o f Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2002), p. 147.
The success o f the Bangkok ventures would be instrumental in encouraging similar developments elsewhere during this period, most notably in the north. Thus, while it can be said that the Church had failed in its original mission to effect mass
conversions, it had succeeded spectacularly in fulfilling the divine command to “go, therefore, and teach all nations”.
Education, Healthcare, and the Social Network
The Reverend Fathers o f the Assumption had brought nothing but g o o d - and great g o o d — to the country.1
King Prajadhipok, 1926
The role o f Assumption College in fostering useful social networks is particularly interesting since it highlights the effectiveness o f these networks in producing results and, at the same time, suggests that the relationships within these networks were based as much on loyalties to individuals as to institutions. Nowhere is this effectiveness more evident than in the role o f Fr. Emile Colombet in the
establishment and initial miming of the school. Ostensibly, Fr. Colombet was just another parish priest, although his status was confirmed by his appointment in 1907 as pro-vicar apostolic.s Yet, he appeared to have an equal if not superior status vis- a-vis Siamese society than his actual superior. By the time o f his death in August 1933, he was a chevalier in the Legion d ’Honneur and had also been inducted into the Siamese Order o f the White Elephant.9 Although Vicar-Apostolic Perros too would eventually receive a decoration from the Legion d ’Honneur in 1930,10 it seems
7 ‘A ssum ption C ollege: N otable Royal V isit’, B angkok Tim es, 7 May 1926.
8 The position w as largely a ceremonial post in normal circumstances, but should the vicar-apostolic becom e incapacitated or otherwise prevented from carrying out his duties, the pro-vicar apostolic w as authorised to take over as caretaker until the situation could be permanently resolved.
9 M .E.P.A ., Fr. Emile C olom bet - N otice N ecrologique, Compte-Rendu 1933.
that he would not integrate so well into Siamese society." Most of the time, this was due to differences in character. Vicar-Apostolic Perros took a more meditative and detached approach to problems, while Fr. Colombet was very much pro-active.
Like many of the missionaries of the M.E.P. during this period, Fr. Colombet was immediately dispatched to Siam shortly after he was ordained in 1871, aged 22. While Vicar-Apostolic Perros’s background prior to his appointment saw him training in the local languages and his work confined mostly to the seminary with a brief stint in a provincial parish, Fr. Colombet was much more active. On his appointment as resident priest to Assumption Cathedral in 1875, Fr. Colombet observed that the parish lacked a school and so he proceeded to set one up. Against many initial obstacles - he was unable to find instructors and funding - a school was eventually established. In many ways, this school was visionary and, in terms of its language provisions, ahead of its time. The school was to be open to children o f all religions and taught standard subjects such as history, geography, physics, chemistry, music, art, and mathematics. Notably, while the college prospectus stated that
“moral education” would be provided, there is no mention of a formal course in religious studies. Thus, in spite of priests running the school, the provisions were largely secular. Also remarkable was that, for the first time in Siam, instruction was offered in English and French alongside Siamese.12 In this regard, the school could be regarded as the first (and, in some ways, superior) incarnation o f the ubiquitous International Schools of the present day.
Despite its visionary curriculum, at the beginning of 1885, the parish school had only 80 pupils. However, what happened next is a testament to the power of patronage and networks in Siamese society as well as the elite’s interest in modem
" He did not receive the Siam ese honours bestowed on Fr. Colombet. 12 B .A .A ., The A ssum ption C ollege Bangkok Prospectus, Undated, 73/3/2.
