Although there had been varied and longestablished
trading and diplomatic contacts with the
West since the early sixteenth century (Ayutthaya
period), the 1850s became a watershed in Thailand’s
development. From this period the Thai economy
became incorporated into the Western-dominated global
economy. The Kingdom also became a supplier of raw
materials, a buyer of cheap manufactured goods and a
field where foreign, particularly British, capital could
develop economic activity (Dixon 1999, 27).