Anna Leonowenes view of the Kingdom of Siam 1870

Anna Leonowens

The following story is a description by Anna Leonowens, who was an English teacher at the court of King Mongkut between 1862 and 1867, of the kingdom of Siam at that time (chapter XXVIII entitled: 'The Kingdom of Siam' from the book mentioned below). I am omitting significant chunks of text indicated by (…..). A short biography of Anna was in the previous story: www.thailandblog.nl/

A general impression

With its royal ruler, priest and king; his religion full of contradictions, at once pure and corrupt, lovely and cruel, uplifting and humiliating; its laws, where wisdom is so perversely mingled with blindness, enlightenment with barbarity, strength with weakness, justice with oppression………Siam is surely one of the most singular and thought-provoking realms in the East; a fascinating and challenging conundrum for the theologian and political economist alike. Like a troubled dream, in contrast to the cohesive and stable way of life in the West, the land and its people seem to have been summoned from a secret obscurity, a wonder to the senses and a mystery to the mind.

The landscape

And yet, in a strange way, it is an unusual and wonderful reality. The enchanting variety of the landscape together with the almost inexhaustible productivity of its soil is a challenge for all other areas in Asia. Many rivers flow through the immeasurable fertility of his land. (….)

In that rich well-irrigated earth under the animating sun grows a multitude of crops: rice, the Asiatic source of life, sugar, processed in many delicacies, indigo, the most precious dye, and in the drier places, cotton, tobacco and coffee . (…..) The banyan tree, and the Phoh, tree sacred to Buddhists—all of which make up a garden which Adam could have planned and cared for, and which only Eve could have wasted.

As a traveler approaches the borders of the kingdom, he sees grand ridges topped with impenetrable forests, amphitheatering the graceful plain. (….)

The borders of the empire

The extent and boundaries of the kingdom and its dependent territories are variously described, but according to His Majesty Maha Mongkut it reached as far as Singapore before the arrival of the Portuguese. (…) In the north, the kingdom encounters provinces of Laos, Ava (Burma) and China. To the east is the Anam empire, to the west the sea and British possessions. Siam proper is bordered on the north by the kingdom of Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Nan and Luang Phrabang, on the east by the kingdom of Cambodia and the Meuang Khorat. (…..)

The climate of Siam is more or less hot depending on the latitude and can only be tolerated by bathing all the time. There are only two seasons, the wet and the dry. As soon as the southwest monsoon sets in, cumulus clouds gather over the tops of the mountains to the west, bringing raging gusts of wind with thunder and refreshing downpours as the sun sets. (….)

The size of Siam's population is still an uncertain matter, although an official estimate puts it at 6 to 7 million, comprising Siamese or Thai-Malay, Laotians, Cambodians, Peguans, Kariens, Shans and Loas.

The economy

Siam produces huge quantities of excellent rice, of which there are 40 varieties, and its sugars are among the best in the world. Its rivers and lakes are rich in fish, turtles and waterfowl. It exports rice, sugar, cotton, tobacco, hemp, cashews, salted and dried fish, coconut oil, beeswax, dried fruits, gutte gum, cardamon, betel nuts, peppers, sapan wood, eagle wood, rosewood, ebony, ivory, raw silk, buffalo -and tiger and armadillo skins, elephant tusks and bones, rhinoceros bones, turtle shells, peacock feathers, bird nests etc. etc.

(…..) Every official puts part of the income from taxes, fines, extortions, bribes, gifts and 'certificates' into his own pocket as a salary.

The rulers of Laos pay to the crown of Siam an annual tribute of "gold and silver trees" encrusted with jewels.

The raw silk, elephant tusks and other rare products from Siam are highly sought after by the Mohammedan traders who compete to ship them to the Bombay market. All those items are auctioned and the auctioneers are, amazingly enough, the women in the royal harem, the king's favorite concubines. The merchants promise generous gifts if the women agree a good price with the king, and so they have some adventure and earn some extra money.

The personal tax that every Chinese has to pay every three years is paid in gold bullion. (….)

The Siamese court

The characteristic features of the Siamese court are height, unashamed indifference, and ostentation, a natural quality and expression of imperiousness, while every artifice that power and opulence can devise is used to instill fearful awe and pious devotion in the common people for their sovereign monarch. Though the king has wisely introduced certain reforms of some particular customs, he seldom travels without excessive display, especially on his annual visits to the temples. (….)

The royal boats are 100 meters long, carefully sculpted and inlaid with crystal, porcelain, mother-of-pearl and jade, glazed and gilded. They are one of the most striking and most beautiful objects on the river. They are rowed by one hundred and fifty men. (….)

The government, in its multiple displays of power, pride and pomp, evokes the image of European rulers in the Middle Ages when barbarians from the north took up their feudal practices after the decline of the Roman Empire. Under such a system it is impossible to obtain any certainty about the royal revenues and treasures. It is known that the Siamese monarch is immensely wealthy and that the legal plunder disappears into the treasury and never reappears. Accumulating large stocks of money is a cherished practice of all Eastern monarchs.

(tristantan / Shutterstock.com)

The armies of Siam are not gathered until there is a clear need for it. All viceroys and governors are then called upon to do their part to assemble at an agreed place. It is customary for conscripts' relatives to be held hostage to prevent desertion and to be punished if the soldiers neglect their duty. Fortunately, this vicious suppression was not necessary under the peaceful reign of the present king.

Traveling on sea and land

The Siamese are insignificant sailors. Their journeys are limited to short trips along the coast or in safe and well-known inland waterways. The navy consists of a thousand teak boats, and there are also several European warships. (….)

The modern iron bridges, made in European style, have been modified so that no human foot crosses the bridge when the royal boat passes under it. Other bridges are built of stone and wood. There are few good roads, most of them very recently built.

Source

Anna Harriette Leonowens, Anna