education during this period. Within a few years of the school opening its doors, Fr. Colombet was able to court the interest and patronage of some o f the highest
personalities in Siamese society. The most prominent o f these were members o f the royal family and the prince-ministers, whose involvement spurred others to follow their example. Regardless o f how the priest had procured their support, the results were clear. In January 1887, Prince Devavongse approved Fr. Colombet’s plans to expand the school into a college, the main difference being that the college was open to everyone rather than just to those within the parish jurisdiction. Thus the school was opened to a wider market. Significantly, King Chulalongkorn as well as many princes and officials o f the court paid subscriptions to support the plan. The king contributed 4,000 francs, while the queen donated 2,000 francs.13 Royal interest in the venture continued in the succeeding generations and was expressed through official visits, such as one made in May 1926, when King Prajadhipok praised and acknowledged the work o f the missionaries in Siam and the monarchy’s role in encouraging these developments:
[The King] said in reply that the Kings of Siam had always encouraged missionaries, particularly the Assumption College. More particularly King Chulalongkorn and King [Vajiravudh] had always realised the boon that had been conferred on Siam by the establishment o f the Assumption College... For the Siamese nation, it was a good thing. His Majesty was pleased that his predecessors had seen fit to encourage missionaries, for the Reverend Fathers o f the Assumption had brought nothing but good - and great good - to the country.14
Although the statement glosses over more troubling aspects in the past relationship between the state and missionaries, the message for the 1920s was clear enough — the monarchy saw the value o f the work o f the missionaries and was
13 M .E.P.A ., Fr. Em ile C o lo m b e t-N o tic e N ecrologique, Compte-Rendu 1933. 14 ‘A ssum ption C ollege: N otable Royal V isit’, Bangkok Times, 7 M ay 1926.
willing to encourage their development. It is arguable that what mattered was not so much the scale of the monarch’s financial or political contribution to the
missionaries’ projects, but the fact that the King consented to give in the first place, thereby spurring others to follow. The local press also helped to advertise the cause to the local European expatriate communities, and more donations continued to flow in. When the College had finally completed its expansion in 1889, the number o f its pupils had increased to 400. This number was still modest, especially by modem standards, but it would continue to grow throughout this period. By the time of Vicar-Apostolic Perros’s appointment in 1909, the school’s population was nearing
1,000, and by the time o f King Prajadhipok’s visit in 1926, numbers stood at around 1,700.15
The schools were not the only institutions that received royal and general patronage. The M ission’s other venture, St. Louis Hospital, was also a subject of royal interest. Prior to its formal opening in 1898,16 during the time of Vicar- Apostolic Vey, Bangkok still lacked hospitals that could cater to the needs and expectations o f the European expatriate community. Although St. Louis Hospital was not the first medical institution to be established in Bangkok, observers were generally impressed with the results:
If one might venture to sum up the general opinion expressed, it might be put that Bangkok was genuinely surprised to find so splendid a hospital opened in its midst. Indeed the new institution is so complete in all its details, and so admirably suited for the purpose, that a good many asked the question ‘Is it not too good for Bangkok?’17
Apart from its facilities, one o f the hospital’s distinguishing characteristics was its pricing policy. In-patients were ranked into three different tiers and paid
1:1 ‘A ssum ption College: N otable Royal V isit’, Bangkok Times, 7 M ay 1926. 16 The hospital had already been operating for som e time prior to its formal opening. 17 B .A .A ., ‘Other D ays in B angkok’, B angkok Times, 16 September 1898, 102/1/15.
according to their “class”. First class patients were Europeans and the “assimilated” - these had to pay 8 baht per night and enjoyed a private room. Second class patients were defined as Eurasians, Chinese, and Siamese. The fees they had to pay were significantly less at 4 baht, and they would also have access to a private room, although if the hospital was full they might have to share with one other patient of the same class. The people in the third class, which included anyone who was too poor to pay the top-tier fees, had to pay only 2 baht per night but were allowed use only of the general ward. The standard o f treatment for all tiers was the same, the only differences being the amenities available. The hospital appeared to have been popular; certainly its usefulness was appreciated and it was one o f the few works of the Mission that was not shut down entirely during the Second World War. Royal patronage for this institution was usually manifested in the form o f donations, such as the 1,000 baht given by the Queen on the occasion o f her birthday in 1929.18
The assistance that Fr. Colombet received is a testament to his personal ability to mobilise Siamese social networks to further the M ission’s interests.19 It also served to highlight the networks’ utility to the Mission and stimulated the idea of the Church cultivating a network o f its own, rather than having to rely on the network o f others, and that if, for example, a former pupil became the interior minister, they could appeal directly to him. The question was how could the Church achieve this objective?
