The kingdom of Siam
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| Chulalongkorn, King of Siam |
The following notes on Siam have been written by high officials in different departments of the Government Service, and while in no way professing to give a full description of the people and country, each article is, as far as possible, an accurate statement of the existing conditions. These articles were written during 1903 and the statistics refer to this year and years anterior to this. There is as yet no standard for the transliteration of the Siamese characters each author has followed his own system.
HIS Majesty, Chulalongkorn, King of Siam of the North and South, Sovereign of Laos, the Malays, etc., is the fifth sovereign of the Chakrakri Dynasty, founded one hundred and twenty-one years ago. His Majesty is the eldest son of King Mongkut and was born on September 20, 1853. He succeeded his father in 1868, reigning under a regency until he came of age. Since then His Majesty has introduced many important reforms, and Siam owes much of her prosperity to her King's energy and initiative. He works harder than most of his subjects, whose welfare he ever has at heart. In 1897,
His Majesty undertook a journey to Europe where he was well received and entertained by the European sovereigns whose countries he visited. This journey, like everything else His Majesty undertakes, was for the benefit of his country and his people and has already produced 3 4 Kingdom of Siam good results. He is a keen observer and he brought back with him many ideas formed or gathered during his travels abroad. He is the only independent Buddhist sovereign in the world and is therefore looked upon as the chief supporter of the religion of the Buddha. Under his wise and beneficent rule, the future prosperity of Siam is fully assured,
Some of the contents:
I. — The Royal Family II. — The Government III. — A General Description of Siam IV. — Naval and Military Forces V. — Siam from a Historical Standpoint VI. — Language of Siam VII. — The religion of Siam VIII. — The Capital IX. — Finance X. — Currency and Banking XI. — Agriculture XII. — Forestry XIII. — Justice XIV. — Education. XV. — ArchaeologyDownload