Sir Ernest Satow and his diplomatic activities in Siam and Asian contexts

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K12939
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: History of Asia and Africa
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Junko Koizumi 京都大学, 東南アジア地域研究研究所, 教授 (70234672)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: コロニアリズム / 朝貢

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Ernest Satow is well known to the Japanese for his diplomatic career in Japan first as an interpreter at the British legation and later as the British Minister Plenipotentiary, and for his scholarly works on Japan. But it is less known that he also served in Siam between 1884 and 1887, the crucial period of growing European colonial expansion. Unlike existing studies on Siam's diplomatic relations in the late 19th century, which tend to focus on its relations with Western powers, this research project examined the diplomatic activities of Ernest Satow when he was in Siam and highlighted the distinctive role he played in Siam’s relations with East Asia such as China.

Free Research Field

タイ史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

タイ(シャム）近代史は「東南アジア史」の一領域として位置づけられ、議論の場も東南アジア史研究者内部に限られがちであったが、本研究は日本、中国にも駐剳したイギリスの外交官アーネスト・サトウのシャムにおける活動を検討することによって、日本も含めた東アジア近代外交史研究とタイ近代外交史研究を架橋し、相互連関的に捉える必要性とタイ外交史研究におけるアジアの重要性を示唆する。