Chiang Mai had formerly been a semi-independent state. Bangkok had gradually imposed control from the 1870s onward. In 1898, the local rulers were finally sidelined and a Bangkok-style administration installed. Seng was among many Chinese traders and tax farmers who flocked to the city in this era to take up the opportunities presented by this change in rule. H and Thongd e collected taxes from gambling houses in Mae Rim, Sansai, and Doi Saket districts. In 1910, there was a disaster: