Songtham

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Songtham ( the justified , Thai : สมเด็จ พระเจ้า ทรงธรรม - Somdet Phrachao Song Tham , also: Intharacha , พระ อินทรา ชา - Phra Intharacha ; * 1590 in Ayutthaya ; †  December 13, 1628 ) was King of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya in Siam from 1610 to 1628 (today Thailand ) as the successor to King Ekathotsarot .

Life

The circumstances of Songtham's accession to the throne are somewhat unclear, as Prince Si Saowaphak should have been the legitimate successor. In the Siamese Civil War 1610-1612 he was able to prevail against claims of the pretender to the throne, who was supported by the Japanese palace guard and a Laotian contingent.

Under Songtham there was a significant expansion of Siamese-European trade relations without Songtham abandoning equilibrium politics. Founded in 1600 East India Company to the British in 1612 was given the same rights as the Portuguese and the Dutch before: a commercial establishment in Ayutthaya and construction of a workshop in Pattani on the Malay Peninsula is allowed. With this permit, the king hoped for a transfer of know-how in the processing of raw materials that Siam did not lack.

The Europeans needed a trade route to the Chinese Empire that was as independent of the unpredictable monsoons as possible. Songtham offered them Ayutthaya for this, and so the capital grew as a transshipment port of some importance for goods between Europe, India, Japan and China. But Siam couldn't avoid the growing tensions between the Europeans completely unscathed: In 1618 a trade war broke out between Holland and England, which spread to the branches in Siam. Just a year later, 800 Dutch attacked two English ships in Pattani. Not until 1620 was a peace treaty concluded between the branches in Siam and the situation eased.

Songtham also strengthened trade relations with Japan , which could not offer any technological knowledge, but paid dearly for the easy-to-mine precious woods, sugar, animal skins, ivory, fruit and rice. Finally, under their leader Yamada Nagamasa , the Japanese tried to overthrow the king through a palace guard at the court of Ayutthaya in order to gain control of the Siamese economy. Whether for the shogun or whether they were bribed by Laotian princes remains a mystery for the time being. In any case, Laotian troops advanced as far as Lopburi to "liberate" Ayutthaya from the Japanese.

Songtham died of a serious illness at the age of 38 and left an economically sound country with an underage heir to the throne, Prince Chettha (other spelling: Jetta ).