Born as Prince Tub, one of the many sons fathered by King Rama II, became King Nang Klao or Rama III of the Chakri Dynasty. It was recognized that Prince Tub was not the heir presumptive to the Siamese Throne as he was not born to King Rama II's Royal Queen but, rather, to one of the late King's consorts. His half brother Prince Mongkut, son of the Royal Queen, might well have been regarded as heir to the throne. However, as King Rama II passed away without naming his successor, and as twenty year old Prince Mongkut had been parcelled off (out of harm's way) to study at a Buddhist temple, Siamese Ministers and Nobles decided that Prince Tub would be their next monarch. He was of a mature age and widely experienced in Court and Government matters. So Prince Tub was crowned King although, in later years, his half brother, the monk Prince Mongkut, would return to the fore. As Monarch, King Rama III was a steady man and capable administrator. Naturally conservative he was, perhaps, the last Siamese Sovereign who cherished the old ways and was reluctant to move forward too quickly. International events, however, were not on his side so he was rather swept along by a current of change. To the West of Siam, the long-standing threat from invading Burmese had abated but Laos and Cambodia, to the East, were proving troublesome. Burma, having decided to venture west to India (now Bangladesh) came up against the British which resulted in the first of the Anglo-Burmese Wars. This would eventually dismiss the Burmese as players in the territory game and indeed, initially, the British sought Siamese assistance to subdue their ancient Burmese enemies. King Rama III played a waiting game as he was anxious regarding British intentions they were already to the south of his Kingdom having established a colony at Penang (Malaysia). King Rama III stance was that he would not close his nation to foreign (Western) approaches but he would try to ensure that any foreign merchants, traders or missionaries were not accorded any special rights or privileges.

In Laos and Cambodia, long considered reluctant vassal states of Siam, Vietnam was making overtures to bring those two countries under its sway. King Rama III accordingly took action to suppress a revolt in Laos and dispatched a military campaign against Vietnamese influence in Cambodia. The former, led by Prince Anu of Laos, was particularly distressing to Rama III as he had long thought of Prince Anu as a personal friend and loyal to the Siamese Crown. Prince Anu's forces advanced as far as Korat (Nakorn Rajsima) and took many Siamese captives. King Rama III sent a Siamese army (under the command of his Second King) which eventually defeated the Laotians. Prince Anu fled across the Maekhong River to Vientiane and thence to Vietnam. He was ultimately captured and brought to Bangkok where, after much torture, he died in captivity during 1829.

The Royal Court of Cambodia, at Phnom-Penh, had been a bed of Vietnamese intrigue and interference. So the Siamese King, more than impatient with Vietnamese influence, ordered his army to Cambodia. Under the command of Jao Phraya Bordin Decha, the Thai army marched to Chaudoc but the vassal ruler, Ang-Chan (U-Thai Raja) had already fled to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) in Vietnam. Jao Phraya Bordin's army were obliged to retreat as his supply lines were not good whereupon the Vietnamese returned Ang-Chan to Oudong (Nug Ong Duang) where they established him as their puppet king in 1834.

On the home front, King Rama III enjoyed good commercial relations with China and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) but continued to be wary of Western envoys. The British were already hovering and the Americans had started to send missionaries to Bangkok. A Treaty of Friendship, between Siam and the United States, was signed in 1833 but, later in 1850, The U.S. President wanted to upgrade the treaty and sent his envoy, Joseph Balestier, to King Rama III. The Siamese King deputed a Senior Minister to see Balestier but the American gentleman refused to talk with anyone except the King.

Much trade from and to Siam had been carried aboard Chinese junks but Rama III knew that European designed sailing ships would undoubtedly replace their Oriental counterparts. So, perhaps as a fitting memorial to traditional Siamese thoughts, King Rama III commissioned the building of a Pagoda. The base of the Pagoda was a Chinese junk and the monument was constructed at Wat Yannawa in the docklands area of Bangkok.

Next Page

Previous Page

If you look around, compare the salaries having IT certified and non certified persons. You will feel that the certification holder with ccda, Microsoft mcts, mcitp and mcdst are getting more salaries than others. Similarly the comptia certification and cisco certifications are considered more salaries generated certifications.