AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH
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HISTORICAL EVENTS - 1600 CE
Reign of King Naresuan (1590-1605) (continued)
1600 - Creation of the English East India Company in London on 31 Dec 1600 following the voyage of Ralph Fitch. [Ref: The Siamese memoirs of Count Claude de Forbin 1685-1688 - Michael Smithies (1996)]
1601 - The brother of the Khmer King, who was captured in the Siam-Cambodian war of 1593-4, is sent back to Cambodia under conditions. [Ref: Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt) Vickery - Review of The Short History of the Kings of Siam - JSS 64 2]
1601 - Jacob Corneliszoon van Neck (4th Dutch Expedition to the Indies) arrived with the ships ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Gouda’ on 7 November 1601 as the first Dutchman in Patani to buy pepper and other merchandise. On 10 November, he was received by the Queen of Patani Ratu Hijau (reign 1584–1616) and her nobles, whereby a trade agreement was concluded. Van Neck ordered the establishment of a trading factory under senior merchant Daniël van der Leck and sub-merchant Pieter Walichszoon. Van Neck leaves Patani on 22/23 August 1602. [Ref: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff and Valentyn Francois - Oud en Nieuw Oost Indien (1626) - Deel 3 - Boek 6 - Beschryvinge van Siam en onsen Handel aldaar. - page 90]
1602 - On 26 January 1602, the Siamese, who were lying with six junks off the coast of Patani, planned an attack on the two Dutch VOC ships ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Gouda’. For this purpose, they had secured the assistance of 200 Japanese, who were in the service of the Portuguese. Jacob Corneliszoon Van Neck discovered the impending attack in time and ostentatiously equipped his ships for battle, although, on the ‘Amsterdam’, thirty men had been immobilised by amoebic dysentery. However, the Siamese, unfamiliar with this circumstance and impressed by the display of weapons, gave up their plan. [Ref: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
26 May 1602 - The Dutch VOC ships 'Middelburg' and 'Zon' under Gerard Le Roy and Laurens Bicker from the 'Vereenigde Zeeuwsche Compagnie' (United Zeeland Company) arrived at Patani on 26 May 1602. The United Zeeland Company established a trading factory under merchant Jacob Roussel in a godown hired in the port area. Both ships left Patani on 22/23 August 1602 with the ships of Van Neck. [Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff and John Anderson (1890) - English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - Page 44]
20 March 1602 - Creation of the Dutch Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC). [Ref: The Siamese memoirs of Count Claude de Forbin 1685-1688 - Michael Smithies (1996)]
Ca 16 Aug 1602 - Arrival of Jacobus de Koutere (Jacques de Coutre) at Patani, three days before the arrival of the ships from Van Heemskerck. The Dutch sank his merchant junk with its cargo while he nearly got murdered.
28 Dec 1602 - Another two Dutch VOC ships, 'Haarlem' and 'Leiden' under Gaspar van Groesbergen (fleet Van Neck) from the Old East-India Company, arrived in Patani on 28 Dec 1602. Both ships left on 6 September 1603 but returned on 17 September as the 'Haarlem' was not seaworthy. The 'Leiden' finally departed on 24 Sep 1603 to Bantam. The 'Haarlem' was set on fire near the end of 1603. [Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
1603 - Ayutthaya intervenes in Cambodia during a local conflict among Cambodian princes in which the Thai aided the one whom they had restored to the throne (the Chronicle of Lovek put this in 1605). [Vickery - Review of The Short History of the Kings of Siam - JSS 64 2]
Dec 1603 - The Dutch VOC merchant Van der Leck and several Dutchmen take a Siamese junk to Ayutthaya to explore the trade opportunities with a view of trading with Japan. Van der Leck returns to Patani end of 1605. [Reference: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
The replica of the VOC East Indiaman Batavia. The ship was completed in 1628 and made its maiden voyage on 29 October 1628. The vessel had a tonnage of 650 tons, a displacement of 1200 tons and a draught of 5.1 meters. Its length was 56.6 metres, the beam 10.5 metres and the height 55 metres. The sail area was 3100 sq m, and the fully rigged ship had a speed of 5 knots. The Batavia had 24 cast-iron cannons on board and could transport 341 souls. The ship was wrecked on 4 June 1629 on the Morning Reef near Beacon Island, part of the Houtman Abrolhos off the western coast of Australia. - Wikipedia.
1604 - Shogun Ieyasu of the Tokugawa Shogunate granted three licences to Japanese traders residing in Siam to trade with Japan. This licence system remained in force, probably until 1686, though the records do not go beyond 1615. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet’s Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
Jun 1604 - On 9 June 1604, VOC junior merchant Cornelis Specx left accompanied by Lambert Jacobsz. Heyn, with a Siamese mission to Ayutthaya, with the aim of reaching China from there to establish trade relations. Specx would only return to Patani on 7 October 1607 with Siamese envoys destined for the Netherlands. [Reference: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
Apr 1605 - The Dutch factory in Patani was burned by Japanese mercenaries in the employ of the Portuguese on 3 April 1605. The fire destroyed a good portion of the silk stock, estimated at 200 piculs. Apparently, the mercenaries set fire not to the cargo seized by the Dutch but to the silk supposedly impounded or confiscated by Queen Raja Hijau. [Ref: English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890) - Page 44 / Borschberg, Peter (2010) - The Singapore and Melaka Straits: Violence, Security and Diplomacy in the 17th Century - NUS Press.]
