CONCLUSION This Study of the Interactions Between the VOC
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CONCLUSION This study of the interactions between the VOC employees and the mem- bers of the court of Ayutthaya shows how over the years ‘fixed Dutch/European categories’ of the Siamese court elite were created. The Dutch perceptions of the Siamese court in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries generally agreed with contemporary European views of the ‘absolute power’ of the Siamese king and the ‘splendour’ of his court, which both in Dutch/European and in Thai terms served to manifest his power. To a large extent, Dutch accounts, such as the work of Schouten, were even the main source of European perceptions of Siam. Although these few ‘fixed categories’ did not change dramatically over time, it is possible to see how the Dutch adapted themselves to an envi- ronment which, if it were to allow them their trade, needed to be under- stood at various cultural and political levels. To show and understand the Dutch awareness of this cultural-political situation, this study has analysed the nearly two centuries of Dutch-Thai interaction under the aegis of the VOC. From the beginning, the Dutch were awed by the ‘absolute power’ and ‘splendour’ of the Siamese King, which they sometimes regarded as unjust and wasteful. Despite such misgivings, they quickly recognized the centripetal force of the Ayutthayan court, into which they them- selves were drawn, as they were dependent on the King’s favour, as were all other court members. To communicate with the King more effectively, the Dutch mastered the Siamese ‘language of ritual’. They also learnt to recognize the general and personal needs of each Siamese ruler and his entourage and made use of that understanding. Through all this, they also gained a working knowledge of the political reality of the kingdom. This knowledge of things Thai—their ‘cultural capital’, so to say—was essential if they were to realize their prime goal, namely the establishment and operation of trading relations with the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Undoubtedly, many Europeans deemed accepting Siamese court etiquette to be a gesture of submission to this oriental King. Even so, the VOC men, known for their pragmatism, were more often than not flexible enough to observe the many intricacies of local custom. They often did follow local protocol because they genuinely understood the sig- nificance of ceremony and deference. They only tried to resist when a cer- emony or a contribution implied that they were bowing to a non- Christian religion and jarred their religious conscience. Even so, the 222 CONCLUSION Dutch and the Siamese often reached a compromise, especially because this would please the Siamese King. The Dutch were aware of the vicissitudes at court and tried to adjust to them, above all by re-inventing their own functions to suit the specif- ic needs of each Siamese King. Having established themselves in the commercial and diplomatic order of Siam during the reigns of Kings Ekathotsarot and Songtham, the Dutch further strengthened their posi- tion by forging a political and military alliance with King Prasatthong. After diplomacy and military alliance had lost their prominence or prac- ticability, the Dutch retained King Narai’s favour by supporting the expansion of his personal world to meet the wider one. More serious problems occurred when the following Kings Phetracha and Süa con- sidered neither Europeans trustworthy allies nor European culture a prominent element in court prestige. Nevertheless, for the rest of the time, the Dutch remained Siam’s most important European trade partner and the Kings’ indispensable link to the outside world. Not only the political and economic conditions but also the social and cultural life of each reign was defined to a large extent by the person- al strengths, or weaknesses, and personal interests of each ruler. The history of the Ayutthayan court as seen through Dutch eyes shows a constant power struggle between individuals and between interest groups. In the reality of Siamese politics, the Dutch also saw that the ‘absolute power’ of its King had its limits, as proven by the recurrent succession conflicts and the increasing need for power-sharing experienced by the Kings of the eighteenth century. What the Dutch observed even more clearly in their daily experience was that the khunnang—who were both partners and competitors of the Dutch—protected their interests by try- ing to manipulate the King’s knowledge of the precise circumstances of politics and trade. The Kings responded by tolerating this manipulation; sometimes fighting back to reclaim control; sometimes feeling powerless against it. Dutch understanding of the power relations among the Siamese elite did not always help them out. Especially in the seventeenth century, the Dutch often felt that the Kings were kept blind by their officials to the injustices done to them. However, studying Dutch sources, it is fairly obvious that Kings may have chosen deliberately to turn a blind eye to these injustices every now and again. Consequently, the claim by the VOC employees that the ruler had no knowledge of the miseries his ser- vants caused them seemed in a way a strategy which helped the Dutch to survive in Siam rather than to reflect reality. Notably, the tendency to stress the role of the King as the ‘last instance’ to whom the Dutch looked for succour1 grew less from the last decade of the seventeenth century; the disappearance of this ‘topos’ also reflected the fact that, gradually, the.