 to 1688. Phaulkon was an exceptional linguist and learned to speak Thai, Malay, and several European languages. Combining good business sense with his language skills, Phaulkon rose through the ranks of the Thai government to become the court minister responsible for all the trade in the kingdom -- a position traditionally held by a wealthy Indian or Arab merchant. Determined to make as much of his position as possible, Phaulkon skillfully played one European power off the other enraging everyone but enriching himself and the king of Thailand. He feared the Dutch and English and used the French as a counterbalance. In 1681, a French medical missionary Brother Rene Charbonneau was named the Governor of Phuket.

A few years later in a controversial move Phaulkon appointed an Englishman Samuel White to the lucrative position of ‘Master of the Port’ in Mergui. Although foreigners had in the past and would again occupy positions of great influence in the Thai government, many of the royal court were deeply offended and resentful of Phaulkon. The fact that by most accounts Phaulkon exercised his authority prudently and produced substantial revenue for the kingdom did not lessen their displeasure. In 1688, when Phaulkon sanctioned the stationing of 600 French troops in Thailand, the Thais fearing a takeover forcefully expelled the French troops. Phaulkon was arrested and executed, and all of the European residents were taken hostage. French forces in Pondicherry (French colony in India) threatened to retaliate by occupying Phuket. General Desfarges arrived at Phuket with 332 men. They did not occupy the island but apparently looted a shipment of tin to compensate for losses suffered in the anti-foreign uprising. The most lasting result of the rebellion was that Thailand closed its borders, and it would be over a hundred years before another European country would be able to open official relations.

In many Thai history books this uprising is described as the restoring of Thai independence, but as many of the key ministerial positions were again given to wealthy Indian and Arab merchants, the alleged exploitation of Thailand by foreigners continued -- albeit by a different group of foreigners

The Burmese launched a full-scale attack on Thailand, and in 1767, following a 4-year siege, Ayutthaya was captured and destroyed. Even though the Burmese had long considered themselves the true protectors of the Buddhist faith, they destroyed precious manuscripts, religious sculpture, and pulled Buddhist temples to the ground.

Exotic Thailand, rich in natural resources located at the crossroads between Asia and the West envied not only by its neighbors but by traders from Europe, China and Japan. During the next two centuries only by the wisdom, statesmanship, and some adroit maneuvers by the Kings of Siam, was Thailand spared the fate of colonization that befell its neighbors.

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