1605 - Death of King Naresuan (r. 1590-1605). Enthronement of King Ekathotsarot (r. 1605-1610/11), younger brother of Naresuan [Ref: Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya]
Reign of King Ekathotsarot (1605-1610/11)
Apr 1606 - The VOC merchants Egbert Egbertss. and Jacques van de Perre were sent from Johor to Ayutthaya on 7 April 1606 to oversee the trade opportunities there. Willem Pietersen Tonneman followed them from Patani on 14 May 1606. Egbert Egberts died while travelling back to Patani with Speckx and the Siamese Embassy in Oct 1607. [Reference: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
22 Oct 1606 - Shogun Ieyasu of the Tokugawa Shogunate dispatched a letter dated 22 October 1606 to King Ekathosorot. In this letter, the Shogun asked for scented wood and cannon and sent as presents to the king three suits of armour and ten long Japanese swords. The Japanese port authorities were authorised a month later to permit Siamese ships to trade with Japan, but it would appear that the advantage of this permission was only taken in 1612. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet’s Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
1607 - Siamese embassy to the Portuguese Viceroy at Goa to complain about some Portuguese residents in Pegu. The Embassy set sail from Tenasserim. [Ref: English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890) - Page 38]
9 Dec 1607 - Siamese embassy to Holland. The Siamese envoys, accompanied by sub-merchant Cornelis Specx and Lambert Jacobsz. Heyn arrived on 7 Oct 1607 with a Siamese junk at Patani. The junk perished in sight of Patani and was lost except for the present and letter to the stadtholder Prince Maurice of Orange. The embassy consisting of 16 men, arrived on 9 December 1607 on the 'Mauritius' at the VOC post in Bantam and was received reluctantly by Admiral Cornelis Matelief de Jonge due to the costly enterprise. Only five Siamese took off from Bantam to Holland on 28 January 1608 with Admiral Matelieff aboard his ship 'Oranje'. [References: Anderson, John (1890) - English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - Page 38/ Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
1607 - The first Portuguese Jesuit, Fr. Baltasar Sequeira, arrives in Ayutthaya in 1607 to open a new mission. He died on his way to Goa in Phetchaburi in 1609. [Ref: Smithies, Michael - Desfarges (General), De La Touche (Lieutenant.), Jean Vollant - Des Verquains - Three Military Accounts of the 1688 'Revolution' in Siam (Orchid Press, 2002) Cerruti, Pietro - The Jesuits in Thailand - Part I, 1607-1767]
28 Jan 1608 - The five-headed Siamese embassy took off from Bantam to Holland on 28 January 1608 with Admiral Matelief on board his ship, the Oranje. The Oranje arrived in Holland on 2 September 1608. [Ref: English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890) - Page 38]
Wat Maha That Worawihan is situated on the Phetchaburi River. The temple contains a five-towers principal prang built in the ancient Khmer style. Each of the prang towers was made from laterite. The large principal tower is 42 metres high and houses the Lord Buddha’s relics. Although the founding date of the temple is unknown, it is believed that Wat Maha That dates to the late Mon Dvaravati era or the Khmer era.
Feb 1608 - Replacement of the Dutch VOC merchants Van de Perre and Tonneman at Ayutthaya due to mismanagement by Lambert Jacobsz. Heyn and Jacob Adriaensen. Melchior van Santvoort joined to establish trade relations with Japan. [Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
2 Sep 1608 - The ship Oranje with Admiral Matelief and the Siamese embassy, arrived in Holland on 2 September 1608. [Ref: English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890) - Page 38]
11 Sep 1608 - The Siamese embassy was received in audience at Den Haag by the Prince of Oranje, Maurice of Nassau and presented several valuable gifts. [Ref: English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890) - Page 38]
17 Nov 1608 - Shogun Ieyasu of the Tokugawa Shogunate dispatched a second letter, dated 17th November, asking for heavy cannon and gunpowder, which the Shogun appraised as having wonderful qualities. Six suits of armour were sent as present. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet’s Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
1610 - A provisory Dutch factory was established within Ayutthaya's city walls. [Ref: Blankwaardt, W - Notes upon the Relations between Holland and Siam (JSS_020_3c)]
1610 - (To Research): Portuguese Embassy from Goa was received in Siam, trying to persuade the Siamese to keep out the Dutch. [Source: Rita Bernades de Carvalho.]
1610 - Shogun Ieyasu of the Tokugawa Shogunate dispatched a letter dated 7 October 1610, tanking for his kind messages and promising to send heavy cannons and gunpowder in the next year by a trading vessel. The Shogun sent fifty pistols for the King and fifty pistols for the Foreign Minister, Okya Phra Khlang, as well as one suit of armour, one sword and one double-edged dagger. The Japanese Foreign Minister wrote to Okya Phra Khlang, thanking him for the promise to send heavy cannons and expressing the hope that Siamese traders would visit Japan. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet’s Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
26 February 1611 - A sudden fire destroyed the Dutch VOC Lodge in Patani under Merchant Victor Sprinckel and Hendrik Janssen, with a heavy loss of goods estimated at 4000 Reals. [Reference: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
1610/1611 - Death of King Naresuan (r. 1590-1605). Enthronement of King Ekathotsarot (r. 1605-1610/11), younger brother of Naresuan [Ref: Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya]
1610/1611 - King Si Saowaphak is executed by his half-brother Prince Si Sin at Wat Khok Phraya in Ayutthaya. Enthronement of Prince Si Sin as King Songtham, also known as King Intharacha (reign 1610/1611-1628). [Ref: Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya]
The King Naresuan Monument is located north of the city island, slightly east of Wat Phukhao Thong, serving as a backdrop. The memorial can easily be seen from Highway 309, which also connects to the monument's main entrance gate. King Naresuan is perhaps one of Ayutthaya’s most highly revered idols due to his numerous military accomplishments and his role in asserting Siamese independence from the Burmese.