Conversions were an obvious and direct method, but this was unreliable since it was rare for Siamese in the higher echelons o f society to convert. Even if there
18 B .A .A ., H M ’s Privy Purse Department to Vi car-Apostolic Perros, 31 D ecem ber 1929, 102/1/33. 19 From the available accounts, Fr. Colombet w as exceptionally kind. For exam ple, Phraya Anuman Rajdhon, a former pupil o f A ssum ption C ollege, did not m ince words w hen it came to the severity o f the discipline meted out by som e o f the teachers. N evertheless, he only had kind words for Fr, Colombet and his reasonable and humble personality that probably helped to endear him to the Siam ese elite, see Sthirakoses, Looking Back: B ook O ne (Chulalongkorn U niversity Press, Bangkok, 1992), p. 320.
and social pressure to return to their original religion, thereby limiting the utility of the connection. This method was thus problematic and had the potential to backfire on the Mission. However, the success o f Assumption College provided the
missionaries with an alternative solution. Since it was clear that the Mission would be unable to construct a powerful network through direct conversions, the next best option was to establish a network with those whose views of the Mission and its works would be favourable, even if they would never convert to Catholicism. By the time o f Vicar-Apostolic Perros’s appointment, the Mission was certainly attuned to the need for the latter network, as can be seen in a 1923 report:
We have, next to the Church o f St. Francis-Xavier a College for boys or affluent students. It is urgent that we establish a similar institution for girls. It is by this method that we can reach the high classes o f society, who influence everything here.20
The colleges, schools, their alumni societies, and hospitals were ideal vehicles for just such an undertaking. To encourage non-CathoIics to apply, the major schools and colleges stressed that they “in no way concentrated on the propagation o f religion as the principle plank in its curriculum. The boys were free to follow their own religious upbringing. The Brothers did not encourage criticism of any religion”. Curiously, Fr. Colombet is quoted as saying that “Education should be based on Dharma”.21 Notwithstanding the religious freedom, the schools did manage to effect conversions but the numbers were small. During this period the annual figures rarely broke into double digits.
20 B .A .A ., V icar-A postolic Perros Report, 8 September 1923,40/4/11. 21 B .A .A ., A ssum ption Cathedral, 1 September 1935, 31/1/10.
The majority o f students who attended the M ission’s schools were Buddhists rather than Catholics. Yet it could be seen that they formed connections to the school, the Mission, and to each other through the alumni networks. In the case of Assumption College, Fr. Colombet set up the Assumption Alumni Society in
1904
and, by the time o f his death in1933,
the network had blossomed. The extent o f the network can be seen in a meeting of the Assumption Alumni Society in1933,
at which it was decided that an orphanage would be set up to honour the late founder of Assumption College. The meeting was reported in local newspapers and onespeaker at the event was confident that:
Old Assumptionists were scattered all over the Kingdom, and it should be an easy matter if one and all put their shoulders to the wheel to establish an institution [the orphanage]. Old Assumptionists were to be found in all walks of life, but there was no doubt they had sufficient influence to carry their project through.22
A committee was then set up to oversee the project, and its composition reflected the diversity o f the school. Out of thirty members o f the committee, there were
1
Mom Chao,13
Phrayas,1
Phra, 4 Luangs, and5
Chinese, with members of the European expatriate community and one ordinary Thai rounding off thecommittee.23 One year later, the Association was able to solicit donations from virtually all sections o f upper class society, ranging from the king (1,000 baht), prime minister
(100
baht), and a number of Chao phrayas and Phrayas, to the French Legation(275
baht) and the Bank of Indochina(205
baht).211The networks were not solely confined to the Assumption College, however. Indeed, the popularity and success of the Assumption College led to the
establishment o f other schools along similar lines that proved to be equally popular
