South East Asia Research
, 17, 3, pp 401–431
The West and Siam’s quest formodernity
Siamese responses to nineteenth centuryAmerican missionaries
Thanet Aphornsuvan
Abstract:
This paper examines the interactions that occurred be-tween Westerners and the Siamese elite in the nineteenth century.The author contends that the perceived superiority of Westernscience and knowledge came not as a result of its being Western assuch, but rather as a consequence of the Siamese elite’s securepolitical position in terms of its physical and intellectual powers.The adoption of Western knowledge was measured against the truthof Theravada Buddhism and Buddhist political ideas. Westernknowledge and science thus provided the ruling classes with a mod-ern perception of themselves and the world. Nevertheless, thepersistence of Siamese
sakdina
[feudal] social relations ultimatelyprevented complete modernization. Modernity therefore ended upin the hands of the elite and did not extend to the wider populace.