1815-1855

After the reign of King Narai (1656-1688), Thailand was engaged in a number of conflicts with her neighbours. In 1767, Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese but King Taksin (1767-1782) and King Buddhayodfa [Ram I (1782-1809) ] were able to regain the nation's independence and unify the kingdom, including Chiengmai. The Thai kingdom was no longer composed of only one city-state but was now a full-fledged country in the modern sense of the world.

    Meanwhile, the nations of Europe were also competing against one another. England had become a sea power and expanded her dominance into India by defeating the French in the 18th century. After the Napoleonic Wars had ended in 1815, England and other European nations started to seriously expand into the Far East, prompted by the Industrial Revolution. From the year 1807, ships started to be driven by steampower and industrial plants sprung up which relied on raw materials from the Far East. New markets were also needed for the finished products manufactured by the plants. In this regard, this new wave of expansionism by the European nations was not only aimed at commerce of trade but also colonization whenever the opportunity permitted.

    Portugal had maintained friendly contacts with Thailand all along and was allowed to establish a consulate in Bangkok in 1818 without any special authority.

    England meanwhile had established her stronghold in India and started to expand toward Malaya and Burma, acquiring Penang in 1876 and Singapore in 1819. In that same year (1819), the English went to war with the Burmese.

    The Government in India contacted Thailand on several occasions, sending Mr. Canning to Bangkok in 1816 and John Crawfurd in 1822. No treaty was signed between the two countries, but a number of English traders started to settle down in Bangkok, such as James Hunter.

    Subsequently in 1824, during her war with the Burmese, England invited Thailand to enter into an alliance. In 1826, the English annexed Arakan, Martaban, Tavoy and Tenasserim. That same year, the English Government in India sent Captain Henry Burney to sign a treaty with the Thais. The English sought facilities for trade, but there was no request for extraterritorial privileges yet. On the contrary, the treaty stipulated that the English were to abide by the law of the land. In 1850, Sir James Brooke was sent to negotiate with the Thais about establishing a consulate, although no extraterritorial rights were requested.

    The United States sent Edmund Roberts to sign a treaty in 1833 which stated that U.S. citizens and ships were free to trade at Thai ports and to have direct contact with the Thai people. The Americans did not seek extraterritorial rights and agreed to abide by the law of the land.

    Since the English and the Americans were engaged in trade with Thailand, the Thais decided in 1840 to invite the French consul in Singapore to send French traders to the country. This was in accordance with Thai traditions, which offered an open door for trade to all countries alike.

    In 1852, the English fought another war with the burmese and annexed the southern part of Burma. Thailand remained neutral in this war.

    Meanwhile, England forced the Chinese to open up their country to trade and, starting in 1843, began to exercise extraterritorial privileges in that country. Subsequently in 1855, the British Government dispatched Sir John Bowring, the Governor of Hong Kong, to negotiate a new treaty with Thailand which demanded extraterritorial privileges.