What was not explicit, or remained in the shadow of the making of Sukhothai history, was the post-1893 experiences and sentiments. Among the possible ideologies of the new historiography of the emerging nation, the elite’s quest for
siwilai antiquity was to make obvious the prominence of Siam among the independent nations. As Herzfeld observes, ‘[O]ne feature that all these [crypto-colonial] countries share is the aggressive promotion of their claims to civilisational superiority or antiquity, claims that almost always appear disproportionate to their political influence’ and ‘through their august antiquity and cultural dignity, [they wanted] to earn the grudging respect of foreign powers’. As a claim for civilisational superiority, it is therefore not a coincidence for Sukhothai to be both the origin of Siam and the ideal state of utmost Thainess.