Research & Article

This  article  is  an  abridged  and  edited  version  of  a  longer  article  that  was  prepared for a commemorative publication for the inauguration of the new premises of the Thai Embassy in Singapore.1 It is by no means meant as an academic article—indeed, although I use the word “old”, I am referring to the ties, not Singapore itself, which  has  had  certain  “connections”  with  Siam  under  King  Ramkhamhaeng  and  down the ages—but has been prepared as a “reminder” of Singapore’s continuous and close association with the kings and people of Siam for well over a century. It was thus envisioned as a non-scholarly and basically descriptive article. That said, I hope to remind readers that the advent of “old” Singapore, dating from 1819, proved to be a momentous event for Siam, for it had the effect of changing the traditional pattern of Siam’s trade, henceforth to be characterized by the fast-growing junk trade between Chinese merchants in Siam and their counterparts in Singapore.