Anglo-Siamese Economic Relations:British Trade,Capital
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ANGLO-SIAMESE ECONOMIC RELATIONS:BRITISH TRADE,CAPITAL AND ENTERPRISE IN SIAM,1856-1914. PETER SEK WANNAMETHEE. Submitted for PhD. LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON. UMI Number: U615757 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615757 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 T\4£S£S F 6GS2- x c5 MolS/37/ 1 Acknowledgement. I would like to express my gratitude to the following who have made it possible for me to complete the doctorial thesis.Firstly to my former supervisor,Prof.M.E.Falkus,who drew my attention to Thai economic history,assisted me in the structure of the thesis, and guided me throughout my research.Secondly,to the staff at the National Archives in Bangkok,for their patience and tolerance during my research.Thirdly,to the National Security Council,whose permission in consulting certain confidential files has been of value.Fourthly,to HM's Principal Private Secretary,M.L.Thavisan Ladawan,for the privilege he granted me in exploring the archive at the Royal Secretariat.The research undertaken in Bangkok was facilitated by the financial support awarded by the Central Research Fund.I would like to extend my appreciation to my tutor, D r . J.Hunter, for her willingness to supervise me throughout the last stages in completing my thesis.Lastly,to my parents for their financial support and moral encouragement. 2 ABSTRACT In 1856 Siam was opened to the world economy after 130 years of virtual isolation from Western contact.The event was followed by a series of treaties with the various Western Powers.This resulted in the influx of Western capital,technology,and expertise in which the British became predominant.The purpose of this thesis is to examine the factors which determined the degree and direction of British economic activity in Siam between 1856-1914.This involves a discussion on the the Siamese perception of and response to the presence of the British. Historians have discussed British economic activity in the context of Siam's political infrastructure and development.These works have contributed to an understanding of the Siamese response to the West.However based on Siamese documents,this study serves to complement previous work by showing the factors considered by the Siamese administration in formulating their response to British economic interests,namely the issue of economic sovereignty,and how to meet the demands of the British without creating hostility from the other rival Powers.The study is the first work to examine Anglo-Siamese economic relations in perspective based on Siamese documents. The thesis involves a discussion on the conduct of British enterprise in Siam and its qualitative influence on the Siamese economy,the relationship between the British government and their economic interests,the role of the British advisers and the Third Power in relation to the granting of economic concessions.The study looks at a wide cross-section of British economic activity in Siam,namely the trading houses,railways,teak and tin,showing that the presence of the British was part of Siam's modernisation.Evidence indicates that the Siamese were continuously suspicious of British intentions due to political and economic factors.Such perceptions induced the Siamese to undertake a conciliatory response.Despite the support from the British government,the framework within which British economic activity was undertaken prevented them from establishing a dominant position in the Siamese economy. 4 ANGLO-SIAMESE ECONOMIC RELATIONS:BRITISH TRADE,CAPITAL,AND ENTERPRISE IN SIAM,1856-1914. Introduction Page Background and Comment on Sources. 8 Chapter Is Anglo-Siamese Economic Relations 1820-1856. 17 1.Background to the Foreign Trade of Siam. 17 2.Siamese Trade with the British Southeast Asian Ports. 23 3.The Opening Up of Siam to the World Economy 1856. 33 Chapter II: Trade and Shipping. 42 1.The Port of Bangkok and Intra-Asian Trade. 42 A)Exports from Siam. 51 B)Imports in Siam. 63 2.Political Issues Arising from Trade. 64 3.Shipping. 69 4.British Penetration of the Coastal Trade. 80 Chapter III:British Enterprise in Bangkok. 93 1.The Role and Importance of British Trading Houses in Bangkok. 93 2.The British Trading Houses. 100 3.The British Banks in Bangkok. 124 A)Paper Currency. 128 B)The British Response to the Gold Standard,1902. 130 C)The Idea of a National Bank and the Effects on the British Banks. 136 4.Public Works. 