十九世紀後期暹羅的國際關係：亞洲地域觀點的探究

Siamese Inter-State Relations in the Late Nineteenth Century: From an Asian Regional Perspective

本文將暹羅十九世紀中葉後的國際關係置於較寬廣的「東亞」脈絡中進行觀察檢視。在1855年英國與暹羅締結通商條約以及大陸東南亞在1880年代逐步遭受西方強權殖民入侵之後，原本暹羅與鄰國之間的國際關係，被暹羅與殖民強權之間的國際關係所取代。然而，暹羅檔案透露，暹羅與亞洲其他國家（尤其是中國）之間仍存在著協商關係，且這種關係在1855年之後的暹羅外交上依然重要。本文藉由若干指陳且重視十九世紀末仍存在與亞洲國家重要關係的案例以闡述：在檢視近代暹羅外交史時，應該考慮亞洲脈絡，並將它置於在一個較寬廣的地域以及更長遠的歷史中以觀照。

This article examines the Siamese inter-state relations since the mid-nineteenth century by placing them within the wider regional contexts of ”East Asia.” After the conclusion of the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with the British in 1855 and the gradual colonization of mainland Southeast Asia toward the 1880s, it is generally understood that Siamese diplomatic relations with its neighboring countries were replaced with relations with the colonial powers. However, Thai archival records suggest that there existed continuous negotiations between Siam and other Asian countries, particularly China, and that such relations still constituted an important part of Siamese diplomacy after 1855. By examining a few cases that indicate the importance of the continuing relationship with Asia even in the late nineteenth century, this article proposes a need to look at modern Siamese diplomatic history from a broader regional and longer historical perspective by taking the Asian context into consideration.