SIAM, an extensive kingdom of India beyond the Ganges, situated principally between the 10th and 15th degrees of north latitude, in the heart of the great peninsula between India and China. It is bounded on the north by unknown tracts, that extend as far as Thibet and China; on the south it has the Gulf of Siam and the Malay peninsula; on the east it has ranges of mountains, by which it is separated from Cambodia and Cochin China; and on the west it is bounded by the Burmese dominions. The extent of this kingdom, like many others in the east, appears to have varied with the success of its arms. It formerly was estimated to extend in length three hundred and sixty miles, by three hundred in average breadth; but it has since been contracted by the encroachments of the Burmese within narrower limits. It may be considered as consisting of the extensive valley through which the great river Menan flows, on the banks of which all the principal towns are situated; and it possesses besides a great extent of sea-coast along the Gulf of Siam, which is but thinly inhabited, as the Siamese have an aversion to settle on the sea-coast, from their dread of the Malay pirates. The valley of the Menan is subject to be inundated during the rainy season by the periodical floods of that river, the artificial sites of the villages and the trees being the only objects that rise above the expanse of the waters. It is only this part of the country which is known to Europeans; and it is an extensive flat, consisting of alluvial land, with many extensive morasses, from which the exhalations under a tropical sun are noxious to Europeans, causing fluxes, dysenteries, and acute fevers. In those tracts which are beyond the reach of the inundations, the country is parched and dried up.

The country is described by those who composed the British embassy which accompanied Mr. Crawfurd to Siam in 1822, as rich and fertile in a high degree, and possessing extensive commercial resources. This is almost entirely owing to the peculiar fertility of the soil, very little of the merit being due to native industry, except in the formation of canals. It is to the overflowing of the river Menan and its numerous tributaries, that this fertility is owing. The country yields the most abundant crops of rice and of other plants, which require a redundant supply of moisture. Wheat is also reared on the higher grounds, but not in any great quantity, so that it requires to be imported for the use of the Europeans who reside here. All the richer productions of the tropical climates would also thrive in the same place; but there is little industry amongst the people, who are depressed by the tyranny of their rulers, and have no encouragement to cultivate the country. There is no country in the world where all sorts of fruits, the most luscious and exquisite, arrive at greater perfection. The pine-apple, the tamarind, and the banana, abound in Siam. Of the mangoes, there are not less than thirty species, all excellent; and so is also the coffee plant. The sugar cane grows to perfection, though only for home consumption; for the rude natives do not possess the art of refining it. The areka and the betel-nut are produced; the latter is exported in considerable quantities by the Portuguese in their ships, and also in Chinese junks. Pepper, on the other hand, is not reared to nearly the same extent as in Java. The cocoa-nut is a great resource to the indolent Siamese. It is applied to numerous uses; its milk seasons many of the dishes, and the oil affords an excellent seasoning; it is also used for torches, and as a kind of pitch, which, when clarified, is well adapted for painting. Here are, besides, many medicinal plants and gums, and also oil of jessamine, benzoin, lack, crystal, emery, antimony, oil, wax, lack varnish, wild cinnamon, cassia buds, and iron wood, the lost of which is much used by the natives as anchors for their vessels. Cotton grows abundantly, and is as fine as silk; “but,” says a European visitor to this country, “these wretches do not know how to value it beyond stuffing beds and pillows.”

Siam abounds in all the wild animals known in the tropical countries, which find ample cover in the deep forests of the interior. The elephant ranges in the outskirts of the kingdom, amongst the mountains and jungles which form its eastern and its western boundary. The hunting of this animal is a royal monopoly; a great number are taken every year, the finest of which are selected for the studs of the king and nobles, and the rest are exported to other parts of India. The white elephant is found in some parts; it is a very rare animal, and is so prized, that it has occasioned wars between sovereign states. The rhinoceros also frequents the forests, whose skin is much sought after as an object of trade. He is a dangerous animal when enraged, and is not easily overcome, as his skin is so hard that it can hardly be penetrated by a musket ball. But one of the most numerous and most dangerous animals found in the woods is the tiger, which grows to a large size, and is remarkably fierce in the interior regions of Siam. The monkey race are in vast variety, and spread over the cultivated fields, which they speedily lay waste. There are numerous other wild animals, namely, lizards of various kinds, cameleons, tortoises, hedgehogs, and a species of porcupine, which yields valuable bezoar.

