Front Palace Crisis

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Front Palace or Wang Na (circa 1890) now the Bangkok National Museum
.

The Front Palace Crisis or the Front Palace incident (

Bovorn Vichaichan, the Vice King. Chulalongkorn came to the throne in 1868, with Vichaichan appointed Front Palace
or Vice King in the same year.

The progressive reforms of King Chulalongkorn aroused the ire of Prince Vichaichan and the nobility, who saw their power and influence being slowly eroded. A fire in the

Governor of the Straits Settlements
, who supported the king over his cousin. The Front Palace was afterwards stripped of its power, and after Vichaichan's death in 1885 the title was abolished.

Prelude

Vichaichan

Bovorn Vichaichan - called George Washington by foreigners - was appointed Vice King
in 1868.

Since the elevation of Vice King Pinklao by his brother King Mongkut (Rama IV) twenty years earlier, the office of Front Palace had gained a considerable amount of power and prestige. Since Siam did not have a law of succession, the position of Vice King was seen as the strongest claimant and was therefore also the position of the heir presumptive to the throne.[1] The Vice King also had his own army of over 2,000 men, Western-trained and Western-armed.[2] He also controlled a naval forces of several steam-powered gunboats. The Prince also had a large share of state revenues over one-third of which is given directly to him for the maintenance of his officials, retinue, court, concubines and advisors.[1][3][4]

In August 1868 King Mongkut contracted malaria whilst on an expedition to see a solar eclipse in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, dying six weeks later on 1 October. The young Chulalongkorn, who was only 15 years old at the time, was unanimously declared king by a council of high-ranking nobility, princes of the Chakri dynasty and monks.[5] The council was presided over by Si Suriyawongse who was also appointed Regent for the young King.[6][7]

During the meeting when one of the Princes nominated Prince

Second King without the full consent of the incoming monarch.[6] The relationship between Chulalongkorn and the Vichaichan would remain difficult for the rest of the latter's life, based on this fact.[8] On 11 November 1868 Vichaichan's cousin Chulalongkorn was crowned Supreme King of Siam at the Grand Palace
.

Chulalongkorn

A young King Chulalongkorn (Rama V).

On 20 September 1873 King Chulalongkorn formally reached his majority at the age of 20, resulting in the dissolution of the regency of Si Suriyawongse. During the five years of the regency, Vichaicharn decided to limit his role and power out of reverence for the Regent, who arranged for his appointment.

Royal Government.[11]

In 1873 the king established the 'Auditing Office' (หอรัษฎากรพิพัฒน์, now the

European tradition, the council was an effort by the king to shore up his own legitimacy and to create an elite he could rely on. In their inauguration speeches, the forty-eight councilors pledged allegiance to the monarch and his heirs.[1]

These reforms infuriated the conservative faction at court, the Old Siam composed mainly of old aristocratic families, as the financial reforms eroded some of their old privileges. Politically the creation of the Privy Council meant that only royal favourites had access to political offices, depriving the old families of their influences.

Consul-General to Siam, Thomas George Knox. He was originally recruited by Pinklao to modernize the Front Palace's armed forces. After Mongkut's death, Knox greatly preferred the mature and experienced Vichaichan — who was also the son of one of the most westernized member of the elite to ascend the throne — over the young, unknown and radical Chulalongkorn.[13]

Crisis

Fire within the Grand Palace

Photograph of the Grand Palace, with the Sanam Luang in the foreground.

In early December 1874, Vichaichan received an anonymous letter threatening his life. In response he mobilized up to 600 troops and quartered them within his own palace. As tensions grew, King Chulalongkorn also mobilized his own troops. However, this underlined the fact that the Front Palace's guards both outnumbered and were better equipped than the King's men, besides creating great unease and tension between the two kings.[14] On the night of 28 December, a mysterious fire broke out after a small explosion within the walls of the Grand Palace. The fire quickly spread and was in danger of consuming the King's own residential halls and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha itself.[9][14]

The Front Palace guards immediately set off from their quarters to help extinguish the fire. However, they were turned away by the suspicious Royal guards, who suspected the fire was started by the Front Palace as an excuse to enter the Grand Palace under false pretense.

