Editing Mongkut (section)

==Cultural reforms==
[[File:The 1st King of Siam, King Mongkut, Bangkok, Siam Wellcome V0037055.jpg|thumb|upright|right|King Mongkut in western dress at the [[Grand Palace]], as photographed by [[John Thomson (photographer)|John Thomson]]]]
===Introduction of Western geography===
{{see also|Mandala (political model)}}
{{Chakri Kings}}
Accompanying the influx of Western visitors to Siam was the notion of a round earth. By many Siamese, this was difficult to accept, particularly by religious standards, because Buddhist scripture [[Flat Earth|described the earth as being flat]].<ref name="multiple" /> The ''Traiphum'', which was a geo-astrological map created before the arrival of Westerners, described "…a path between two mountain ranges through which the stars, planets, moon and sun pass."<ref name="multiple" /> Religious scholars usually concluded that Buddhist scriptures "…were meant to be taken literally only when it came to matters of spiritual truth; details of natural science are revealed figuratively and allegorically."<ref name="multiple">Suárez, Thomas. ''Early Mapping of Southeast Asia: The Epic Story of Seafarers, Adventurers, and Cartographers Who First Mapped the Regions Between China and India''. Singapore: Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. (1999). Web. p. 25</ref>
Mongkut claimed to have abandoned the [[Buddhist cosmology|Traiphum cosmology]] before 1836.<ref>Winichakul 1997, p. 37</ref> He claimed that he already knew of the round state of earth 15 years before the arrival of American missionaries, but the debate about Earth's shape remained an issue for Siamese intellectuals throughout the 1800s.<ref name="Winichakul 1997, p.38">Winichakul 1997, p. 38</ref>

===Education reforms===
During his reign, Mongkut urged his royal relatives to have "a European-style education."<ref name="Winichakul 1997, p.38" /> The missionaries, as teachers, taught modern geography and astronomy, among other subjects.<ref name="Winichakul 1997, p.38" /> Six years after Mongkut's death, the first Thai-language geography book was published in 1874, called ''Phumanithet'' by J.W. Van Dyke.<ref name="Winichakul 1997, p.47" /> However, geography was only taught in select schools, mainly those that were run by American missionaries with English programs for upper secondary students.<ref>Winichakul 1997, p. 48</ref> [[Thongchai Winichakul]] argues that Mongkut's efforts to popularize Western geography helped bring reform to education in Siam.

===Social changes===
[[File:Sri Suriyawongse.JPG|thumb|upright|left|[[Somdet Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse|Chuang Bunnag]] served as King Mongkut's [[Prime Minister of Thailand|chief minister]] for all of his reign, and later served as [[Regent of Thailand|regent]] for his son [[Chulalongkorn]].]]
1852 saw an influx of English and American [[Missionary|missionaries]] into Siam as Mongkut hired them to teach the English language to the princes. He also hired Western mercenaries to train Siamese troops in Western style. In Bangkok, American [[Dan Beach Bradley]] had already reformed the printing system and then resumed the publishing of Siam's first newspaper, the ''[[The Bangkok Recorder|Bangkok Recorder]]''. However, the missionaries were not as successful when it came to making religious conversions.

In 1852, he ordered the nobles of the court to wear upper garments. Previously, Siamese nobles were forbidden to wear any shirts to prevent them from hiding any weapons in it and met the king bare-chested. The practice was criticized by Westerners and so Mongkut ended it.

However, Mongkut did not abandon the traditional culture of Siam. For Buddhism, Mongkut pioneered the rehabilitation of various temples. He also began the ''[[Magha Puja]]'' (มาฆบูชา) festival in the full moon of the third lunar month, to celebrate Buddha's announcement of his main principles. He instigated the recompilation of [[Tripitaka]] in Siam according to [[Theravada]] traditions. He also formally established the Thammayut sect as a rightful branch of Theravada.

Mongkut also improved women's rights in Siam. He released a large number of royal [[Concubinage|concubines]] to find their own husbands, in contrast to how his story has been dramatized. He banned forced marriages of all kinds and the selling of one's wife to pay off a debt.

In contrast to the previous king, Nangklao, Mongkut did not see the importance of sending envoys to the [[Qing dynasty]] court, as the mission symbolised Siam's subjection to the Qing emperors and because the Qing dynasty was then not so powerful as it had once been, as it was itself threatened by Western powers.