22 B.A .A ., Fr, C olom bet’s M emorial, 1 September 1935, 31/1/10. 23 Ibid.
and, in turn, formed their own networks. St. Gabriel’s College in Samsen and the Mater Dei Institute are cases in point. St. Gabriel was a school for boys run by the same religious order as at Assumption College, while the Mater Dei Institute was the female counterpart to Assumption College mn by the Ursulines, although its
kindergarten section was, and continues to be, mixed. The most famous alumni of the Mater Dei kindergarten during this period were the then-Prince Ananda Mahidol and Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej, the future King Rama VIII (1935-46) and King Rama IX (1946-present) respectively, while St. Gabriel has since produced at least two prime ministers in modem times, although not necessarily with the same political allegiances.2'1
Despite the close association o f the schools with the aristocracy, the schools did not suffer a decline following the 1932 coup. It was clear, however, that the attitudes within and outside the school were changing. The change was epitomised by a student-led strike at Assumption and St. Gabriel Colleges in September 1932. The ring-leaders o f the strike were Somchit Joti Dilok, son o f Colonel Phraya Aphai Songkhram (who became a cabinet minister in the 1934 government), Charoon Siddhisen, son o f Phra Pramod Krayanukich, and Sukri Vasuvat, a nephew o f an Assembly member. Three demands were put forward to the directors o f the colleges. The first was for a reduction in tuition fees. The second was for the colleges to grant holidays on major Buddhist festivals: one day for Vesakha Bucha (the birth,
enlightenment, and death o f the Buddha), another for Makha Bucha (a day
traditionally reserved for the veneration of the Buddha on the full moon day of the third lunar month), and three days for Khao Pansa (the start o f the Rains Retreat, also known as “Buddhist Lent”). The third demand was for the reinstatement of
2:> General Surayud Chulanont (1 October 2006-29 January 2008) and Samak Sundaravej (29 January
Sakul Samsen, a son o f another Assembly member, who had been expelled from the school for wearing a '‘comical” costume to school.26
Apart from revealing the illustrious clientele of the Colleges, the incident was the first in the histoiy o f the school in which religion had become an issue of
contention. Indeed, a year earlier, at an Old Boys’ gathering, an alumnus gave a speech that addressed the same matter but with a radically different approach:
This College is a cosmopolitan institution...composed o f many nationalities and many creeds. To make the point clearer I wish to say that on one occasion when I came across a statement in the Press that the Saint’s day of one of the Reverend Brothers had been successfully celebrated, and as the said Brother happened to be one of my past teachers, I sent a letter o f apology to the effect that I could not be present because I believed that the occasion was related with religion. The said Brother sent me a reply, thanking me and saying that, ‘An Assumptionist has 110 concern with caste or religion, except
the one word Assumptionist only’. This is what I consider cosmopolitan.27
Apart from causing a temporary and very public closure o f the two Colleges, and striking terror into the hearts o f busy parents who had to unexpectedly take back their sons, the boys’ demand for Buddhist holidays was the first sign o f a shift in social attitudes. Religion had emerged as an issue of contention. The fact that many o f those involved were connected to figures in the new constitutional government probably did not give the Mission much comfort. Not that the members o f the government would automatically applaud the actions o f their children, even if observers suspected that the students were merely following in the footsteps o f their parents, as one newspaper article noted:
Bangkok is keenly interested in this movement on the part o f its youth... The members o f the People’s Association28 must be particularly pleased that the school-boys are to be taught a very plain lesson, for most people are
26 ‘Schoolboys on Strike’, Bangkok T im es, 9 September 1932.
27 ‘Assum ption College: Old B o y s’ D inner’ in Bangkok Times, 30 March 1931. 28 That is, the P eop le’s Party or Khana R a sa d o n .
asking if the strike is not meant as an imitation of the movement that led to the formation o f the Association.
The same article also noted that, on learning of the incident, the parent of Sakul Samsen (the student at the centre o f the boys’ third demand) had “hastened to the Assumption College to inform the Rev. Brothers that he did not side at all with his son... He further approved o f the action of the Director in so expelling the youth, whom he really had little use for and did not care to recognise as a son”.29 In
addition, Vice-Admiral Pliraya Rajawangsan,30 the Minister o f Defence (1932-3), came in person to express his sympathy for the school directors and to “make a personal enquiry as to when the school would be reopened because he also happens to have a son at the College”.31 Public opinion at the time was also veiy much against the actions of the students, and one parent was worried that the students had been too influenced by the recent political disorder:
A compromise never solves a problem; and where there is departure from principle, there must be confusion. Now, there seems to be a departure from