Ayutthaya : The Former Capital City of Thailand

Ayutthaya : The Former Capital City of Thailand

From the Sixteenth to the Seventeenth Centuries the Thai rulers followed a policy described as “the friend of all and the foe of none.”  This policy was directed towards the European powers who established contacts with the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. This early contact with the Europeans demonstrated the willingness of the Thai elite to employ foreign advisers and seek the support of a friendly foreign power to protect the kingdom from the threat of other foreign powers.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to enter the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya. They were followed by the Spanish, Dutch, English and French. All these Europeans, who entered Thailand to pursue commercial as well as religious and political ends, were well received. The commercial value of Thailand at that juncture lay not only in the local product of tin, hides and dye-woods, but also in its position as an entrepot for China and Japan trade, since China and later Japan were virtually closed to most Europeans.

The Portuguese, Dutch and English came to the Thai capital only in search of trade and profit, whereas the French mixed commercial with religious and military interests. To achieve its aims, each European group sought the support of the king and this practice led to intense rivalry and intrigue among them. Thus, for the first time in their historical relations, “Thai statesmen adroitly balanced each interest against the others until they were able to banish them all.”

This practice of attempting to play off one foreign power against another became in time one of major features of Thai foreign policy.