Kedah

1890s Siamese stamps with Kedah cancels

Shown here are Siamese stamps of the 1890s with Kedah cancels. Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Trengganu were under Siamese control until they were ceded to the British in 1909.

Siamese overlordship was remote until 1892 when King Chulalongkorn - the modernizing King whose likeness is shown on these stamps - wanted to place all areas hitherto ruled by princes under the Ministry of the Interior. The local rulers were invited to take Thai names and receive a stipend from the central government in exchange for giving up their claims. Thai control then became more direct with the introduction of a Thai civil service and various institutions, including a postal service.

The mother of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Kedah prince who negotiated Malaya's independence from the British, was of Thai descent, and the Tunku himself was partly educated at the Debsirin School that had been established by King Chulalongkorn in 1885.

During the time of the Melaka Sultanate, power relations were reversed with the various states in southern Siam paying tribute to Melaka. Along with Melaka overlordship came the introduction of Islam, which explains why to this date Islam is a prominent religion in the Southern Thai provinces. To this day, Malay is widely spoken in Pattani region that borders on Kelantan and there is much interaction between the people on both sides of the border.

After the fall of Melaka to the Portuguese there arose a power vaccuum, and the northern states now looked to stronger Siamese states to the north for protection. Overlordship was nominal and expressed in the sending of tribute referred to as Bunga Mas (golden flowers). However, states were expected to stay in line.

When the Sultan of Kedah ceded Penang island (and a strip of the mainland) to the British without consulting his overlord, the Siamese reacted by invading the state in 1821. Siam tried and failed to rule through a proxy, but after fealty had once again be pledged was the rightful sultan was restored to the throne in 1843. Meanwhile, the Siamese forced the British to recognize Siamese overlordship over Kedah and other Malay speaking provinces, which led to the signing of the Burney Treaty in 1826.

During the latter half of the 19thC, the British increasingly got involved in affairs on the Peninsula. Unrest there threatened both trade while raising the risk that the feuding parties might seek external support. Hence the British intervened directly and took on the role as advisor to the local ruler of Perak. But, as they increased their investment there, restive adjacent provinces under Siamese control remained an irritant. The incorporation of these provinces under central control from Bangkok did little to change this situation. In the end, the British forced the Siamese to relinquish control over all of the Malay states except Pattani resulting in the signing of the Anglo-Siamese Treaty in 1909.