Page 27 - A History of Siam

INTRODUCTION 27

and as well as
Burma, Luang P'rabang, Cambodia,
Nai T'ien's excellent translation of the Burmese
English
in various numbers of the Siam
Chronicle, published
Society's Journal.
To come to European authorities, the earliest is the
of Fernando Mendez Pinto, The
Perigrinations English
translation, by Cogan, published in London in 1663,
is rather incorrect, but does not differ, as regards Siam,
in any essential respect from the original Portuguese
Pinto was a most romancer.
(Lisbon, 1614). extraordinary
Nevertheless, it is interesting to find a contemporary
European account of the death of King P'rajai and the
of K'un in
usurpation Worawongsa, agreeing, many
with the version in the
important particulars, given
Siamese P* 1
ongsawadan.
Jeremias van Vliet is another European writer who
deals at with historical events in Siam. I have
length
been unable to find a of his book in the Flemish
copy
but a French translation was in
original, published
Paris in in the same volume as Herbert's
1673, Voyage
to India and Persia. It was written by Van Vliet in
and is entitled Revolutions arrivees au
1647, Royaume
de Siam.
Van Vliet's work, even in the very imperfect French
is most valuable, and enables us to reconstruct
translation,
to a extent the of and his
great reigns King Songt'am
two sons, which are described very incorrectly in the
P'ongsawadan.
Van Vliet also wrote another book, the Description
the an excellent translation
of Kingdom of Siam> English
of which, by Mr. L. F. van Ravenswaay, was published
in the the Siam
Journal of Society (vol. vii,, part i).
This book describes Siam in the of Prasat
reign King
1
An abndged version of Pinto's book was published in London in 1891.