ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the shifting balance of power in the region that brought British and Siamese interests to the region, which simultaneously a) transformed the space of Chiang Mai’s hinterland from the property of the king to commercial commodities to be exploited for profit and political leverage and b) reoriented trade and travel away from overland routes in favor of travel via the rivers of the north, which flowed through Bangkok. As this watershed was crossed, new patterns of regional exchange brought new populations to the city, transforming local patterns of production and trade and in so doing created a new economic center of gravity that would eventually challenge the validity of the traditional city center.
