Thailand's Early Contacts with European Powers

 

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.

Among the Thai kings, King Narai is credited to be a master in playing off two states against one another. During his reign (1656-1688)

,the Dutch, having successfully fought the Portuguese elsewhere in Asia, had become active rivals of the French at Ayutthaya, and had showed aggressive designs against Thailand. In 1664 the Dutch demanded various special commercial privileges, and on failing to obtain these, they sent a fleet to blockade the mouth of the Chao Phraya River for a considerable time. Thailand had then no fleet capable of resisting the Dutch. Their demands were therefore granted, and on August 10, 1664 a treaty was signed whereby the Dutch obtained the sole monopoly of the trade in hides. The most significant provision in treaty was for Thailand to grant the extra-territorial rights to Dutch residents in Thailand.

The strength of the Dutch in the eastern seas and their overbearing attitude in Ayutthaya provoked alarm among the Thais and the government of King Narai wanted to use the English to counterbalance the Dutch. Not only did King Narai encourage the English to increase their trade with Thailand but he also hired a number of them as commanders of Thai ships. In 1676, as part of his effort to increase the English trade, King Narai lent the English traders in Ayutthaya ten thousand pounds free of interest. Narai’s policy to use the English  to counteract the Dutch had little prospect of achieving its objective. English influence at that juncture hardly existed. England was fully occupied with troubles over James II’s succession to the throne. Fear of the Dutch then drove King Narai to France. He gave much encouragement to French missionaries who had worked in Ayutthaya from  1662. Constant Phaulkon, the Greek adventurer who became chief minister of Thailand, extended his patronage to the French, and the French East India Company was allowed to establish a factory at Ayutthaya in 1680. Diplomatic envoys were exchanged between Thailand and France. In 1685 wide trading privileges and extra-territorial rights were granted to the French, much to the detriment of the Dutch and English companies.

King Narai’s policy of seeking counterweights in international association, although it worked out very well, did not progress without a flaw. There was an anti-European revolt which was the only occasion when the Thais showed signs of religious intolerance, because many of the nobility feared that the French were aimed to gain control of the king and the country through the Christian religion. Many of the nobility believed that French wanted to make the people give up Buddhism and sought to establish a protectorate over the country. Neither charge was entirely groundless. The heir presumptive to the throne of King Narai is said to have been converted to Catholicism, and the idea of a mass conversion of the Thai people, led by their king, was discussed in France at that time. The motive of territorial gain was probably also behind the dispatch to Thailand of some French troops and ships. These were charged with the duty of garrisoning certain Thai ports, including Bangkok and Mergui (now Burmese,but at that time Thai territories).

In 1688 King Narai died and Phaulkon was killed. These were serious disturbances. The Thai people rallied to the support of Phra Pet Racha, who represented the conservative and anti-feeling elements. French traders and military personnel were driven out the country. Only French missionaries were allowed to stay in Thailand. From 1688 the Thai kingdom isolated itself from the West. The Thais had a feeling of hostility towards France in particular; and towards Europeans in general, which lasted for more than a century.