147 Chapter IV:The Development of British Economic Interests in Northern Siam and the Opening of the Teak Forests 1856-1883. 156 1.The Northern Economy and its Link with British Burma. 156 A)The Caravan Trade. 158 2.British Interest in Teak. 162 A)Disputes over the Teak Trade. 165 B)Regulation of the Teak Trade. 176 C)The Treaty of Chiengmai 1883. 182 5 Chapter V:British Enterprise in the Siamese Teak Industry. 190 l.The Growth of the British Teak Firms. 191 A)Amount of Capital Investment in Teak. 204 2.Siamese Control of the British Teak Enterprise. 208 A)Competition Between the French and the British. 217 3.Relations Between the Ministry of Interior and the Forestry Department. 221 A)The Renewal of Leases. 227 B)Assessment of the British Companies' Position in Siam. 232 Chapter VI:The Development of British Interest in Railways 1885-1905. 239 1.Tender For the Nakorn Rachasima Line. 249 A)The Quarrel Between British Engineers and Bethge. 256 B)Conflict Between Campbell and the Siamese Government. 261 2.The Northern Line and the Siamese Loan. 2 66 Chapter VII:British Involvement in the Siamese Railways 1905-1914:The Construction of the Southern Line. 276 1.The Idea of the Southern Line. 277 2.The Development of the Southern Railway Line. 282 a)The Southern Railways. 1 284 B)The Establishment of a Separate Railway Department. 288 3.The Railway Agreement. 297 4.The Tender System for Railway Material,1900-1914. 308 Chapter VIII:British Interest in Mining. 317 1.British Mining in Precious Stones and Gold. 318 2.Background to Tin Mining in Siam. 324 3.The Movement to Control the South:The Mining Administration. 327 4.The Nature of British Mining Enterprise in Siam. 335 5.The Siamese Response to British Mining Activity. 342 6.Mining in the Malay-Peninsula. 349 6 7.The Duff Concession. 357 8.Tin Mining,1909-1913 . 383 Chapter IX:Anglo-Siamese Economic Relations 1856-1914 in Perspective. 390 1.The Role of British Advisers. 392 2.The Role of the Third Power. 408 3.An Assessment of British Economic Performance in Siam. 411 Appendix Maps. 1.Teak Region of Northern Siam. 421 2.Coastal Shipping Routes Pre-1914. 422 3.North and North-Eastern Railway Line. 423 4.Southern Railway Line. 424 5.Structure of the Borneo Co.Investment Group, Pre-1914. 425 Select Bibliography. 426 7 ABBREVIATIONS N.L National Library.Bangkok,Thailand. N.A National Archives.Bangkok,Thailand. JS Juka Sakrat,or lessor Era of the Burmese. (J.S.+ 638 = A.D.). YO Yotha Tikarn (Public Works) KH Khlang (Finance) KS Kaset (Agiculture) M Mahathai (Interior) B Bedtalet (Miscellaneous) PS Piset (Special Files) N Nakorn Bahn (Local Government) T Tang Prathet (Foreign Affairs) KT Krasuang Tang Prathet (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Kh 0301.1 Files of the Financial Adviser SRL Samnak Rachaleka (Office of HM's Principal Private Secretary) PRO Public Record Office FO Foreign Office CO Colonial Office BCR British Consular Reports BPP British Parliamentary Papers USCR United States Consular Report EIC East India Company BKK Bangkok Times JSS Journal Siam Society JSEAS Journal of South-East Asian Studies JSEAH Journal of South-East Asian History. JMBRAS Journal Malayan Branch Asiatic Society. 8 ANGLO-SIAMESE ECONOMIC RELATIONS:BRITISH TRADE,CAPITAL AND ENTERPRISE IN SIAM,1856-1914. INTRODUCTION. Historians have focused their attention on this era of Siamese history in particular on the reign of King Chulalongkorn 1868-1910.This period is crucial from two perspectives:firstly Siam's independence was at stake;and secondly it marked an era of modernisation.Various studies have been made in relating British economic activity to the reforms for modernisation.For instance N.J.Brailey and J.A.Ramsay discussed the presence of British teak companies in Northern Siam in the context of Siam's administrative control.^D.Holm,in his study of the railways,concentrated on 2 the political impact of railways. I.G.Brown accounts for the 3 development of the financial infrastructure. These studies shows the impact of the West on Siam's administrative development .What historians need to understand is the role of Western enterprise and its political implications for Siam's * N.J.Brailey;"The Siamese Forward Movement in N.Laos States, 1850-92 ",Ph.D.diss,University of London,1969 J.A.Ramsay;"Development of Modern Bureaucratic Polity",Ph.d, Cornell U,1971. 2 David B.Holm:The Role of the State Railways in Thai History,1892-32 ", Ph.D.diss,Yale U,1975. 3 Ian George Brown;"The Ministry of Finance and the Early Development of Modern Financial Administration in Siam 1885- 1910."Ph.D.diss,University of London,1975.