Reign of King Songtham (1610/1611-1628)
1610/1611 - King Songtham is attacked in the Grand Palace by rebellious Japanese merchants, angered by their treatment in conducting trade. Van Vliet wrote that the king was seized by the Japanese, while the Royal Chronicles state that the monks of Wat Rong Tham and Wat Pradu, summoned to read the Buddhist Law to King Songtham at one of the throne halls in the palace, rescued the king and escorted him away in front of the Japanese. The Japanese were, after that, routed by Phra Maha Ammat - the later King Prasat Thong - and his troops the remaining merchants boarded their junks and fled Ayutthaya. [Ref: The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya - Book Five: Early Seventeenth-Century Kings, 1605-1656 / King Songtham, 1610 or 1611–1628 - page 208/9. / Van Vliet, Jeremias. Description of the Kingdom of Siam 1638. Chris Baker, Dhiravat Na Pombejra, Alfons Van Der Kraan & David K. Wyatt (2005) - Van Vliet's Siam - Silkworm Books - The former and present position of the Japanese in Siam - page 136. / Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam 1640. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt) / Phra Intharacha, Twenty-Second King of Siam, Ruled Nineteen years - page 235]
1612 - The provisory Dutch factory in Ayutthaya was enlarged. [Ref: Blankwaardt, W - Notes upon the Relations between Holland and Siam (JSS_020_3c)]
23 June 1612 - The English Ship, 'The Globe' under Anthony Hippon, arrives at Patani on 23 June 1612 (Terpstra gives as date 2 July 1612). On this ship were also two Dutch merchants, Pieter Willemsz. Floris and Lucas Antheunissen. The Queen of Patani Ratu Hijau (reign 1584–1616) received the English factors with good reception. The factors delivered a present and a letter from King James I laid on a gold basin. Though much difficulty was experienced in obtaining the authorisation to build a warehouse, the English East-Indian Company (EIC) finally received a piece of ground sixty yards long and forty broad to construct a go-down. The Globe sailed a few times from Patani to Siam, where an English settlement was also established. Then the ship left Patani for the Coromandel Coast on 11 November 1613. [Ref: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff John Anderson (1890) - English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - Page 48]
July 1612 - An English "goudon" with five factors, Merchants Adam Denton, Essington, Lucas Antheunissen, Thomas Samuel, and Thomas Driver, arrived at Ayutthaya. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b/ Letter from Cornelis van Muyenrode to Hendrik Janssen at Patani dated 2 Sep 1612 English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890)]
15 August 1612 - The English ship The Globe departed on the 1st of August from Patani and arrived in the Road of Siam on the 15th of August 1612, bearing the letters from King James I of England to the King of Siam. [Ref: English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890)]
2 September 1612 - Merchants Van Nieuwenroode and Houtman at Ayutthaya notified merchant Hendrik Janssen in Patani that the King of Ligor (present Nakhon Sri Thammarat) agreed with a Dutch establishment of a trade office in Singora (Songkhla), which was approved by the Dutch Governor-General Pieter Both. Merchants Van Nieuwenroode and Jan Roekoe left Patani after that to establish the Dutch trade at Singora. A small lodge was constructed in 1613. Singora was a suboffice from Patani. [Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
17 Sep 1612 - The English factors are received in the audience by King Songtham (reign 1610/11-1628 AD) on 17th September. The factors received a little golden cup and a small piece of clothing, permission to trade in his kingdom and were assigned a house close to the Dutch factory. [English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890) - page 50]
28 Sep 1612 - The English factors received the key to their godown, a stone house three stories high, and started its repair. [English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890) - page 49]
1613 - In 1613, the Governor of Tavoy (Siam) attacked Re (Ye), a town north of Tavoy. The prince, one of the brothers of the King of Ava (Burma), was captured and brought to Ayutthaya. The King of Ava immediately attacked and subjected Tavoy. He continued to Tenasserim in an attack by land and sea. Still, he encountered strong resistance from the Siamese aided by four galliots (small galleys) manned by 40 Portuguese and seventy slaves commanded by Christopher Eebello, an outlaw from Cochin. The King of Ava was driven off with considerable losses in January 1614, and Tavoy was retaken. [Ref 1: A History of Siam - W.A.R. Wood (1924) - Chalermnit Press - Page 164. Ref 2: English Intercourse with Siam in the 17th century - John Anderson (1890) - Page 39.]
1613 - Hendrik Brouwer (1581-1643 CE), the chief factor of the VOC in Japan, officially opened the Dutch factory while passing through Ayutthaya. The merchant Cornelis van Nijenrode was appointed as the chief factor. [Ref: Blankwaardt, W - Notes upon the Relations between Holland and Siam (JSS_020_3c)]
Excavation by the Fine Arts Department – 3rd Region at the site of the Dutch settlement in 2008 at Ayutthaya.
1614 - Siam and Ava are at war. Hostilities blocked all communication with Chiang Mai and Lan Chang, and trade ceased. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b/Letter of Mr John Gourney dated 28 July 1614 to the English East India Company.]
1614 - The Portuguese Commander Diogo de Mendonça Furtado sailed from Goa to relieve Siriam, which the king of Ava threatened, attacked, and sacked the towns of Kedah and Perlis in 1614. [Ref: A Malay Tradition, Fr. R. Cardon, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Vol. 18, No. 2 (137) (August 1940), pp. 108-145]
1615 - Siamese embassy to Goa in March 1615. A testimony of the Viceroy tells us that King Songtham informed him of the fall of Syriam, of the death of Philippe de Brito (1613), and offered to take control of the port city of Martaban (still occupied by the Burmese). [Source: Rita Bernades de Carvalho.]
1616 - A Siamese envoy was sent to Japan. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet’s Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b Gunji - The correspondence between Tokugawa Shogunate and Siamese Jing at the beginning of the Tokugawa period.]
