Bunnag family

House of Bunnag ราชินิกุลบุนนาค
Parent family	House of Sheikh Ahmad
Current region	Regent of Siam (1851–1873)
Connected families	House of Chakri House of Na Bangxang House of Abhaiwongse House of Na Nagara Ahamadchula family Amatayakul family Amatayakul family Khotchaseni family Savetsila family

The Bunnag Family or House of Bunnag (

and monopolized high-ranking titles. By the nineteenth century, its power and influence reached its zenith.

Three of the four

sought to undo the power of the nobility and pursue centralization, the Bunnags gradually withdrew from prominent roles in Siamese politics but continued to fill important official ranks.

History

Sheikh Ahmad

in Siam.

After subjugating a Japanese revolt under

Descendants of Sheikh Ahmad exerted control over Siamese politics, trade and foreign affairs. Many of them became Samuha Nayok. They also monopolized the post of Chularachamontri.

Settlement in Thonburi

A man called Bunnag was a descendant of Sheikh Ahmad. Bunnag married to Nuan, a daughter of wealthy Mon family from Bang Chan, situated near the mouth of Maeklong River.^[3] Her sister Nak was the wife of Thong Duang. He was then kinsmen to Thong Duang. Though Thong Duang emerged as a powerful noble in Thonburi, Bunnag stayed far from the bureaucracy due to his childhood conflicts with Taksin.

Thong Duang then became

as Chao Phraya Akkaramahasaena.

Rise of Prayurawongse

Chao Phraya Akkaramahasaena was the primogenitor of the House of Bunnag. He sent his sons, including

.

He was offered the position of Samuha Kalahom (Second Prime Minister) by the king, but Tish declined, saying that prime ministers died early. He then became Samuha Kalahom instead.

During the

in 1849, Tish remained the only powerful noble in the court.

Tish played a key role in the ascension of Mongkut, whether or not Nangklao intended to give the throne to his half-brother. The legend is that Nangklao wanted his son, Prince Annop, to succeed him, even giving Annop the bracelet passed down from his grandfather Phutthayotfa Chulalok. However, Dis switched the bracelet for a forged one, so the genuine one was not passed to Prince Annop. Tish lobbied for Mongkut, a monk of 27 years, to succeed the throne.

In 1851, when Mongkut had succeeded the throne, he made Tish

, had become the first monarch of Chakri dynasty.

Mongkut gave much of his power to the regents he appointed. Prayurawongse was also competent in trade and foreign affairs and crucial to negotiating the Bowring Treaty.

Sri Suriwongse

Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha

(Thai: สมเด็จเจ้าพระยาบรมมหาศรีสุริยวงศ์; Chuang Bunnag) was a prominent 19th-century Thai figure and served as the regent during the early years of the reign of King Chulalongkorn.

The eldest son of Tish Bunnag (

.

After the death of King Mongkut in 1868, his young son Prince Chulalongkorn became the new monarch. However, as the new king was underage, Sri Suriwongse was named as regent, a post he held until 1873. The Front Palace Crisis of 1874-5 changed the power dynamic in Siam, after which both Bunnag and noble influence waned.

Sri Suriwongse died in 1883 in Ratchaburi. He was also the first Thai to have a life insurance policy after Chulalongkorn granted foreign companies permission to extend their insurance business into Siam.

His son Won Bunnag succeeded him as Samuha Kalahom and also held the title Chao Phraya Surawong Waiyawat.

References