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ASSIMILATION WITH THE EUROPEAN CULTURE
When King Chulalongkorn, Rama V, ascended to the throne in October
1868, at the age of 15, he had already benefited from a more liberal
system of the court education than before. Anna Leonowens and others
had been his tutors. He was so well versed in English that later on in
his life, he could make formal speeches in English with ease, which
much impressed his hosts. As the King had not yet come of age, the
affairs of state had to be entrusted to a Regent in accordance with
tradition. He wisely spent the first five years on the throne gaining
knowledge and experience which would influence his decisions to
assimilate with the European culture.
In 1871, King Chulalongkorn went on the first of his many trips
abroad. Never before had a Thai king left the country. His intention
was to see for himself the western culture. Indeed he had intended to
visit Europe at this early age. His regent however, cautioned that
such a long journey was too hazardous, and advised short trips to the
neighbouring states. He spent a few weeks visiting British Singapore
and Dutch Java.
From the royal chronicles, in Singapore, he visited as many
institutions as he could. They included the post office, the Anglican
Church, Raffles School, the mental hospital, the prison, the telegraph
office, the law court, and the fire brigade. In Java, he saw the
horse-drawn tram and visited the Chamber of Commerce, the public park,
the zoo, the railway station, etc. He also attended formal dinners and
balls given in his honour, visited the theatre and went to shows. Upon
his return and in that same year, he changed the dress code and hair
styling of the royal court to conform to the European style.
On 24 September 1873, a few days after his 20th birthday, King
Chulalongkorn was crowned. The royal command proclaimed immediately
after the coronation was for courtiers to stand in his presence during
formal audiences, and to sit on chairs during the royal ceremonies.
Equally immediate in implementation was the process which would
abolish traditional servitude and slavery altogether. These two royal
acts clearly indicate that he had gained in depth understanding of the
European attitude towards the exotic and strange foreign cultures. He
had understood that the European judged others with the measure of
European cultural norms. He had decided that in terms of external
relations, cultural acceptance alone was inadequate, and that Siam
needed to assimilate with the western culture.
In 1875, he undertook the customary building project in the Grand
Palace to commemorate his reign. He engaged the services of European
architects from Singapore to build the famous Chakri Mahaprasat Throne
Hall. In line with his father’s Phra Abhinaonives group, the new
building was to be a Victorian style mansion. Work started in May 1876
and after some deliberation, it was decided that a Thai roof should
surmount the building to preserve the royal tradition. An analysis of
the Chakri Mahaprasat reveals that the Victorian style of architecture
worked well with Thai cosmology. The ground floor of heavy rusticated
stone exterior equates with the tall Thai style podium and can indeed
represent the foothills of Mount Meru. The ornamented piano-nobile
does serve to represent the celestial abode, with some degree of
imagination. The grand triple spire roof serves to reinforce the
concept. The building was inaugurated in 1882.
During the early part of his long reign, King Chulalongkorn carried
out many reforms based upon his knowledge and experiences gained from
the European colonies. In 1874, he created the Council of State and
the Privy Council. Although maintaining the absolute power of absolute
kingship, he appointed select members of the royalty and nobility as
advisers and state counselors. In the same year, he initiated a
radical educational reform, ending the centuries old system of
traditional temple education. Another radical change was the
investiture of his eldest son as the Crown Prince, ending yet another
ancient tradition of succession through brotherhood. Development in
the public services quickly followed. In 1883 the postal service was
in place, in 1887 the tram system was inaugurated and in 1890 the
first railway line was laid.
From 1887 onwards, the King sent a number of his sons to study in
Europe. He accompanied his sons to Singapore where they boarded the
cruise liners. This was a momentous decision. By so doing, the King
demonstrated his vision for the future.
02. December 2004