Aug 1616 - Queen Ratu Hijau (reign 1584–1616) of Patani dies on 28 Aug 1616 after a reign of 32 years and is succeeded by her sister Ratu Biru (reign 1616–1624). [Reference: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
1617 - A peace treaty was signed at the end of 1617 between Siam and Ava, under which Chiang Mai and many other places (such as Martaban) were ceded to Siam. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b/Letter of Mr William Wilson dated 23 February 1618 at Jakatra to Mr Edward Long at Bantam.]
1617 - A Dutch-Siamese treaty was concluded between Holland and Siam in 1617.
1617 - The King of Siam send an embassy to the Viceroy in Goa. Siam offered Martaban to the Portuguese. The Portuguese king suggested a policy of dissimulation and prudence in this matter, as Martaban did not belong to Siam. Martaban was not in Siamese territory but in Mon country, which the Siamese kept under their rule, but now, the Siamese were unable to govern it as formerly. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b Letter from the King of Portugal to his Viceroy in Goa dated 17 January 1618 Rajanubhab, Damrong (Prince) - Our Wars with the Burmese (1917) - White Lotus, Bangkok (2000) - page 97]
1618 - The King of Siam sent an embassy to the Viceroy in Goa. He requested the Viceroy to send the embassy to Portugal in connection with the negotiations regarding Martaban and other matters. The embassy did not get beyond Goa owing to sickness amongst its members. The Siamese ambassadors told the Portuguese viceroy that if the Portuguese would send a boat force and patrol the seaboard of the western sea to prevent the Burmese from attacking Tavoy and Tenasserim, the Siamese would consent to the Portuguese building forts in Martaban (in place of Siriam which the Burmese had captured and taken away from the Portuguese - Martaban was now of importance to the Portuguese on account of the Dutch military threat against Malacca, which place they wrested from the Portuguese in 1641.) [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b Letter from Viceroy in Goa to the King of Portugal dated 8 February 1619 Rajanubhab, Damrong (Prince) - Our Wars with the Burmese (1917) - White Lotus, Bangkok (2000) - page 96]
1618 - The Portuguese viceroy at Goa sent Frei Francisco da Annunciacao of the Order of the Preachers to Ayutthaya with the Siamese ambassadors to consult about the terms of an agreement to be made. Songtham (r. 1610/1611-1628) agreed on two clauses but refused the 3rd clause by which the Portuguese desired to expel all the Dutch from the territories of Siam. Not obtaining what he wanted, the priest Francisco returned. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b Letter from Viceroy in Goa to the King of Portugal dated 8 February 1619 Rajanubhab, Damrong (Prince) - Our Wars with the Burmese (1917) - White Lotus, Bangkok (2000) - page 96]
The Basilica of Bom Jesus is a Catholic basilica located in Old Goa, the former capital of Portuguese India. It is the most iconic monument of all the churches and convents of Goa and keeps the mortal remains of St Francis Xavier. The construction began in 1594, and the church was consecrated in May 1605 by the archbishop, Dom Fr. Aleixo de Menezes.
1621 - Siamese embassy of Khun Phichit Sombat and Khun Prasert to Minomoto Hidetada, Shogun of Japan. The Siamese ambassadors arrived at Yedo on 11 Oct 1621 and were lodged in a temple at Sia Kwan Chi. The embassy was composed of some sixty to seventy persons. The envoys were received in the audience by the Shogun on 13 Oct 1621, at which ceremony the royal rescript and a list of the gifts were presented. A second audience was given on 15 Oct when the royal gifts were delivered. A farewell audience was given on 17 Oct. Presents to the Shogun were one long sword, one short sword, two fowling muskets, ten rolls of foreign cloth, one gold salver, one ink grinding stone, and ten piculs of ivory. The Council of Ministers sent for the King one horse and for Okya Phra Khlang one Japanese sword. The presents for the King from the Shogun were three Japanese screens made of gold paper and three horses (which were requested by the Siamese king) fully equipped with saddles and bridles. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b Southeast Asian History Seminar: Ayudhya and the Japanese - Nithi Iawsriwong (1999)]
Dec 1621 - In 1621, a Danish ship, captained by Dutchman Roland Crappé (died 1644), travelled to the port of Mergui in Tenasserim with the ship ‘Oresund’, where he and his crew were granted permission to trade and permitted travel as far as to the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. [Ref: scandasia.com/tribute-from-danish-embassy-on-400-years-relationship-between-denmark-and-thailand/ retrieved on 9 January 2021 / Prince Dhani Nivat Seidenfaden - Early Trade Relations Between Denmark And Siam (JSS_031_1b)].
