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Two deaths in Bangkok in 1856 and their consequences
Life, Chris Baker, Published on 17/12/2021
» The Bowring Treaty of 1855 is a landmark of Thailand's modern history. The treaty opened the door for the colonial invasion of Siam's economy, and helped drag Siam into the modern world. It's a story about the great wheels of history, especially of colonial expansion and the cultural collision of East and West. But such events of great practical and symbolic significance are also about people, about the "big people" who shape these events, and the "little people" who get caught up in them by fate.
The man behind the treaty
Life, Chris Baker, Published on 27/10/2014
» In Thai history, Bowring is the title of the 1855 treaty that is the major landmark in Siam's transition to the modern world. Bowring is also less well known as the author of a bulky book about Mongkut's Siam (the reign of King Rama IV). But John Bowring himself is like a character in a drama who is there because the plot requires him, but who never takes shape as a person.