The Reign of King Rama III and China 1824-1850

King Nang Klao, Rama III, became highly conversant with junk trade when he wass still Prince Jesadabodin during the reign of his father, King Rama II, Equipping the royal junks for trade with China had been under his direct jurisdiction. His endeavors were fruitful, as evidenced the huge profit that went to enrich the Royal Treasury. Futhermore, his special interest in Chinese art made it become widely popular in Thailand.Early in his reign, in 1825, Great Britain sent Captain Henry Barney to Thailand for the purpose of trade treaty signing. As a result of this, the Thai government was compelled to abolish its foreign trade monopoly policy. This allows private Chinese concessionaires to run the export business. Thus, King Rama III had to adopt a policy to generate additional revenue for the state. whereby authorization of monopoly holders was launched. A private person could make a bid to become authorized tax/duty collector in 38 types of business. Most of those who won in the bid happened to be wealthy Chinese trader, thus enabling them to enjoy an increasingly better representation in the Thai economic arena. With the ever growing number of Chinese immigrants in Thailand, the government moved to initiate the title of a Chinese District Chief Officer whose duty was to see to the welfare of the Chinese in each locality.