1622 - King Sri Suphanarat of Cambodia, placed on the throne by Siam as a vassal, died. Prince Chetha, his son, revoked the vassalship of Siam and did not offer the customary tribute. Ayutthaya prepared an army by land and water to Cambodia. In a letter of the Okya Phra Khlang to the Japanese Foreign Minister Sakai Tadayo around March 1626, the Siamese official wrote that the rebellion in Cambodia continued and that reinforcements were sent in to quell the revolt. The speech of the King of Siam at his appointment written by Okaya Phra Klang (1622), of which a copy of this speech was given to Richard Fursland, the representative of the English East India Company at Jacatra, mentions the defeat of the Siamese by the Cambodians during the monsoon period. The Siamese navy was forced to return, while the land army was slain and the remaining troops imprisoned. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
1622 - The whole Japanese quarter in Ayutthaya, as well as the houses and goods of the Dutch Company, had been burned because a fire had accidentally broken out in one of the Japanese houses. [Reference: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
1622 - The Siamese king sent two envoys and a letter with Van Nieuwenroode on a Dutch ship (likely the 'Tholen') to Batavia, requesting help in the war against Cambodia. The envoys returned in April 1622 with the junk ‘Firando’. The Dutch replied they could not assist and offered some presents. [Reference: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
Mid-1622 - The Dutch VOC factory in Ayutthaya was closed under the impulse of Governor-General Jan Pieterszoon Coen, who estimated trade was not profitable. Dutch Batavia was established in 1619, and Coen wanted to attract the maximum trade to his headquarters, while the trade offices of Patani, Singora, Ayutthaya and Lawaek were considered by him a low potential for trade. The king of Siam requested the Dutch to stay at Ayutthaya and, as such, assistant Jan Janss. van Campen was left behind with the task of collecting the still outstanding debts. [Reference: Terpstra, H (1938) - De factorij der Oostindische Compagnie te Patani - Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië - deel 1 - ‘s-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff]
1623 - Siamese embassy of Luang Thong Samut and Khun Swat to Minomoto Hidetada, Shogun of Japan. Presents of the King of Siam to the Shogun were: A hat made of fine woven bark four catties weight of scented wood two catties weight of camphor one roll of five coloured striped gold cloth one roll of five coloured striped silver cloth one roll of five coloured striped yellow cloth one roll of three coloured striped silver cloth ten rolls of white netting ten rolls of foreign cloth two fowling pieces with damascened gold barrels ten catties weight of white feathers. The shogun returned presents as follows: two throwing lances, thirty coats, and two horses with saddles and bridles. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b Southeast Asian History Seminar: Ayudhya and the Japanese - Nithi Iawsriwong (1999)]
1623 - Richard Fursland, the representative of the English East India Company, received an embassy of the King of Siam at Jacatra, Batavia. In the letter to the King of Siam dated 27 February 1623, he warned the king that he was about to close the English trading depot in Ayutthaya as it was run at a loss. For this purpose, he sent the Siamese ambassadors back in a ship and requested the leave of his traders. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b] 1624 - Don Fernando de Silva, a Spanish captain, attacked the Dutch VOC yacht ‘Zeelandt’ in Siamese territorial waters at night. King Songtham ordered to attack the Spaniards. A fierce battle ensued wherein 150 Spaniards were killed the remaining Spaniards were thrown in prison, and their two ships confiscated. [Ref: Villiers, John (1986) - François Caron and Joost Schouten - A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam - a facsimile of the 1671 London edition - The Siam Society, Bangkok Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt)]
1624 - The Dutch trading post in Ayutthaya was re-opened because Batavia feared the Dutch position in Siam would be lost.
1624 - The English closed their factory or depot in Ayutthaya in 1624. The factor Edward Long left Ayutthaya in December 1624 on board the 'Robuck’ and died on the voyage to Batavia. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
Jacques-Nicolas Bellin's map of Mergui (1764). Nicolas Gervaise wrote that the port of Mergui was one of the most beautiful and safest anywhere in the Indies. The harbour mouth was always free, and a good anchorage was available everywhere. The port is especially well provided for refitting vessels, masts and all the other timber needed to construct even the largest ships.
March 1626 - The Spaniards sent a diplomatic mission under the Biscayan hidalgo Andres Lopez de Azaldegui, the Spanish Jesuit Father Pedro de Morejon, the Portuguese Jesuit Father Antonio Cardim, the Japanese Father Roman Nixi to clarify the incident and seek the release of de Silva’s men, ships, artillery, and goods from Siam. Arriving in March, the embassy was successful in getting the release of the remaining Spanish crew, but the confiscated cargo could not be recuperated. The mission arrived back in Manila in August. Antonio Cardim remained in Ayutthaya to start a new Jesuit mission in Lan Chang (Laos). [Reference: The Jesuits in Thailand - Part I 1607 - 1767 By Pietro Cerutti, S.J. Mateo, José Eugenio Borao (2009) - The Spanish Experience in Taiwan 1626-1642: The Baroque Ending of a Renaissance Endeavour - Hong Kong University Press.]
1626 - Siamese embassy to the Shoguns of Japan being Hidetada and Iemitsu. Khun Raksa Sithiphol was the ambassador, and acting Wat Nong At was the interpreter. The Dutch Ambassador Coenraed Krammer was in Yedo on 28 Oct 1626 and confirmed the presence of a Siamese Embassy waiting to be received in audience by the Shoguns as their reception was postponed till the State visit by the emperor was over. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms off Japan and Siam - Francis Caron and Joost Schouten (translated by Roger Manley), London 1671]
Feb 1628 - The Governor of Manila, de Tabora, tasked Don Juan de Alcaraso, coming from Macao, to retaliate against Siamese ships. Starting in February, three ships coming from Siam were captured in the open sea by his two galleons, the ‘San Ildefonso’ and the ‘Nuestra Senora de la Pena de Francia’. Entering the bay of Siam, three other ships were attacked at the Bar a Japanese junk carrying drugs and merchandise from Yamada Nagamasa, a Royal junk from the Siamese king loaded for a voyage to China and a third Siamese vessel laden with pepper and tin. On 20 April, the patache steered by Diego Lopez Lobo, a Portuguese, attacked a Royal Siamese ship with a Siamese Embassy on its return voyage from Canton after having delivered the yearly tribute for the King of China, loaded with silk and other commodities. Lopez Loba, failing to join the galleons, sailed with his patache and the Royal Siamese ship straight to Manila. The operation ended in June, and de Alcaraso returned with his galleons to Manila. [Ref: Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt) / The Philippine Islands 1493 - 1898 Emma Helen Blair.]
Sep 1628 - The Dutch envoy to Siam, chief merchant Cunningham, left in July 1628 with the ships ‘Groot Mauritius’ and ‘Zuid-Holland’ to Siam. Cunningham died halfway, and Schouten took over his mission. The envoy arrived in September 1628 and remained until February 1629. Schouten continued from Siam to Japan in 1929. [Ref: Villiers, John (1986) - François Caron and Joost Schouten - A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam - facsimile of the 1671 London edition - The Siam Society, Bangkok.]
