In 1821 the Governor-General of Bengal sent a mission to the courts of Siam and Cochin China to open friendly relations and trade. George Finlayson, its surgeon and naturalist, kept a journal of the voyage, the court at Bangkok, the capital at Hué and the plants, animals, customs and politics he encountered along the way.
A rare early Western account of Thailand and Vietnam, with a frankly imperial outlook. Download the free EPUB.