The domestic animals are horses, cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats, and elephants. There is abundance of common poultry; and besides, peacocks, pigeons, partridges, snipes, parrots, and other birds. The horses are very inferior, the best being imported from Batavia; and the same may be said of all domestic animals except the hog, the flesh of which' is superior to the same animal in Europe. Insects and vermin abound here as in other parts of India; and the sea and rivers yield abundance of excellent fish, on which a great proportion of the lower classes subsist. There are besides lobsters and turtle of a good quality, and the manjo fish, which is so much esteemed in Calcutta.

The mineral riches of Siam are but little known. It is inferred that gold must exist in the mountains, as it is collected in small quantities in the streams, by which it is washed down. Iron, tin, lead, and copper, are likewise procured, but in small quantities. The copper is of a good quality. Iron is imported in considerable quantities from Europe, no diligence being employed to procure it in the country. The mountains in the interior yield diamonds equal to those in Hindustan, also sapphires, rubies, and agates.

Tire Siamese, from the fertility of their soil, and the facilities of internal traffic afforded by the numerous streams and canals which everywhere intersect the country, are less dependent than most other nations on foreign trade. They are supplied chiefly by the Chinese, who, from their similarity of character and other causes, are the only people permitted to trade freely here. The Chinese commerce with Siam is said to be very extensive, and to employ no less than from 30,000 to 40,000 tons of shipping annually in the port of Bankok alone. It is to the supple character of the Chinese, the long connexion that has subsisted between the two countries, and the number of that nation resident in Siam, that this great trade is to be ascribed. The articles which chiefly attract the Chinese traders, are sugar, sapan wood, of which 18,000 tons are exported annually, pepper, cardamoms,sharks fins, birds’nests, bechedemer, hides, about 200,000 of which are exported annually; bones of the elephant, the rhinoceros, the tiger, the dcer, and the buffalo; indigo, cotton, wines, and a variety of smaller articles. The Chinese traders, in their junks, arrive every year in February, March, and April, from Hainan, Canton, Soukah, Amoy, Ningpo, and other places. They take away, besides the above articles, a considerable quantity of culmin. There are annually about eighty vessels, mostly freighted by Chinese settlers at Bankok, or Siamese nobles, some of whom engage in traffic. Rice and salt of the very best quality are exported to all the European settlements to the eastward.[7:20:322] Among the articles produced in smaller quantities, but which are still valuable for Indian or European cargoes, are agil-wood, a perfumed or scented wood, benjamin, ivory, and stick lac. lron, formed into cooking utensils, forms an extensive article of export from Siam. There are four American ships come annually for cargoes of sugar, for which they pay in dollars.

Siam carries on a considerable trade with the British settlement of Singapore. This trade is chiefly managed by the Chinese, either natives from China, or their descendants settled in Siam, the Siamese being an indolent race, devoid of the spirit of industry or of enterprise. The vessels and cargoes belong invariably to the Chinese. The principal articles which they import, are British piece goods, or goods of Indian manufacture, such as Bengal muslins, chintz, gurrahs, and sannahs; gold dust, bees’ wax, gambier, rattans, tea, sago, sea-weed, cowries, and coarse paper, likewise constitute articles of import. In addition to those articles, cotton twist is much in demand. Amongst the imports into Siam, opium is one of the most important, about two hundred and fifty chests of this article being annually consumed. It is brought chiefly in junks, from Penang and Singapore; and though a contraband article, for a length of time met with a safe and speedy sale, the very persons appointed to enforce the prohibition being the principal dealers. But since the laws have been so rigidly enforced against the im∣x>rtation of opium into Canton, and the whole stock seized by the Chinese authorities, the dealers of it being besides threatened with death, and the British resident, Elliot, seized and imprisoned, the same severities have been enforced against the trade in Siam. The laws are equally strict against the importation of the drug, a severe fine being the penalty, which, if the offen ler cannot pay, as is commonly the case, his goods are confiscated; and if the sum raised be still insufficient, he is condemned, with his whole family, to perpetual slavery. In June 1839 several unfortunate Chinese sailors were accordingly seized with opium on board, from Singapore, and were cast into prison, where they were treated with great severity.

No impediment is offered to the admission of European ships into the Siamese ports; nor are the imposts heavy. The port charges for a ship of three hundred and fifty tons do not amount to more than 1200 dollars, and the duties on imports are generally eight per cent., though many articles are free. Sugar pays 3s. 2d. per cwt. The real impediments to commerce, consist in the privileges of the king, who is, properly speaking, the only merchant in the kingdom, as he claims the right of pre-emption in the market, from which he derives a large profit. His agents are hard to deal with. They regard foreign trade merely as a source of dishonest profit; and European vessels are only admitted to give an opportunity for extortion. It was to procure the abolition of those oppressive monopolies that Mr. Crawfurd’s embassy was sent to Siam in 1822. But he tailed entirely to attain this object.

The Menan, by which ships enter, discharges itself into the Gulf of Siam; but it has a bar at its mouth, to cross which, the aid of a pilot is required. The southerly monsoons is the best season for ships to visit Siam, and the northerly for returning to Hindustan, through the straits of Malacca. Bankok, situated on the river near the bay, is the chief place of trade. It is capable of making little defence against a European force; it is indeed, in a military point of view, quite defenceless; nor is there any fortification at the mouth of the river, or all the way up to the capital. A fleet of prows constitutes the whole naval defence of the kingdom of Siam, the bar of the river affording a defence against vessels of war.

The sovereign of this country exercises, as in other eastern kingdoms, absolute sway. He has no hereditary nobility of any kind, nor any popular assembly to controul his supreme will. The whole male population are liable to military conscription. Their names are enrolled in a register, and they are bound to perform military service for six months in the year; they receive no pay, carry their own provisions, and are only provided with arms and accoutrements. The country is divided into districts, and a chief is placed over each, under whose colours they march to battle. They have made no progress in the science of war, and possess neither discipline nor courage. Like the Burmese, they trust to fortifications of stockades of trees, and posts encircled by a ditch. But the real defence of the country consists in the natural obstacles of jungles, morasses, and the branches of rivers by which it is everywhere intersected. They march without order, nor do they take any precautions against a surprise. They seldom stand more than one discharge, which is sure to frighten one or other of the parties engaged, when they quit the field in disorder. Their chief dependance is on their elephants, which, when they are frightened or wounded, become equally formidable to friends and foes. There is nothing like a standing army. A body of guards, composed chiefly of foreigners, who are attached to the person of the sovereign, is the only force which is not disbanded. They are chiefly Tartars, with a corps of Mohars, who frequently display a desperate courage, however, said to be owing to the stimulus of opium. A small part of the taxes is levied in money, the greater part of the revenue being received in kind.

The rules followed in the administration of justice, are rude and barbarous. The tribunals are composed of three members; but the president alone decides. By the laws of Siam, children are clothed for the first time, at the age of four or five; and they are never afterwards uncovered for chastisement. Parents may sell their children. But they never resort to this proceeding except from absolute want. It is not true, as has been reported, that they sell their daughters, if offended with them, for courtezans. The duties between a pupil and his teacher are reckoned next in importance to those of parent and child. Their system of education resembles that of the Burmese. Priests are not allowed to become teachers of the female sex. The principal object of their education is to enable them to superintend their husbands’ affairs. Marriage is considered merely as a civil contract, and the priests are not called upon to assist in it. Polygamy is admitted, but is only practised by the higher classes; and even they consider the first wife only as mistress of the house, whilst all the rest are little better than slaves. In general, the lot of the females is severe in this country, the heaviest part of the labour falling upon them; nor are they allowed to eat with their husbands, nor even to sail in the same boat; they attend no public amusements, but spend their time almost entirely at home. In every intricate case, the ordeal is resorted to as the easiest solution of all difficulties. The accused is required, as a satisfactory purgation of his innocence, to walk over red hot iron, or burning coals. Another ordeal is by water, when the person who remains longest beneath is declared innocent. Pills that cause vomiting are also employed; and he on whom they first take effect is adjudged guilty. But in some cases, the accused are subjected to the perilous test of being thrown to tigers, which in their fury, will, it is supposed, make the proper distinction between the innocent and the guilty. The punishments, as in all barbarous countries, are shocking by their severity. Sacrilege is punished by fixing the head of the offender to the hearth, where it is consumed by a slow fire. A stake is thrust through the body of assassins, in such a manner as to cause exquisite pain. Noblemen are sometimes subjected to degrading punishments, being condemned to cut grass for the elephants; some are subjected to the pillory; others are allowed to languish in prisons in the most miserable state, or they are seen wandering about the city, chained seven and seven together, begging their bread from[7:20:323] door to door. They are confined at night within a circle formed with stakes, and are obliged by turns, and at short intervals, to call out their names.

