Page 294 - A History of Siam

A HISTORY OF SIAM
276
In 1818 a Carlos Manuel
Portuguese envoy, Silveira,
came from Macao to Bangkok, and a Commercial Agree-
ment was concluded between and
subsequently Portugal
Siam. Senhor Silveira later became the first resident
Consul in Siam. His seems to have
Portuguese position
been a curious one. He bore the Siamese title of Luang,
and in that the of
Captain Burney reported 1827 King
Siam had pronounced sentence of death upon him ; he
In those it
was, however, subsequently pardoned. days
seem that "what with one consideration and
\jrould
another, a Consul's lot was not a happy one."
In 1819 war with Burma was once more imminent,
but the Burmese were prevented from invading Siam
owing to trouble on their western frontier. The Sultan
of Kedah was found to have been with the
intriguing
Burmese. In 1821 Kedah was invaded by Siamese
and the Sultan fled to There was a
troops, Penang. very
in at that time, and it
strong pro-Kedah feeling Penang
may perhaps be said that a slight amount of jealousy
between Siam and her southern neighbours in regard to
the Malay States, traceable to the events of 1821, per-
sisted until the year 1909, when the States of Kedah,
Kelantan, and Trengganu were ceded to Great Britain.
In 1822 Dr. John Crawfurd visited Bangkok as an
envoy of the East India Company. He did not succeed
in concluding any definite Treaty or Commercial Agree-
ment with Siam. Nevertheless, from that time onwards
British trade with Siam began to increase, and the first
English resident merchant, James Hunter, settled at
afterwards.
Bangkok shortly
In 1824 the first Anglo-Burmese war broke out. Siam
was approached by the British as a possible ally, and a
Siamese army was actually equipped. There was,
however, still a certain amount of ill-feeling and suspicion