He became in effect the nation's main import-export
firm, and the royal revenues were increased.
The treasury should actually have
benefitted more, though many farangs taken into royal service
(trade was then alien to the Thai mentality) were adventurers
-- the colourful Englishman, Samuel White, one-time Narai's harbour
master at Mergui, is a good example -- whose main concern was
with lining their own pockets.
By the latter half of the 17th century
the stage was set for Lopburi's rise to prominence, and another
star player was to make his entrance -- Phaulkon, the Greek.
Born with the family name Gerakis ('falcon') Constantine, Phaulkon
came from the Greek island of Cephalonia from where he ran away
to sea as a boy, subsequently finding employment on mostly British
ships. He eventually came to the Orient on a vessel of the East
India Company, and after some adventures roaming the region,
he used the help of British friends to set himself up as a trader
at Ayutthaya, the Siamese capital.
An amazingly resourceful character
driven by ambition, he almost inevitably attracted the attention
of King Narai, eventually being taken into government service
in 1680. From 1683 until his death five years later he served
as the king's first minister and principal go-between during
the visits of the first diplomatic missions from France. In effect
he was the second most important man in the land, and never before
nor since did a foreigner hold such an influential position in
the kingdom.
Phaulkon amassed enormous wealth,
and during the height of his career he exercised incredible power
while living in opulence, for much of the period at Lopburi.
Let it be said, however, that unlike most other foreigners in
Siamese employment, Phaulkon arguable dedicated his talents to
the genuine service of his adopted country.
The rise of Lopburi was directly
related to the events of the age. Ayutthaya was the official
capital, though Narai preferred the surroundings of Lopburi,
where he took delight in elephant hunting, and he gradually established
the town as a second capital, having the court take up residence
during the dry season.
As his assessment of the dangers
as well as potential of foreign involvement developed, Narai
began to see greater advantages in a power base at Lopburi. Ayutthaya,
he felt, was too exposed and too easily accessible from the sea.
As his foreign policy was initially triggered by a not unrealistic
fear of Dutch designs on Siam, he decided it prudent to move
further inland to Lopburi. Here he built a new palace, forts
and other imposing edifices.
The impact of the French, who played
key roles in the events of the 1680s, was both physical and symbolic,
and Lopburi became for Narai what Versailles was for Louis XIV.More.
