Awareness of Outside Threats Among Siamese Elites
9 Pages Posted: 15 Nov 2017
Date Written: January 1, 2017
Abstract
As the West approached the Kingdom of Siam in the eighteenth century, they started to present an outside threat to the country and generate anxiety among the Siamese elites during the absolute monarchy regime. Before, wars were traditionally fought against neighboring kingdoms with the main purpose being to expand the power of the monarchy. However, when the Western superpowers gradually made their advance in the form of colonization, it very much affected the stability of the Siamese elites and threatened their efforts to maintain the country’s independence. Having examined the awareness among Siamese elites regarding challenging outside threats, the study finds that the threats and the world’s political landscape that affected the knowledge bases of the Siamese elites are: (1) the first Burma-England War, (2) the Franco-Siamese War of 1893 (112 years into the Rattanakosin era), (3) Russia’s defeat by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War, and (4) the country’s participation in the First World War. These four incidents raised awareness among the Siamese elites, who consequently adapted for survival, and may also have contributed to the Kingdom’s ability to maintain its independence until today.
Keywords: Awareness, Outside Threats, Elites
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