ABSTRACT
Mongkut enjoyed all the rights and privileges of the heir apparent of Siam, receiving an education based on ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts and rites, and in the military arts. He produced criticisms of lax religious practices and compiled a history of Siam. He also became a friend of many Europeans living in or traveling through Siam, and endeavored to learn from them as much of Western culture as possible, including English. Indeed, Rama IV became known as something of an America-lover, and carried on extensive correspondence with US Presidents Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln. He signed a series of treaties beginning in 1855 that granted Europeans and Americans the rights they expected in Asia, such as commerical access and the right to be tried for crimes committed in Siam under the laws of their country of origin (extraterritoriality). He allowed Siamese royal ambassadors to travel abroad, rather than being limited to only receiving missions.