12 Dec 1628 - Death of King Songtham (reign 1610/11-1628). [Schouten]
Reign of King Chetthathirat (1628-1629)
13 Dec 1628 - Enthronement of King Chetthathirat (reign 1628 - 1629). [Ref: Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
1629 - A Siamese embassy was sent to Japan to inform the Shoguns of the accession of the new king, King Chetthathirat. The ambassadors were Luang Sakol Decha, Khun Sawat and Khun Yothamat. The envoys travelled on a trading ship from Yamada somewhere end of September / beginning of October 1628. Shogun Hidetada received the ambassadors on his yacht, the Nishiromaru, and his son Shogun Iemitsu on board his yacht Comaru on the 4th of November 1629. The farewell audience of the Shoguns was on 16 November 1629. [Ref: Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
1629 - The Dutch trade post in Ayutthaya was closed in 1629.
1629 - King Chetthathirat (reign 1628 - 1629) was executed at Wat Khok Phraya in Ayutthaya. Enthronement of King Athityawong (reign 1629). [Ref: Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya]
Reign of King Athityawong (reign 1629)
1629 - King Athityawong (reign 1629) was executed at Wat Khok Phraya in Ayutthaya. Enthronement of the usurper King Prasat Thong (reign 1629-1656). [Ref: Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya]
Wat Khok Phraya, or the Monastery of the Mound of the Nobles, is a small monastic ruin built in the early Ayutthaya period (1350 - 1488 CE). It is located north outside the city island in the Lum Phli Sub-district near Wat Na Phra Men and Wat Hatsadawat. The ruin consists of a walled vihara with a bell-shaped chedi on an octagonal base. As it was described in 1629 by Van Vliet as being an old ruin, the temple had to be restored several times during the centuries. The location witnessed many punishments and executions of royals of Ayutthaya.
Reign of King Prasat Thong (1629-1656)
1629 - Prasat Thong (r. 1629-1656) sent a diplomatic mission to the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan in 1629. The third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu rejected this mission because Prasat Thong usurped the throne and the reported conflicts with the Japanese community in Siam. The shogunate never recognised Prasat Thong's trials in establishing new diplomatic relations. Japan changed its foreign policy under Tokugawa Iemitsu. It started a period of international isolation through a number of edicts from 1633 onwards, which culminated after the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637 in progressively tighter restrictions, monopolising foreign policy, and expelling traders, missionaries, and foreigners. [Reference: Southeast Asian History Seminar: Ayudhya and the Japanese 8211 Nithi Iawsriwong (1999)]
1629 - Patani carried out a sustained rebellion against Ayutthaya's political encroachment following three decades of profitable trade bolstered by close relations with Johor, Pahang and Portuguese Melaka. The four peninsular powers had been gradually drawn together in the 1620s in opposition to the growing Acehnese naval power in the straits. Aceh had by then developed a near monopoly over Sumatran pepper and sought to defeat the peninsular states to consolidate its military and political influence on both sides of the straits. The four fleets defeated Aceh in a great naval battle just off Melaka in 1629, in which Patani played a significant rule. [Reference: Bradley, Francis R. - Moral Order in a Time of Damnation: The "Hikayat Patani" in Historical Context - Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Vol 40, No 2 (Jun. 2009), pp 267-293 - Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Department of History, National University of Singapore.]
1630 - Rebellion of Patani - In the 1630s, following the coup that placed King Prasat Thong upon the throne of Ayutthaya, Patani refused to pay tribute to the new king. Former Patani rulers had generally taken the title 'peracau,' bestowed by the Ayutthaya king. Still, Raja Ungu, the third of the Patani royal sisters to rule, refused to take the title, which inferred obeisance to Ayutthaya. She and the 'datuk besar,' a chief official of the sultanate, carried out the rebellion citing that King Prasat Thong was 'a rascal, murderer, and traitor' who had no legitimate claim to rule, a position that rulers of other polities also took. [Reference: Bradley, Francis R. - Moral Order in a Time of Damnation: The "Hikayat Patani" in Historical Context - Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Vol 40, No 2 (Jun. 2009), pp 267-293 - Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Department of History, National University of Singapore.]
1630 - Besides failing to pay tribute to Ayutthaya, Patani sent troops to attack the southern port cities of Phatthalung and Ligor (Nakhon Si Thammarat) in 1630 and seized two Siamese merchant vessels which had departed from Ayutthaya transporting Chinese goods to Batavia. [Reference: Montesano, Michael John and Jory, Patrick (2008) - Thai South and Malay North: Ethnic Interactions on a Plural Peninsula - NUS Press.]
1630 - End 1630, begin 1631 Okya Sena Phimuk (Yamada Nagamasa) was murdered. King Prasat Thong succeeded by acts of murder and exile in eliminating the Japanese. In the early months of 1633, no Japanese remained in Siam. [Ref: Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
1631 - Ayutthaya sent a request to the Dutch to cease temporarily trading activities with Patani until the conflict was settled and to send Dutch troops to attack Patani if the latter refused to accept Siamese terms. [Reference: Montesano, Michael John and Jory, Patrick (2008) - Thai South and Malay North: Ethnic Interactions on a Plural Peninsula - NUS Press.]
1632 - In response to the Ayutthaya demand, the VOC sent an envoy, Antonie Caan, to Patani in 1632. Caan requested Patani cease its relations with the Portuguese and return to good terms with Ayutthaya. He returned from his mission empty-handed and reported to Batavia that Raja Ungu of Patani had refused to send tribute to Ayutthaya on the grounds that the present king had committed regicide. Caan found that the city had been almost destroyed, significantly increasing the price of pepper at Patani. [Reference: Montesano, Michael John and Jory, Patrick (2008) - Thai South and Malay North: Ethnic Interactions on a Plural Peninsula - NUS Press.]
