Henry Alabaster (22 May 1836 – 9 August 1884) was a British-born diplomat who became an advisor to King
Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...
of
Siam
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
.
Early life and family
Henry Alabaster was born in 1836, the son of James Chaloner Alabaster and Harriet Woodman. His paternal aunt,
Mary Ann Criddle, was a notable artist,
[London Street Views](_blank)
/ref> while his younger brother Chaloner Alabaster was an English diplomat and administrator in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. He was educated at King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
.["Personal Correspondence of Henry Alabaster and Palacia Alabaster"](_blank)
from the archives of the University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
Consular service in Siam
Alabaster first came to Siam in 1856 as an interpreter in British service, during the reign of King Mongkut
Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868.
The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization ini ...
(Rama IV). He later became the acting consul, during which time he worked closely with the king, including on the building of the first modern road in Thailand, Charoen Krung Road.["Famous Forebears"](_blank)
/ref> He resigned from consular service after a dispute with Somdet Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse,[Mead, Kullada Kesbooncho]
"The Rise and Decline of Thai Absolutism"
pg. 49 and returned to Britain, where he completed his 1871 book ''The Wheel of the Law'', a study of Buddhism which incorporated a translation of Chaophraya Thiphakorawong
Chaophraya Thiphakorawong (born Kham Bunnag (; ); 1 October 1813–1870) was a Thai aristocrat, government official, and scholar.
Family
Kham Bunnag was born in 1813 into the powerful Bunnag family, a powerful Thai noble family of Persian p ...
's ''Nangsue Sadaeng Kitchanukit''.[Bentiage, Bjorn, Eggert, Marion, Kramer, Hans-Martin, and Reichmuth, Stefanbr>"Religious Dynamics Under the Impacts of Imperialism and Colonialism: A Sourcebook"]
pp.68-9
Return to Siam
Alabaster returned to Siam in 1873 to serve as private secretary to King Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...
(Rama V). He oversaw many modernization efforts at this time, many of Thailand’s firsts. This included the building of roads, bridges and libraries (Thailand’s first road, Charoen Krung, was overseen by Alabaster), the founding of the national museum, post office and the royal cartography service, and sending the sons and daughters of royalty and high-ranking positions abroad for study. One of his roles was Director of the Royal Museum and Garden; he sent botanical specimens to China for his brother Chaloner, an amateur plant collector.[Alabaster, Chaloner Grenville (1838-1898)](_blank)
/ref> He was the first director of the kingdom's map-making division, established in 1875, and had teams of surveyors develop maps for use in building roads and telegraphs as well as protecting territorial waters.[Svasti, Pichay]
"Mapping Siam's History"
Bangkok Post
The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...
26 Sep 2013
Death
Alabaster died in 1884, at the age of 48, three days after suffering paralysis of his lower jaw. He remained in his position until his death, when he was buried with the full honors of a Phraya in Bangkok Protestant Cemetery. His monument there, erected by order of Chulalongkorn himself, is considered the finest in the cemetery.[Bangkok Cemetery: Henry Alabaster](_blank)
/ref> While well-regarded by the Thais, he was disparaged by the British Foreign Office as "a good for nothing fellow who was dismissed," likely due to his efforts at keeping Siam from becoming a British colony.
Descendants
Alabaster married Palacia Emma Fahey in 1865; they had four children. He also married a Thai woman, Perm, during his second sojourn in Siam; they had two sons, both of whom held the rank of Phraya. His descendants were given the Thai surname of Savetsila, meaning "white stone" (analogous to the meaning of the word "alabaster").[Chirasombutti, Voravudh]
"Some Observations on Migrants' Acquisition of Thai Family Names"
Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...
pg. 47 He was the paternal grandfather of Air Chief Marshal Siddhi Savetsila, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
from 1980 to 1990.
References
External links
*Archive papers of Henry and Palacia Alabaster are held b
SOAS Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alabaster, Henry
1836 births
1884 deaths
British expatriates in Thailand
Alumni of King's College London
Expatriates in the Rattanakosin Kingdom
19th-century English writers
Burials at the Bangkok Protestant Cemetery