Birth of the middle classRama III was free trade's original champion, giving the 'phrai' a chance to get rich too, It strikes us as a modern term, but "free trade" flourished in Siam during the reign of King Rama III from 1824 to 1851, as is clear from mural depictions of the era.
One year into his reign, Rama III signed the Burney Treaty, the first trade pact with the West.
"People usually think the free market was established here after the Bowring Treaty was signed," said researcher Patison Benyasuta, referring to the better-known agreement with Britain that King Rama IV endorsed.
Patison, an MA architecture student at Silpakorn University, shared insights he gleaned from temple murals in Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Nakhon Ratchasima at a recent symposium arranged by Silpakorn and the Matichon Group to commemorate Rama III's 223rd birthday.
It was King Nangklao - Rama III - who dispensed with most of the monopolies of the Ayutthaya Period and embraced free trade, he said. The bold move let both foreigners and ordinary Siamese into the market.
Bangkok's Wat Thongthummachat and Korat's Wat Na Phra That have paintings that show shops and marketplaces where court ladies mingled with foreign traders and the locals.
Before the Burney Treaty, the buyers and salesmen had to conduct business through the Phra Klang system, which diverted much of the profit to the royal court and its attendant aristocrats.
Krom Phra Klang - the Treasury Department - was headed by a Phra Klang. Foreign deals later came under the supervision of its Port Department, known as Krom Tha.
Foreigners complained about the system, but Patison noted that they could still make up to 300 per cent profit.
As Prince Jessadabodindra, the future Rama III served as chief of the Port Department and earned enough that his father, Rama II, referred to him as a chow sua, the Chinese term for a wealthy businessman.
But as King, the erstwhile chow sua freed up trade, retaining monopolies only on rice, guns and gunpowder, Patison said.
Wat Thongthummachat has depictions of Siam Chinese, including one where they're running a hair-braiding salon. Another mural at Bangkok's Wat Suthatthepwararam shows a Chinese man among Siamese women.
"A lot of Chinese migrated to Siam as unskilled labour but many had luck in business and married Siamese women," Patison explained, adding that the women considered them harder workers than their Siamese counterparts, and thus more likely to be successful.
Murals at Wat Na Phra That and Wat Sena-sanaram in Ayutthaya show Siamese men gambling at cockfights and getting drunk. At Wat Thongthummachat you can spot a picture of a child smoking. Each of these vices represented revenue for the royal court in the form of taxes on liquor, tobacco and gambling.
Income from the last of these soared on the three days of each year when the King allowed betting outside the designated gambling dens, Patison said.
He came across foreign documents saying alcohol was popular in Siam, second only to tea, and that it was common to see young boys smoking.
Rama III was, however, the first king to try and curb opium addiction, after seeing its widespread effects in China.
The free market during his reign created a new social class, the Kradoomphee, a trading middle class, Patison said. These were common phrai who'd become successful and could now afford to hire their own labourers. They were no longer phrai, but not as rich as the khunnang aristocrats.
Patison also showed portrayals at Ayutthaya's Wat Sena-sanaram Rajavaravihara of Siamese soldiers in Western-style uniforms.
"The King was the one who laid the foundation for free trade in Siam, and that made him more open to Western culture," he said.
One year into his reign, Rama III signed the Burney Treaty, the first trade pact with the West.
"People usually think the free market was established here after the Bowring Treaty was signed," said researcher Patison Benyasuta, referring to the better-known agreement with Britain that King Rama IV endorsed.
Patison, an MA architecture student at Silpakorn University, shared insights he gleaned from temple murals in Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Nakhon Ratchasima at a recent symposium arranged by Silpakorn and the Matichon Group to commemorate Rama III's 223rd birthday.
It was King Nangklao - Rama III - who dispensed with most of the monopolies of the Ayutthaya Period and embraced free trade, he said. The bold move let both foreigners and ordinary Siamese into the market.
Bangkok's Wat Thongthummachat and Korat's Wat Na Phra That have paintings that show shops and marketplaces where court ladies mingled with foreign traders and the locals.
Before the Burney Treaty, the buyers and salesmen had to conduct business through the Phra Klang system, which diverted much of the profit to the royal court and its attendant aristocrats.
Krom Phra Klang - the Treasury Department - was headed by a Phra Klang. Foreign deals later came under the supervision of its Port Department, known as Krom Tha.
Foreigners complained about the system, but Patison noted that they could still make up to 300 per cent profit.
As Prince Jessadabodindra, the future Rama III served as chief of the Port Department and earned enough that his father, Rama II, referred to him as a chow sua, the Chinese term for a wealthy businessman.
But as King, the erstwhile chow sua freed up trade, retaining monopolies only on rice, guns and gunpowder, Patison said.
Wat Thongthummachat has depictions of Siam Chinese, including one where they're running a hair-braiding salon. Another mural at Bangkok's Wat Suthatthepwararam shows a Chinese man among Siamese women.
"A lot of Chinese migrated to Siam as unskilled labour but many had luck in business and married Siamese women," Patison explained, adding that the women considered them harder workers than their Siamese counterparts, and thus more likely to be successful.
Murals at Wat Na Phra That and Wat Sena-sanaram in Ayutthaya show Siamese men gambling at cockfights and getting drunk. At Wat Thongthummachat you can spot a picture of a child smoking. Each of these vices represented revenue for the royal court in the form of taxes on liquor, tobacco and gambling.
Income from the last of these soared on the three days of each year when the King allowed betting outside the designated gambling dens, Patison said.
He came across foreign documents saying alcohol was popular in Siam, second only to tea, and that it was common to see young boys smoking.
Rama III was, however, the first king to try and curb opium addiction, after seeing its widespread effects in China.
The free market during his reign created a new social class, the Kradoomphee, a trading middle class, Patison said. These were common phrai who'd become successful and could now afford to hire their own labourers. They were no longer phrai, but not as rich as the khunnang aristocrats.
Patison also showed portrayals at Ayutthaya's Wat Sena-sanaram Rajavaravihara of Siamese soldiers in Western-style uniforms.
"The King was the one who laid the foundation for free trade in Siam, and that made him more open to Western culture," he said.
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