The first full history of a great commercial and political center that rose in Asia over almost five centuries.

History of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Nidhi Eoseewong is the most innovative, famed, and controversial Thai historian of his generation. This book founded his reputation and is the first of his major works to appear in English. On its publication in Thai, he was immediately hailed as "a major historian, the most capable of the present era." Pen and Sail combines intellectual history and economic history. Nidhi argues that the emergence of a market economy in the early Bangkok era (1782-1855) was the driving force behind a major change in mentality and worldview seen in poetry, early prose works, biographies of the Buddha, scripts for chanting the Jataka tales, language primers, manuals of behavior, and revisions of the royal chronicles. Nidhi Eoseewong's outstanding career as a historian and leading public intellectual was recognized by award of the prestigious Fukuoka Asia Prize in 2000.

This highly acclaimed book, the standard history of Thailand for almost twenty years, has now been completely revised by the author. David K. Wyatt has also added new sections examining the social and economic changes that have transformed the country in the past two decades. Praise for the previous edition: "Wyatt knows his subject well enough and has enough enthusiasm for it to make his book . . . entertaining as well as eminently educational."--David McElveen, Asiaweek "A very readable account. . . .We come away from reading it with a clearer understanding of where Thailand stands in relation to its neighbors, who the Thai people are, how the Thai government evolved into its present form."--James Stent, Asian Wall Street Journal "Concise, thorough, and readable."--John Gabree, New York Newsday

No European country enjoyed such long-standing relations with the Thai Kingdom of Ayutthaya as the Netherlands. This study focuses on the perceptions of the merchants of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) of the Thai royal court in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Basing herself on a wealth of Dutch primary sources, the author shows how trade, politics, and diplomacy shaped a unique relationship based on ‘partnership’ and a ‘sense of differences’. The book contributes to expanding the study of the history of Ayutthaya—known for its scarcity of sources— with the help of contemporary Dutch views.

The most detailed, fascinating, and lively account of old Siam was written by the Dutch merchant Jeremias Van Vliet between 1636 and 1640. This volume includes all four of his writings in English translation: the earliest surviving chronicle of Siam's history; a wide-ranging description of the kingdom's geography, economy, society, politics, and religion; a blow-by-blow account of a bloody power struggle over the crown; and the Dutchman's diary during a crisis -- the Picnic Incident -- published here for the first time. The editors add new details on Van Vliet's life, the Dutch community, the city of Ayutthaya, and the court of King Prasat Thong, which set this ordinary merchant's extraordinary literary work into its context of time and place.Chris Baker is co-author of Thailand: Economy and Politics and A History of Thailand. Dhiravat na Pombejra teaches history at Chulalongkorn University. Alfons van der Kraan teaches in the School of Economics, University of New England, Australia. David K. Wyatt is John Stambaugh Professor Emeritus of History at Cornell University.

Ayutthaya was known among 17th century foreign mariners under the Persian epithet of Shahr-e Nav. Utilising parts of the Ship of Sulayman, and works by European explorers, the writer unfolds the circumstances, influences and impact resulting from contacts between the Safavid and Siamese Kingdoms and the visible effects in present-day Thailand.

Written by two experienced teachers with a long history of research, this textbook provides students with a detailed overview of developments in early modern Southeast Asia, when the region became tightly integrated into the world economy because of international demand for its unique forest and sea products. Proceeding chronologically, each chapter covers a specific time frame in which Southeast Asia is located in a global context. A discussion of general features that distinguish the period under discussion is followed by a detailed account of the various sub-regions. Students will be shown the ways in which local societies adapted to new religious and political ideas and responded to far-reaching economic changes. Particular attention is given to lesser-known societies that inhabited the seas, the forests, and the uplands, and to the role of the geographical environment in shaping the region's history. The authoritative yet accessible narrative features maps, illustrations, and timelines to support student learning. A major contribution to the field, this text is essential reading for students and specialists in Asian studies and early modern world history.

A COMPANION TO GLOBAL HISTORICAL THOUGHT A Companion to Global Historical Thought provides an overview of the development of historical thinking from the earliest times to the present, directly addressing issues of historiography in a globalized context. Questions concerning the global dissemination of historical writing and the relationship between historiography and other ways of representing the past have become important not only in the academic study of history, but also in public arenas in many countries. With contributions from leading international scholars, the book considers the problem of “the global” – in the multiplicity of traditions of narrating the past; in the global dissemination of modern historical writing; and of “the global” as a concept animating historical imaginations. It explores the different intellectual approaches that have shaped the discipline of history, and the challenges posed by modernity and globalization, while illustrating the shifts in thinking about time and the emergence of historical thought. Complementing A Companion to Western Historical Thought, this book places non-Western perspectives on historiography at the center of discussion, helping scholars and students alike make sense of the discipline at the start of the twenty-first century.