The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

KING PRAJADHIPOK AND. THE APPLE CART
British Attitudes towards the 1932 Revolution
by
Nicholas Tarling
The position Siam occupied in British policy in Southeast Asia in
the nineteenth century was exceptional. Its position in British policy in
the interwar years was exceptional also. In the nineteenth century Siam
retained its independence while all around were losing theirs. The
major means the Thais used to attain this end was to come to terms
with the major power in Southeast Asia, Great Britain. In the Bowring­
Parkes negotiations of 1855-6,1 the Siam of King Mongkut accepted
voluntarily what China had been forced to concede-extraterritoriality
and tariff restrictions-as the price of maintaining political independence.
Too exclusive a connexi'on with the British was avoided, and connexions
were made with other states.2 The same principle was followed when,
under King Chulalongkorn, the Siamese developed the practice of
appointing foreign advisers: Britain had the lion's share, but citizens of
other nations held some important posts. Through concessions to the
Western powers, and through a degree of westernisation, Siam sought
with success to preserve its independence. That independence also
depended, of course, on the policies of the great powers, and in particular
on Britain's readiness to accept a substantially independent state as the
outwork of its empire in India-Burma and Malaya. .That readiness
existed before the French established themselves in Indo-China, and it
was reinforced by that event. The aim ofthe British was an independent
Siam open to British commerce and amenable to Bdtish advice. It was
on the whole attained, despite the problems caused by Thai claims in
the Malay peninsula. Siam's position r~mained important in the
twentieth century: indeed the development of air co~munications gave
the country a new significance. · · .
1) See N. Tarling, Imperial Britain in South-East Asia, Kuala Lumpur, f975, cbs.
viii, ix.
Z) cr. ibid., p. 225.
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