The religion of Siam is the same system which has diffused itself so extensively over the east and north of Asia, which is variously designated in different countries, as the doctrine of Boodh or Buddha, or of Gaudama, and in Tartary of Shamanism. The language of their sacred books, like the Sanscrit and the Zend in Persia, differs entirely from that in ordinary life, and is called Bali, apparently the same Indian language which is called Pali by the Burmans. The creed is singularly severe; but the common people escape from its austerities, as they believe that a rigid adherence to its maxims is only prescribed to the priests, to whose mortifications they trust as an atonement for their errors. They have an order of monks professing celibacy, and residing in convents. They harangue the people from morning to night, who not only express their feelings in murmurs of applause, but load the preacher with costly gifts. Their temples are distinguished above all those in Asia, by their magnificence, and by the gigantic statues which they contain. The principal pagoda in the city is of a long and narrow form, covered externally with tin, whilst the interior is one complete blaze of gold, and contains an idol, forty-five feet in height, which reaches to the roof, and is said to be composed entirely of that precious metal.

The Siamese have made scarcely any advances either in science or literature. Their progress in mathematics is not great, their attention being confined chiefly to arithmetic, on account of its utility in commerce. They know little of astronomy beyond some of its humblest practical applications. They first learned from Cassini to find out the place of the sun and moon by calculation. But they have not turned their knowledge to any account in navigation, their junks making use merely of the compass, and creeping where they can along the coasts for safety. Time is measured by vessels having a small hole perforated and placed in a tub of water, the construction of clocks being beyond their mechanical powers. Their system of medicine is equally imperfect, consisting chiefly in certain receipts, the virtues of which they say have been ascertained by experience. They are entire strangers to anatomy, having a religious scruple against opening dead bodies. They are fond, like many other barbarous nations, of music and poetry, and their bards are chiefly exercised in songs and in impromptu recitations. Their festivals and pleasure excursions upon the water are always enlivened with music. Their taste, however, appears to be equally rude in this as in all other arts or sciences. Instrumental music is chiefly valued on account of its loudness; the organ is preferred on this account to any other European instrument; and next to it hautboys, drums, trumpets, and fifes. Their theatrical amusements are, as might be expected, extremely rude, consisting of extravagant tables or gross caricatures, often levelled against the reigning monarch, or against persons in power, who choose to wink at these liberties, being the only vehicle of public opinion. Dancing and wrestling are amongst their most favourite amusements; and their puppet shows, the theatrical exhibitions in which they chiefly delight, are got up with great parade and expense by the king and the nobles for the amusement of the people.

The moral character and habits of the Siamese are rated extremely low by those travellers who have visited the country. From the highest to the lowest, they are, according to their account, mean, cowardly, and mercenary. Like most of the Eastern nations, they have no regard to truth. These bad qualities are perceived in every action of their lives; and their rapacity in their intercourse with strangers is well known. To increase their wealth and promote their own interest, form the lasting object of all classes, which is pursued by every indirect and fraudulent practice. Timidity is a remarkable characteristic of the nation, insomuch that two Europeans would put to flight fifty of them; and the doctrine that cruelty and cowardice go together, is exemplified in their treatment of those who are made prisoners in their wars with the Burmese, or are kidnapped on the frontier; they are employed in public works of the most servile nature, with chains about their necks, legs, and feet, and are condemned to this degradation for life. Amongst their other evil propensities they carry on gambling to a great excess; and some have attributed the low state to which trade has occasionally fallen, to n species of lottery, in which all classes engage, and which is countenanced by the king. To such a length is the rage for these gambling speculations carried, that it is the cause of serious disorders. The victims of this vice, impoverished, and reduced to nakedness, betake themselves to open and lawless violence for subsistence. They follow robbing as a trade, and herd together in bands, so that it is not safe to venture out in decent attire, as they plunder openly, and commit daily murders.