1632 - Birth of Prince Narai, the son of King Prasat Thong. [Michael Smithies, Michael (1993) - Abbé de Choisy - Journal of a Voyage to Siam 1685-1686]
1633 - Batavia decided to make a more significant trade investment in Siam as Japan lifted the ban on foreign trade. Siam exports such as deer hides, ray skins and sappan wood, could vastly improve the trade with Japan in return for silver and copper. In April 1633, the Chief-of-Mission Joost Schouten was instructed to build a permanent trading post at Ayutthaya. [Ref: Alfons van der Kraan (2000). The Dutch in Siam: Jeremias van Vliet and the 1636 Incident at Ayutthaya. University of New England.]
1633 - Malacca sent in July captain Sebastian Montes d'Avilla as ambassador to Ayutthaya to request the release of captive Portuguese. D' Avilla was received at the court, and King Songtham agreed with the request and released the prisoners. D' Avilla seeing that his petition was going to be refused, fled with his galley and the prisoners down the Chao Phraya River in September and escaped, leaving Siam in enmity. Siam reacted by capturing Portuguese ships at the ports of Ligor and Mergui. [Ref: Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt) Anderson, John (1890) - English intercourse with Siam in the 17th Century - Kegan, Trench, Trubner & Co, London - page 87-8]
1633 - The Portuguese blockaded the mouth of the Tenasserim River (Tanintharyi River) with two frigates, preventing Siamese junks from entering or leaving Mergui (Myeik) and afterwards committed hostilities against the Siamese ships. The blockade was raised, and the Portuguese ships retired on the arrival of eight Japanese on elephants carrying guns and commanding a body of Siamese troops disguised as Japanese warriors. [Ref: Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt) - Anderson, John (1890) - English intercourse with Siam in the 17th Century - Kegan, Trench, Trubner & Co, London – page 87-8]
End 1633 - The junk of a certain Chinese named Wancangh with some Spaniards of high rank, of whom the most prominent was Don Luis de Gusman, sergeant major of the Spanish fortress Illa Formosa, sailed from Kelang to Manila, but was damaged in a storm and driven to Ligor (present Nakhon Sri Thammarat). The group was captured and brought to Ayutthaya. The cargo, containing Chinese goods and 125 piculs rough silk, was confiscated and kept in the king's warehouses. [Ref: Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt)]
Statue of Okya Sena Phimuk (Yamada Nagamasa) at the Japanese Settlement in Ayutthaya. Nagamasa (1590-1630) was a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence at the Court of Ayutthaya at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1617 he became the head of the Japanese Settlement (Ban Yipun) in Ayutthaya. Nagamasa sided with the legal heir to the throne and the usurper king Prasat Thong made away with him and his feared Samurais by appointing him Governor of Ligor (Nakhon Sri Thammarat). He was soon poisoned, and King Prasat Thong expelled all the Japanese from his kingdom.
3 Feb 1634 - Dutch Embassy (Joost Schouten) to the Court of Siam. The VOC were to pay a sum equivalent to 5000 Florins for the right to trade. Schouten gained very favourable terms for this trade and purchased a number of goods for export to Japan and China. On 3 February, he was received in the audience by the king. He obtained from the Phra Khlang a promise to give an export monopoly of all East Indian goods to the Dutch and permission to select a site in Ayutthaya on which to build a factory. In return, the Siamese asked the Dutch for a naval squadron to assist the next expedition against Patani, which rebelled. [Ref: Villiers, John (1986) - François Caron and Joost Schouten - A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam - facsimile of the 1671 London edition - The Siam Society, Bangkok.]
1634 - Mid-1634 Joost Schouten was back in Siam with six ships to keep his promise to help the Siamese to put down the rebellion in Patani. Unfortunately, by the time the Dutch fleet reached Patani, Prasat Thong, who had assembled a massive army of 40,000 men and a fleet of fifty vessels, had been ignominiously driven out as a result of a Portuguese force coming from Malacca to the aid of the queen of Patani. [Ref: Villiers, John (1986) - François Caron and Joost Schouten - A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam - facsimile of the 1671 London edition - The Siam Society, Bangkok.]
1634 - One year later, in 1634, a two-storey brick building enclosed by a fence, costing over 10,000 guilders, was ready. The building was called “de logie” (in English ‘the lodge’ - locally called ‘Tuek Daeng’, the red building). The lodge was a kind of unique because it was a stone construction, which gave it a ‘high status’. as in Ayutthaya, only the monasteries and palaces were made of stone. The expenses to build the lodge were very high for that period, estimated at a value of approximately US$ 750,000 in present times. The company’s operations were moved from the temporary site in Ayutthaya to the new compound south of the city. [Ref: Alfons van der Kraan (2000). The Dutch in Siam: Jeremias van Vliet and the 1636 Incident at Ayutthaya. University of New England.]
1635 - In 1635, the Siamese intended to launch another attack on Patani and again sought Dutch assistance. The rice harvest that year was so bad that the army had to be disbanded so that the troops might plant a new crop. [Ref: Villiers, John (1986) - François Caron and Joost Schouten - A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam - facsimile of the 1671 London edition - The Siam Society, Bangkok.]
1635 - In late 1634, amidst a tense atmosphere of imminent war between Patani and Ayutthaya, the Raja of Kedah intervened and assisted in negotiations that led to reconciliation. King Prasat Thong changed his mind and sent a diplomatic mission in 1635 to negotiate with Patani instead. [Reference: Montesano, Michael John and Jory, Patrick (2008) - Thai South and Malay North: Ethnic Interactions on a Plural Peninsula - NUS Press.]
