Mongkut, << mawng KOOT >> (1804-1868), reigned as king of Siam (now Thailand) from 1851 to 1868. He increased Siam’s commercial and political ties with Europe and the United States and began the modernization of his country. When Mongkut became king, he took the name Phra Chom Klao, and he is generally known by that name in Thailand. However, he continued to use the name Mongkut in his dealings with the West. He is also known as Rama IV.
Mongkut was born to King Rama II and Queen Suriyendra on Oct. 18, 1804. In 1824, Mongkut became a Buddhist monk. That same year, Rama II died and was succeeded by Mongkut’s half brother, who ruled as King Nang Klao (Rama III).
Mongkut was a monk for 27 years. During that time, he studied English, Latin, and other languages, and researched Siamese history. He also studied mathematics and science, including astronomy. Mongkut began a religious reform movement that became a new Buddhist sect called Thammayut. In 1837, he became abbot of a Buddhist monastery.
In 1851, Mongkut ascended to the throne after the death of King Nang Klao. During his reign, he appointed European advisers to his court. He signed treaties with the United States and European powers, beginning with the United Kingdom in 1855. These treaties greatly expanded trade and stimulated economic growth in Siam. Mongkut also encouraged the use of such modern technologies as steam power and the printing press. On Oct. 1, 1868, Mongkut died of malaria after an expedition to view an eclipse he had predicted. He was succeeded by his son Chulalongkorn (Rama V).
Mongkut was portrayed in the musical comedy The King and I (1951) by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical, which was made into a motion picture in 1956, is based on accounts of life at the Siamese court that were written by Anna Leonowens. Leonowens was a British governess Mongkut hired to teach his children. The musical’s picture of Mongkut and Siamese society is distorted and fictionalized, and many Thai people consider it offensive. Mongkut was also the subject of the movies Anna and the King of Siam (1946), and Anna and the King (1999).
