Four centuries of diplomatic relations

The relations date back to 1612 when an Englishman with the Latin name of Antheuniss arrived in Ayudhya aboard the Globe to present a letter from King James I to King Songtham. It was to follow up on the establishment of the East India Company in the Siamese capital in 1600. The company was, however, rife with profiteers and filibusters, and it led to conflicts with the Siamese authorities and eventually to the company declaring war on Siam in the name of England. The company closed down in 1684, the year King Narai dispatched an embassy to England possibly to find out whether England was seriously at war with the Siamese kingdom.

The embassy consisted of two envoys, Khun Pichaivalit and Khun Pichitmaitri; six Siamese students destined to study in France, one of whom later distinguished himself defending his doctorate degree in 1686 at the Sorbonne in the presence of Khun Pichaivalit’s successor, Kosa Pan; and two Jesuits acting as interpreters, Father Vachet and Father Pascot, who meticulously kept the journals which are today preserved in the French Foreign Missions in Rue du Bac in Paris.

The embassy’s voyage on the vessel Atlantic was a veritable saga. As their ship approached the English Channel, Barbary pirates appeared and gave chase. The Siamese were rescued just in time by the Royal Navy, which then escorted them to Margate. However, as they landed, the gifts from King Narai to King Charles II and to King Louis XIV – for their other mission was to cross over to France – were impounded by the redoubtable British customs authorities. At the royal audience, the Siamese recounted the episode to the king, who then instructed his chief customs officer to release the goods. The latter refused to comply, saying the matter had to go to Parliament. 

At the ambassador's second audience, while the king was having his supper late at night in his hunting lodge outside London, His Majesty, having learnt of the incident, immediately wrote a note threatening his chief customs officer of the dire consequences, an unimaginable act considering the recent regicide in England. The Siamese ambassador duly took the royal letter to Parliament, interrupted the House while it was in session and demanded a hearing. The Speaker came out to read the royal instruction and immediately told the customs officer to make amends. The latter then took the Siamese party to Margate, where customs officials were made to line up to receive the embassy “in State”. The diplomatic effects were duly released and the Siamese were taken to the nearest pub for a pint. At the king’s instruction, the royal yacht Charlotte conveyed the Siamese party to France (where another saga began).

Siam established her first permanent embassy or legation in England in 1882. Our London embassy actually commemorated the 130th anniversary this year, although it went relatively unnoticed. It would be good if, in two years’ time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an event to commemorate the 330th anniversary of our intrepid embassy to England in 1684.