Anglo-Siamese War facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anglo-Siamese War
Date 1687–1688 Location Mergui and Coromandel coast Result Siam closed to Company traders No peace treaty signed
Belligerents
Ayutthaya Kingdom (Siam): • English defectors	East India Company
Commanders and leaders
King Narai Constantine Phaulkon Governor of Tenasserim  Balat of Tenasserim  Samuel White (defected) Richard Burnaby (defected)  †	Elihu Yale Anthony Weltden
Strength
Shore batteries	Curtana and James
Casualties and losses
	James sunk 60 killed

The Anglo-Siamese War was a short conflict between the East India Company (an English trading company) and the Ayutthaya Kingdom (Siam, which is now Thailand). It happened in 1687–1688. Siam officially declared war in August 1687. Even though no peace treaty was signed, the Siamese revolution of 1688 ended the conflict.

This war started partly because big European countries like England, the Netherlands, and France were all trying to get more trade influence in Siam. The main reason for the war was a disagreement between Siam and the East India Company. This was about how Siamese officials acted at Mergui (a port city). The English thought these actions were like piracy. In response, the English set up a naval blockade around Mergui. Most of the fighting involved attacking merchant ships. However, there was a major event on June 14, 1687, at Mergui, where many English sailors on shore were killed by the Siamese.

Why the War Started

Siam's Trade Plans Under Phaulkon

By 1681, a Greek advisor named Constantine Phaulkon was in charge of Siam's foreign policy. He was a favorite of King Narai. One of Phaulkon's goals was to boost Siam's trade through the port of Mergui. This port was important for trade with the Coromandel Coast in India. Traditionally, Muslim traders from India controlled this trade.

To reduce India's control, Phaulkon started building ships in Mergui. He hired English sailors to work on these ships, which sailed under the Siamese flag. Using English sailors caused problems between the Indian traders and the East India Company. The Company had a major trading post in India called the Madras Presidency.

In 1683, Phaulkon made another Englishman, Richard Burnaby, the governor of Mergui. Samuel White, another English associate, became the harbor master. They oversaw a big shipbuilding program. White seemed to use his position to get revenge on Golconda, an Indian kingdom. Burnaby and Phaulkon had both worked for the East India Company before.

Attacks on Indian Ships

In 1685, Burnaby and White started attacking Indian ships, especially those from Golconda. Phaulkon told them to stop, but White kept finding excuses to continue his attacks. Indians and the East India Company saw these actions as piracy. They blamed Phaulkon and the Siamese government for what White and his men did. Golconda also blamed the Company because White was English.

Company records show White's actions. These included attacking the port of Masulipatam with ships. He also captured several merchant ships. He took £2,000 worth of goods from an Indian ship called the Tiaga Raja. Then he seized a ship belonging to an Armenian merchant from Madras.

Growing Problems Between Siam and the Company

The relationship between Siam and the East India Company got worse because of a personal argument. This was between Phaulkon and the head of the Madras trading post, Elihu Yale. Phaulkon had asked Yale to get some jewelry for King Narai. But Phaulkon thought Yale's price was too high. So, he refused to accept the jewels when Yale's brother brought them to Ayutthaya. This happened when a French group was visiting Siam in October 1685.

In July 1686, the East India Company got an order from King James II of England. This order said that English people could not work on foreign ships in eastern waters. This order reached Madras in January 1687. In November 1686, Phaulkon wrote to a French priest. He offered to give Mergui to the French. This was to stop White's continued unauthorized attacks on ships.

The War Begins

Mergui Blockade and English Massacre

By late 1686, the East India Company was already trying to stop Samuel White's attacks. They sent a group from Madras in October 1686. Their goal was to take Negrais, a place near Mergui. They wanted to use it as a base to fight piracy. But the weather was bad, and they had to turn back.

When the king's order arrived in Madras in January 1687, the Company decided to send two warships. These were the Curtana and the James, led by Anthony Weltden. Their mission was to gather all the Englishmen at Mergui and remove them from the King of Siam's service. They also decided to hold all ships at Mergui. They would keep them until King Narai paid £65,000 for the damage caused by White's piracy.

The Curtana and James arrived at Mergui in June 1687. All the Englishmen there, including White, said they would follow the king's order. Weltden was supposed to block the port until October. This was when the winds would change, allowing him to return. But he immediately let his guard down. On the night of June 14, while the English were on shore, the Siamese attacked. The Governor of Tenasserim led the Siamese. They fired on the English ships and killed many English people on shore. The James ship was sunk. Weltden and White were among the few who escaped. They reached their other ships, the Curtana and Resolution. They sailed into the Mergui Archipelago to wait for the winds to change.

Siam's Response

After Weltden's actions, Siam officially declared war on the East India Company in August 1687. After the massacre, a Siamese official from Mergui murdered an English woman and her family. This happened because she refused his advances. When King Narai heard about this, he had the official executed. This showed that he would protect innocent English people who were not part of the East India Company. The Governor of Tenasserim was also executed for his role in the massacre.

While the blockade of Mergui was being planned, a French group left France in March 1687. This group, led by Marshal Des Farges, was going to take over Mergui and Bangkok. This was part of Phaulkon's offer to the French. The large size of the French group made some people worry. They thought the Dutch might declare war on Siam. But this did not happen. The Dutch East India Company decided to wait. They expected that such a large French presence near the capital would cause problems.

The East India Company, unlike the Dutch, learned about the French group. They urged King James II to stop France from taking Mergui. The king sent orders to Madras telling the Company to seize the port. These orders arrived in August. Yale sent a ship to help Weltden and tell him to take the city. But Yale did not know that Weltden had already left Mergui months earlier. He also did not know that Siam had declared war or that a French governor had already arrived in Mergui. The English ship sailed into the port on September 22 and was quickly captured.

In October 1687, Weltden finally returned to Madras. White, with Weltden's permission, returned to England on the Resolution ship.

What Happened Next

The short Anglo-Siamese war ended without much fighting. No peace treaty was ever signed. This was because the East India Company still demanded £65,000 in damages from the Siamese monarchy. As a result of the war, Siam's ports were closed to East India Company ships until 1708. However, the Company started trading again using ships from other countries as early as 1705.

White went back to England in 1688. His private secretary, Francis Davenport, was captured in Mergui. He wrote a paper accusing White of piracy and corruption. White died in 1689 before he could be put on trial.

See also

• Thailand–United Kingdom relations

Images for kids

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  1686 map of Siam. Mergui is labeled Mirgin.