The Foundation of the Siam Commercial Bank and the Siam Cement Company: Historical Context and Alternative Historiographies

Both established prior to the First World War, the Siam Commercial Bank and the Siam Cement Company are two of the principal investments of the Thai Crown Property Bureau. Most accounts exaggerate the role of the Thai monarchy and elites, and underestimate the significance of the political and economic context and of the role of Europeans, especially Danes, in the formation of these companies. Emphasis on the part of Thai writers on the role of Thai elites in the history of these companies forms part of a narrative that sees the nation’s development as guided from above by a far-sighted and benign monarchy.