King Rama V (Chulalongkorn)

Rama V, better known as Chulalongkorn, is the fifth king of the Chakri dynasty, founded in 1782 and which has ruled Thailand since that date.

Full name: Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua.

Life of HM King Chulalongkorn (Rama V)

The eldest son of King Rama IV (Mongkut) , he was born in Bangkok on September 20, 1853.

King Mongkut and Prince Chulalongkorn in 1868

Unlike his predecessors, Rama V received both a modern and traditional education from Buddhist monks.

After a reign of 42 years, he died on October 23, 1910, leaving behind 77 children from 36 of his 92 wives.

Chulalongkorn is the great-grandfather of King Rama IX and great-great-grandfather of the current King Rama X.

See: The 10 Ramas: The Kings of the Chakri Dynasty of Thailand

King Rama V with his sons

Rama V, a great modernizer

Continuing the momentum given by his father, he was the great modernizer of the kingdom of Siam.

HM King Chulalongkorn was the first king to undertake foreign trips, to Singapore, India and Europe; he was received twice in France, in 1897 and 1907.

King Chulalongkorn and Tsar Nicholas II

Inspired by the ideas he brought back from these travels, his action was fundamental in all areas.

First of all he modernized and centralized the administration, then organized the postal services (1885), the railways (1893), founded the first university, the first school of administration, military school and naval school.

Banknotes were introduced in 1902 and the decimal system imposed in 1908.

Slavery was abolished on March 31, 1895, as was corvée labor owed by free men (phrai luang).

To carry out all these reforms and innovations, Rama V surrounded himself with foreign experts and advisors from Western countries.

Western customs and clothing were first introduced into the kingdom.

Rama V facing the colonizers

Alongside these internal successes, the country had to face significant colonial pressure from the British and the French during his reign.

King Chulalongkorn skillfully played on the balance of power and succeeded in preserving his country's independence, but at the cost of territorial concessions.

He ceded part of Cambodia and Laos to France (1893-1907) and border territories of Malaysia to the United Kingdom (Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909).

A king still revered by Thais

King Chulalongkorn was greatly loved by his people during his lifetime. Thanks to him, Thai people benefited from numerous social measures and the country's economic growth was spectacular.

This is why Rama V is still the object of an active cult today; many Thai houses are decorated with his portrait, prayers are addressed to him and statues in his image are erected in many places.

October 23, the anniversary of his death, is a public holiday.

See also: Festivals and Public Holidays in Thailand

The movie Anna and the King

Rama V was a pupil of the English governess Anna Leonowens, who had been hired as an English teacher for Rama IV's children for five years.

The film Anna and the King was inspired by the memoirs of Anna Leonowens but reshaped to flatter the puritanical morality of Victorian England, a move that has been denounced by many historians.

In the 1970s, the British entomologist WS Bristowe corrected in his book Louis and the King of Siam many inaccuracies concerning Anna Leonowens's career and her true role as an English teacher at the Court of Siam (and not as a governess to the royal children).

Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns, the Belgian advisor to Rama V

A little-known figure who nevertheless played an important role in the destiny of Thailand.

From 1892 to 1901, Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns was “General Councillor of the Kingdom of Siam” under the reign of King Rama V.

As a specialist in international law, he helped transform feudal Siam into a modern kingdom by drafting the constitution and contributing to judicial and administrative reform.

During the conflict between Indochina and Siam in 1896 over the territories of Laos, the king appointed him Ambassador Plenipotentiary, which allowed him to deal directly with the French government on behalf of Siam and sign a peace treaty.

He advised the King to create a law school to train judges and civil servants.

During the King's trip to Europe in 1898, he was the Queen's Counsel and had the authority to sign on the King's behalf.

For his service to the country, he was awarded the title Chao Phya Abhai Raja Siammanukulkiy by King Rama V in 1892.

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On pain of death, do not touch Queen Sunandha!