Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 : The End of Patani Kingdom as a Sovereign state

Patani 1837

Present day Patani 

The Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 or Bangkok Treaty of 1909 was a treaty between the United Kingdom

 and Thailand signed on March 10, 1909, in Bangkok  .[1] Ratification were exchanged in London on July 9, 1909.[2]

The agreement, in which the Malay people   were not represented, effectively dissected the northern Malaystates into two parts. The area around modern Pattani (Malay Patani), Narathiwat(Malay Menara),Songkhla(MalaySinggora),  Satun (Malay:Setul ) andYala (Malay: Jala) remained under Thaicontrol,while Thailand relinquished its claims to sovereignty over  Kedah (Thai: ไทรบุรี(Saiburi)),Kelantan(Thai:กลันตัน(Kalantan)), Perlis(Thai: ปะลิส(Palit)) and Terengganu(Thai: ตรังกานู (Trangkanu))which integrated the British sphere of influence’ s protectorates. These four states, along with Johor , later  became known as the Unfederated Malay States

Originally Satun and Perlis were part of the Malay Sultanate of Kedah  but only Satun remained withThailand. Patani, Narathiwat, Songkhla and Yala were historically ruled by the Malay Sultanate of Patani.The British logic for sanctioning the continued Thai occupation of the remaining northern half of the Malaya was the perceived value of Thailand as a friendly buffer against the French in Indochina.  Both signatories of the 1909 treaty had previously agreed to the Burney Treaty in 1826. The BurneyTreaty stated that Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu were Thai provinces while Penang and Province Wellesley belonged to the British while Thailand would not interfere with British trade in Kelantan and Terengganu.This agreement has had a long lasting effect on both Thailand and the Federation of  Malaysia. The border   between them was mainly drawn by this treaty.
The incremental tide of discontent generated by the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 may have, in part laid the foundations for the South Thailand insurgency in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat from 2004 to the present.

Notes

1. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Office of the Geographer,"International Boundary Study: Malaysia - Thailand Boundary," No. 57  15 November 1965.

2. Great Britain,Treaty Series, No. 19 (1909)

Malay lands affirmed as Siamese territory by Great Britain in the 1909  Anglo-Siamese Treaty:-1) The four Monthon Pattani districts of Patani, Jala (Siamised as Yala), Teluban (Saiburi) andMenara (Narathiwat);2) The old Patani districts of Tiba (Thepha) and Cenak (Chana) in Monthon Nakhon SiThammarat (old Ligor);3) The Kelantan district of Tabal (Takbai) and slivers of Kelantan territory on the northwest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia