ABSTRACT
In 1917, Siam declared war on Germany largely to gain favour with the British and French governments. A er the war, it used its seat at the Versailles Peace Conference to demand the repeal of previous treaties with the US, France and Britian that it believed to be unfair. While the US signed a new concordat in 1920, France and Britain delayed until 1925. e British treaty abrogated all previous agreements between the two countries, granted Siam jurisdictional and scal autonomy and incorporated the treaty of commerse and navigation, reproduced below, which laid down ground-rules for UK-Siam economic relations, and, in particular, for trade. e signing of the two treaties increased the Siam King’s popularity with his people, though this gradually dissipated as discontent over his extravagance grew.1