Europeans have no very accurate knowledge of the statistics of Siam, and the estimate of the population by different travellers is rather conjectural. According to such imperfect statements as have been received, the entire popu-ation of the country was stated at four millions. The inhabitants resemble the Chinese and Mongols in their features; they have a broad face, and very prominent cheek bones, whilst the remainder of their cheek has rather a hollow appearance. The eyes are small, with a deep yellow tinge in the white part; the mouth large, and the lips thick and full. Both males and females take as much pains to blacken their teeth, as the Europeans do to preserve them white. The men eradicate their beards, but allow their nails to lengthen like the Chinese. They are extremely gross feeders, eating rats, buzzards, grasshoppers, and other insects. They are, as has been already stated, indolent, and have made no progress in mechanical arts, nor in agriculture. It is chiefly by the Chinese that the country is cultivated, and that sugar and other productions are raised. They, along with the Portuguese settled here, manage the commerce that is carried on. They are strangers to the making of silk and woollen cloths; and even the fabrics of cotton are not nearly on the same scale as in Hindustan. Their artists in gold are however remarkably expert, and their fillagree work is extremely beautiful. They also excel in beating out gold leaf, which is greatly employed in adorning their temples and idols.

The Siamese annals affect to detail with much minuteness the events that have occurred in Siam and the adjacent states and countries for the last fourteen hundred years; but these, like most Eastern histories, consist of fables or gross exaggerations. The kingdom of Siam was unknown in Europe until the discovery of the route to India by the Cape of Good Hope. The first traces of their history were received through the Portuguese, who frequently acted as auxiliaries to the contending factions. In 1684 ambassadors were sent from Siam to Louis XIV., and in consequence M. Cerberet and La Loubère were dispatched as ambassadors to Siam, where they arrived in 1687, and immediately attempted to make a proselyte of the king to the Catholic faith. The monarch declined the religion so freely proffered to him by the French, but entered into a strict alliance with them, and allowed them two garrisons, Bankok and Mergui. In 1688, the king was, however, by a sudden revolution, dethroned and murdered, which was fallowed by the expulsion of the French. From this period Siam was the scene of much internal discord, and of many sanguinary massacres; and in 1754 was involved in a serious war with the Burmese, who having conquered Pegu, and enlarged their territories, came in contact with the dominions of Siam. A long war ensued, which terminated al-[7:20:324] together to the disadvantage of the Siamese, who were repeatedly defeated with great slaughter; their capital was sacked by the Burmese in 1766, who besides took all their maritime possessions on the bay of Bengal and along the west coast of the Malay peninsula, including the important places of Tavoy, Mergui, and Tenasscrim. Though greatly reduced by this unsuccessful war, and frequently brought to the brink of ruin, Siam still exists as an independent kingdom, to which it is indebted partly to the dissensions of the Burmese, and partly to the actual strength of the country.

An embassy was sent to Siam by the British government in 1822, which was placed under the charge of Mr. Crawfurd, who had an audience of the king of Siam, by whom he was received so favourably, that he had every reason to expect a favourable termination to his mission. But these hopes were frustrated by the jealous and unaccommodating policy of the government. They made propositions one day which were revoked the next; and displayed their faithless character so clearly, that all negotiations were finally broken off; and the embassy were finally interdicted from going about the town or on the river, and were not allowed to trade. An American embassy was more agreeably received by this jealous government in 1833, and it is said succeeded in concluding a commercial treaty with the government. Asiatic Journal, new series. Hamilton’s Gazetteer.