May 1635 - King Prasat Thong sends an embassy headed by Okkhun Sri Phakdi to Japan in an attempt to restore the old friendly relations. The Japanese refused to receive the mission. On its return, the ship called at a port in Formosa and, while anchored in the Mattauw River (Tainan) on 11 January 1637, was struck by a typhoon and wrecked. [Ref: Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
1635 - The Portuguese galley of captain Francisco Cotringh de Magalano, with 14 Portuguese and some slaves, was driven to Mergui (Tenasserim - present Myeik). The group was captured and brought to Ayutthaya. [Ref: Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt)]
1636 - As the hostilities with the Portuguese and the Spaniards had a bad influence on the trade with Canton and Coromandel, the Portuguese group of captain Francisco Cotringh de Magalano was sent to Malacca with an envoy letter and gifts with an assignment to restore the previous friendship. The king's letter was sent from Malacca to Goa. The Spanish group of Don Luis de Gusman was sent to Manilla with identical envoy letters and gifts. [Ref: Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt)]
1636 - In March 1636, a Patani envoy was sent to Ayutthaya. The preliminary agreement resulted in a “very important person" from Patani travelling to the Ayutthaya court in August of the same year to pay the tribute of 'bunga mas' (the golden flowers - a symbol of tributary submission) to King Prasat Thong. Patani continued to pay tribute to Ayutthaya for several more years. [Reference: Montesano, Michael John and Jory, Patrick (2008) - Thai South and Malay North: Ethnic Interactions on a Plural Peninsula - NUS Press.]
17 Sep 1636 - Joost Schouten was sent in August 1636 as a special envoy of the governor-general to King Prasat Thong. Schouten arrived at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River with two heavy East Indiamen, the Leyden and Het Wapen van Delft, each carrying full complements of about 150-200 soldiers and sailors. He was granted a royal audience and presented to the Siamese king a letter from the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, Frederick Henry, the Prince of Nassau, a letter in which the prince sought to confirm and strengthen the good relations between the Netherlands and Siam. Next to the gifts from the governor-general and the prince of Orange, among them a “gold imperial crown garnished with emeralds and richly gilt, together with an imperial sword, damascened and inlaid with gold" there was also a letter from the newly appointed Governor-General of the Indies, Anthonio van Diemen. [Ref: Villiers, John (1986) - François Caron and Joost Schouten - A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam - facsimile of the 1671 London edition - The Siam Society, Bangkok Van Der Kraan, Alfons - Introduction of the Diary of the picnic incident 1636-7]
1637 - The Portuguese in Goa and the Spaniards is Manila sent an envoy to Siam as an answer to the envoys from Ayutthaya sent the year prior. [Ref: Valentyn, François - Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën (1626) - Deel 3 - Boek 6 - Beschryvinge van Siam en onsen Handel aldaar.]
After being plundered and burnt in the Burmese attack of March 1767, 'Tuek Daeng' rises out of her ashes again. A modern facility with a Dutch colonial-styled front facing the Chao Phraya River has been constructed by the Dutch Government in close cooperation with the Thai authorities and the Fine Arts Department on the old VOC site in Ayutthaya. Baan Hollanda, as it has been baptised, is situated on what was called before ‘Ko Wilanda’ or the Dutch Island, formed by the old Lopburi River on its north and western sides and Khlong Suan Phlu on its eastern and southern sides.
1640/1 - All Westerners were expelled from Japan in 1641, and Christianity was forbidden many Japanese converts settled in Siam. The Dutch had to pull down their factory in Hirado and move from Hune to Deshima. [Ref: Forbin, Claude (de), Count - The Siamese Memoirs of Count Claude de Forbin 1685–1688. Introduced and edited by Michael Smithies. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1996]
1641 - Raja Kuning, the queen of Patani, visited the Ayutthaya court in 1641 to renew the good relations. [Reference: Montesano, Michael John and Jory, Patrick (2008) - Thai South and Malay North: Ethnic Interactions on a Plural Peninsula - NUS Press.]
1643/4 - Siamese embassy to Japan. The embassy was refused admission to Japan owing to the promulgation of an Edict closing Japan. Friendly relations with Japan were not restored till 25 September 1887. [Ref: Giles, Francis H. - Analysis of Van Vliet's Account of Siam - Part 7 - JSS 30 3b]
1646 - In 1646, Kedah and Singora (Songkhla) rose in rebellion. Patani and other neighbouring tributary states of Ayutthaya joined the revolt the following year. King Prasat Thong mustered an army of 15,000 soldiers and 60 warships, sending them south in 1646 to quell the rebels. A second force, amounting to 7.000 soldiers recruited from Ligor (Nakhon Si Thammarat), was supposed to join the main force but failed to do so. The military expedition failed in suppressing the peninsular polities, and the Ayutthaya king set about organising a second army in 1647-48. [Reference: Bradley, Francis R. - Moral Order in a Time of Damnation: The "Hikayat Patani" in Historical Context - Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Vol 40, No 2 (Jun. 2009), pp 267-293 - Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Department of History, National University of Singapore. / Montesano, Michael John and Jory, Patrick (2008) - Thai South and Malay North: Ethnic Interactions on a Plural Peninsula - NUS Press.]
1649 - Songkhla, having survived the two previous invasions of Ayutthaya, led a counter-attack in 1649, fully supported by the armies of Patani and Phatthalung, and conquered Ligor (Nakhon Si Thammarat). Siam responded with an army of 25.000 soldiers, 300 elephants and many horses, and a fleet of 20 ships operated by Dutch soldiers and sailors. Finally, Ayutthaya defeated the peninsular polities, and they agreed again to send annual payments of 'Bunga mas dan perak', though Songkhla continued petty warfare with Ayutthaya throughout the period. After several years of war, two ships from Songkhla brought a peace message along with the 'Bunga mas' to pay homage to King Prasat Thong in September 1650. [Reference: Bradley, Francis R. - Moral Order in a Time of Damnation: The "Hikayat Patani" in Historical Context - Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Vol 40, No 2 (Jun. 2009), pp 267-293 - Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Department of History, National University of Singapore.]
When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.
(Alexis de Tocqueville)