Front Palace compound in attempt to contain the situation.[8][14]

Once the confrontation began, Chulalongkorn and his ministers agreed immediately that the only person with enough clout to settle the crisis was the ex-regent Si Suriyawongse, who was in

Chao Phraya river for this purpose.[15] Lastly, he wrote to Prince Vichaichan, hinting that Chulalongkorn favoured his execution as punishment for the crisis,[16] when in fact Chulalongkorn only wanted to curb the Front Palace's power over men and weapons.[14] This gave Si Suriyawongse the power to mediate between the factions in the crisis to boost his own control.[16]

Escape to the Consulate

The events at the British Consulate, as depicted in The Illustrated London News

In the early hours of 2 January 1875, Vichaichan fled his palace to seek refuge in the

national sovereignty and royal authority. Chulalongkorn intervened before the document could be passed, by suggesting simply that they should try to invite the Front Palace to return instead. Vichaichan refused reconciliation and remained in the British Consulate with the support of both British and French representatives.[18]

Bunnag family, served as Samuha Kalahom or Prime Minister from 1855 to 1869 and as Regent
from 1868 to 1873.

The king followed Si Suriyawongse's advice by having his ministers offer Vichaichan amnesty. As punishment he must relinquish the title of Vice King, but again Vichaichan refused. As a counter offer Vichaichan wanted to keep his men and his revenues, with the British and the French acting as guarantors on these terms.[19] Because of the last item the offer was rejected by the council of the nobility and the King.[18] As 'guarantors' the two prolific colonialists (the British to the west and the French to the east) would see it as their right to intervene in future Siamese domestic affairs.[18] After much discussion both Chulalongkorn and Vichaichan were pressured by Si Suriyawongse to compromise, however no agreement could be reached.

The crisis remained unresolved mostly due to the warm support given to Vichaichan by the Acting-Consul Newman and his staff. Vichaichan thus waited for British intervention and refused all reconciliation with Chulalongkorn.

London, pointing out that if Britain did not intervene then France would.[15] The Colonial Secretary Lord Carnarvon quickly directed Clarke to go to Bangkok as soon as possible, for as Newman reported:"There is little likelihood of a settlement being effected, and trade and commerce are in a great measure stopped".[19]

Arrival of Clarke

Governor of the Straits Settlements, in office from 1873 to 1875. As a result of their correspondence the king and Clarke became lifelong friends.[20][22]

When Clarke arrived in Bangkok on 18 February on

House of Chakri, but he was determined to reaffirm the King's power over the Kingdom's finances and military against that of Vichaichan's powers. The Governor asked the king to dictate his terms in full. The king also gave reassurance to Clarke that he had no wish to harm Vichaichan, and displayed a conciliatory disposition towards his royal cousin.[19]
Afterwards the king asked Clarke to put the terms on paper.

After dining with Si Suriyawongse on board the Valiant, the Governor gave the 70-year-old ex-Regent a lecture on sowing dissension in the royal family and "the duty of thinking of his country before everything".[23] He also called a meeting between the different consuls in Bangkok to put before them his plan of reconciliation between the two 'Kings'. He assured them that the terms offered by Chulalongkorn must be accepted and that it was in the interests of the commerce of all countries for the crisis to end. The consuls unanimously agreed with him.[24]

Vichaichan meanwhile had also requested a meeting with Clarke by sending him a letter of welcome. Clarke, who has been purposefully avoiding the Vice King, asked for permission from Chulalongkorn before any contact would be made.

American missionary Reverend J.H. Chandler, whose service as a translator was needed in the final document. The document itself ended with words from Chulalongkorn to Vichaichan: "I beg you, who sign these Articles of Reconciliation, to have Full faith in me that I will assuredly devise no mischief whatever to Krom Phra Rachawang [Vichaichan], which would be unjust, and I will keep to these Articles in every respect."[25]

On the evening of 24 February, Clarke and Ryder dined at the British Consulate, finally meeting with Vichaichan. The Governor put before him the terms of the offer. After much complaint the humiliated Vichaichan was forced to accept Chulalongkorn's terms in full.[8][26] He had come to realize that these were the most favourable terms he could hope to receive and that the hospitality of the British was finite.[22] That evening Chulalongkorn wrote to Clarke: "My good Friend, My private secretary has reported his conversation with Your Excellency. I am glad to agree that my cousin shall return to his palace quietly in the early morning, and come to me at eleven o'clock, when, as I must meet the wishes of my own people, I think it better that only Siamese should be present at our reconciliation, Your faithful friend, Chulalonkorn Rex"[25] After spending a day and a night as guests of the king at the Grand Palace, Clarke and his company returned to Singapore.

