Going Beyond the Tropes of ‘Friendship’ and ‘Modernization’: Internal Colonialism in Siam and Scandinavia in the Age of Empire

This article contributes to a reconceptualization of the relationship between Siam and Scandinavia at the turn of the twentieth century. At that time, the relationship was manifested by the presence of a large group of Scandinavian, mainly Danish, entrepreneurs and professionals in Siam and repeated visits between the royal houses in Siam and the Scandinavian countries. The tropes of friendship and modernization dominate the main representation of the relationship. In accordance with this representation the Scandinavians were not perceived as a colonial threat to the Siamese rulers but co-producers of a modern and independent Siam. This narrative, created both by the Scandinavians and Siamese, reproduces a dominant royalist narrative in Thai historical writing that presents the absolute monarchy as a disinterested elite who launched a series of reforms to modernize Siam and safeguard the country against foreign encroachment. With reference to a revisionist tradition in Thai historical writing, we argue that Scandinavian–Siamese relations at the turn of the twentieth century needs to be accentuated in relation to the Siamese royal elite’s project of internal colonialism.