Siamese invasion of Kedah

Siamese invasion of Kedah
Part of Kedahan-Siamese War
Date November 1821 Location Kedah Result Siamese victory Exile of Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II Imposition of direct Siamese rule on Kedah Start of the Kedahan resistance
Belligerents
Kedah Sultanate	Rattanakosin Kingdom(Siam)
Commanders and leaders
Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II	King Rama II Nakhon Noi
Strength
Unknown	7,000

TheSiamese invasion of Kedahwas a military operation mounted by theKingdom of Siamagainst theSultanate of Kedahin November 1821, in the area of what is now northernPeninsular Malaysia.

Background

TheSultanate of Kedahhad been atributary stateto Siam during theAyutthaya period,though the extent of Siamese influence over the northern Malay sultanates varied over time. After theFall of Ayutthayain 1767, the northern Malay sultanates were temporarily freed from Siamese domination. In 1786,Francis Lightmanaged to obtain a lease ofPenang Islandfrom SultanAbdullah Mukarram Shah of Kedahon behalf ofBritish East India Companyin exchange for British military support against the Siamese or Burmese. In the same year, Siam re-exerted control over the northern Malay sultanates and sackedPattani.Francis Light, however, failed to secure British military assistance against Siamand Kedah came under Siamese suzerainty. Thebunga maswas sent triennially to the Bangkok court.

During theBurmese Invasion of Phuketin 1809, SultanAhmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II,who was known in Thai sources as "Tuanku Pangeran" (Thai:ตวนกูปะแงหรัน), contributed a sizable force from Kedah to aid the Siamese against the Burmese. In 1813, KingRama IIcommanded Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin to bring theSultanate of Perakunder Siamese control. Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin then sent forces to capture and occupy Perak on behalf of Siam in 1818.This earned Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin favor of the Siamese king, who raised the Sultan to the rank ofChao Phraya– which was superior toNakhon Noithe governor of Ligor orNakhon Si Thammaratwho held the rank ofPhraya.In 1811, Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin came into conflict with his brother Tunku Bisnu. Tunku Bisnu approachedPhrayaNakhon Noi of Ligor and sought Siamese support. Tunku Bisnu was then made the ruler ofSetul.

In 1820, KingBagyidawof Burma planned another invasion of Siam, in which the Kedah Sultanate would inevitably become involved. Tunku Mom, a younger brother of the Sultan, informedPhrayaNakhon Noithat the Sultan of Kedah was forming an alliance with the Burmese against Siam. Lim Hoi, a Phuket-based Chinese merchantcaught a Burmese ship bearing a Burmese letter to the Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin.PhrayaNakhon Noi then relayed the information to the Bangkok court. Rama II ordered the Sultan of Kedah to go to Bangkok to explain. The Sultan however, did not go and ceased sending thebunga mas.Rama II then orderedPhrayaNakhon Noi of Ligor to invade the Kedah Sultanate in 1821.

Campaigns

The Siamese were still unsure about the intentions of the Sultan and Kedah had not been aware of Siamese invasion.PhrayaNakhon Noi had already organized a fleet of 7,000 men atTrangandSatunin his preparations against the speculated Burmese invasions. Pretending to launch attack onMerguiandTenasserimCoast,PhrayaNakhon Noi requested the Sultan of Kedah for provisions. When the Kedahan did not arrive to provide supplies, Nakhon Noi headed his fleet towardsAlor Setarin November 1821.

When Nakhon Noi arrived at Alor Setar, the Kedahan were still unaware that the Siamese intention to invade. Paduka Maharaja Sura theBendaharaceremoniously receivedthe Siamese entourage. Once in the fort, Nakhon Noi ordered his men to attack. Paduka Maharaja Sura was captured and Paduka Seri Raja theLaksamanawas killed in battle.Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin managed to flee the city and took refuge onPenang Island,then under British control.Villages were torched and homes were looted. A great number of Malays also fled to Penang andProvince Wellesley.

Aftermath

After taking the city,PhrayaNakhon Noi established the Siamese administration over the Kedah State and made his sonPhraPakdiborrirak the Siamese governor of Kedah. Siam imposed the direct rule through Ligor and installed Siamese personnel in Kedah, thus the sultanate ceased to exist for a time. For his victory over Kedah, Rama II raised Nakhon Noi to the rank ofChao Phrayaand granted his sonPhraPakdiborrirak the title ofPhrayaAbhaydhibetr.PhrayaAbhaydhibetr would govern Kedah on behalf of his father the governor of Ligor for seventeen years from 1821 until 1838.

By 1822 there was a rise in the population of the British territories caused by an influx of Malays displaced by the invasion.The Siamese presence in Kedah threatened British holdings in Penang, who speculated the Siamese invasion of the island. This promptedMarquess of Hastings,theGovernor-General of India,to sendJohn Crawfurdto Bangkok, leading to the first contact between Siam and theBritish Empirein theRattanakosin period.Crawfurd arrived in Bangkok in April 1822, he presented the personal letter of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin to King Rama II blaming Nakhon Noi "the Raja of Ligor" for the incidents. The agreements were not reached as Siam asserted its authoritiy over Kedah and the Sultan. Three years later in 1825,Chao PhrayaNakhon Noi prepared a fleet to invade and conquer the sultanates of Perak andSelangor.Robert Fullertonwarned the Raja of Ligor that the Siamese invasion of the sultanates would violate theAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824but went unheeded. Fullerton then sent gunboats to impose a blockade of the Trang Riverin the modernTrang provincewhere the brigantine fleet of Nakhon Noi was being dispatched and the Siamese expedition was called off.

TheBurney Treatywas concluded between Siam and British Empire on 26 June 1826. The Burney Treaty allowed the Siamese view of their rights to prevail.TheBritish governmentaccepted Siamese influence over Kedah in exchange for free trade on stocks and provisions between Siam and Prince of Wales Island and Siam relinquishing its claims over Selangor. The British also agreed to move Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin to somewhere else. Article XIII of the treaty stated that: "The English engage that they will make arrangements for the former Governor of Queda to go and live in some other Country, and not at Prince of Wales' Island or Prye, or in Perak, Salengore, or any Burmese Country."The former Sultan of Kedah was then forcibly moved toMalacca.However, Penang continued to be the center of resistance to Siamese rule.

Tengku Kudin, a nephew of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin, captured Alor Setar from the Siamese in 1831,thoughChao PhrayaNakhon Noi retook Alor Setar four months later. Another act of Kedahan resistance came in 1838 when a nephew of Sultan Admah Tajuddin, Tengku Muhammad Said assembled a fleet at theMerbok Riverwhere they fought and won against a Siamese fleet. The fort in Kedah was captured by the Kedahans and the Siamese who were stationed there were massacred. Afterwards, the force of 10,000 Malay men capturedPerlisandTrangsacking villages and Buddhist temples. One group reached thePattani Riverand investedSongkhlafor three months but were driven back to Kedah by the 2,000 Siamese along with their 500 Chinese allies. Later, theChao PhrayaNakhon Noi entered and conquered Kedah with 1,500 men, at the same time Britain blockaded the coast off Kedah.

Only after the death ofChao PhrayaNakhon Noi in 1838 was a native Malay rule restored. Tunku Anom was made the governor of Kedah in 1838 until Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin pledged for himself to be restored. The Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin, after 20 years of exile, was eventually restored to the Kedah Sultanate in 1842 under Siamese suzerainty.