Aftermath

The final agreement stripped Vichaichan of the title of Vice King, although he retained the title and office of Front Palace. He was allowed to keep 200 guards of small weaponry. From then on the king also had a monopoly on all ships, weapons and ammunition. The king also pledged to guarantee and take responsibility for Vichaichan's financial rights and interests once he had: "placed the Finances of Our Kingdom on a more secure and firmer basis, so as to [...] prevent the waste of our resources."[26] The agreement greatly reduced the powers of Vichaichan, and also deprived the nobility and the conservatives of a leader who could really challenge the king and his reforms.[26]

After the crisis Vichaichan was consigned to his palace and his role in the administration of the Kingdom ceased to exist. The crisis also led to the decline of Si Suriyawongse, who quietly withdrew from politics and retired after the crisis ended, and to a large extent the nobility and the Bunnags themselves. The crisis also brought the end to the councils of the nobility — from then on only those in the Privy Council were given any role in the administration of the kingdom. The ignominious ending of the dependent relationship between the king and his nobles meant that from then on all ministers of state, high-ranking military and government officials were drawn not from the nobility but almost exclusively from the House of Chakri (primarily of Chulalongkorn's own brothers), a situation that was not rectified until 1932.[27]

Although his power and authority for the first time since his coronation was unchallenged, Chulalongkorn and Young Siam decided to slow down and at times suspend their reforms altogether. Writing to Clarke a year later that he had decided: "to defer the prosecution of further plans of reform until I shall find some demand for them among the leaders of my people. I have not relinquished them, but act, according to my opportunities."[26] The terms of his agreement with Vichaichan were kept until the latter's death.

Abolition of the Front Palace

Chulalongkorn in ceremonial dress with his son Crown Prince Maha Vajirunhis at the Grand Palace in 1890.

Vichaichan died on 28 August 1885 at the age of 47.

male primogeniture.[28]
The new invented title brought Siamese succession in line with European tradition. Prince Bovorn Vichaichan was cremated with great ceremony on the field of Sanam Luang on 14 June 1886.

The

ministries of the new government. The Front Palace navy was also merged to that of the Grand Palace's to form the Royal Siamese Navy in 1887.[4]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Kesboonchoo Mead P.60
  2. ^ Bowring P. 429
  3. ^ Bowring P. 446
  4. ^ a b http://www.thailaws.com Archived 2009-12-12 at the Wayback Machine Second Sovereigns Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2009-11-28
  5. ^ Kesboonchoo Mead P.38
  6. ^ a b c Kesboonchoo Mead P.39
  7. ^ a b c Chakrabongse P.217
  8. ^ a b c Englehart P.95
  9. ^ a b c Siam in the 19th Century Chris Jones. Retrieved on 2009-11-28
  10. ^ Kesboonchoo Mead P.51
  11. ^ a b Kesboonchoo Mead P.52
  12. ^ Kesboonchoo Mead P.58
  13. ^ Kesboonchoo Mead P.44
  14. ^ a b c d e Kesboonchoo Mead P.61
  15. ^ a b c Vetch P.133
  16. ^ a b Kesboonchoo Mead P.62
  17. ^ UK in Thailand, Embassy History Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, The first British Consul in Bangkok. Retrieved on 2009-11-28
  18. ^ a b c d e Kesboonchoo Mead P.63
  19. ^ a b c d e Vetch P.134
  20. ^ a b Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board Singapore- Sir Andrew Clarke Archived 2009-09-09 at the Wayback Machine Sitragandi Arunasalam. 1997. Retrieved on 2009-11-28
  21. ^ Vetch P.122
  22. ^ a b Vetch P.142
  23. ^ a b Vetch P.137
  24. ^ a b c Vetch P.138
  25. ^ a b Vetch P.141
  26. ^ a b c d e Kesboonchoo Mead P.64
  27. ^ Kesboonchoo Mead P.94
  28. ^ Kesboonchoo Mead P.95

References

  • Prince Chula Chakrabongse, HRH (1967). Lords of Life: A History of the Kings of Thailand. United Kingdom: Alvin Redman Limited.
  • Englehart, Neil A. (2001). "Culture and Power in Traditional Siamese Government" (Southeast Asia Program Series) (Southeast Asia Program Studies, 18). United States: Cornell University Southeast Asia Program Publications. .
  • Kesboonchoo Mead, Kullada (2004). The Rise and Decline of Thai Absolutism. United Kingdom: Routledge Curzon. .
  • ISBN 1-4179-5130-3. Full text also at 'archive.org': Life of Sir Andrew Clarke