Edict of Ayutthaya on Missionary Activities

The 1731 Edict on Missionary Activities was a significant decree issued by King Thai Sa in the Kingdom of Ayutthaya (modern-day Thailand). This edict was part of a broader context of limiting religious diversity in Southeast Asia during the 18th century, particularly in the vibrant capital of Siam, nowadays Thailand.

While the original inscription was destroyed later in the 18th century, Latin and French translations of it ("la pierre de scandale", i.e. the stumbling stone) are known through the work of French historian Adrien Launay.^[1]

Background

During the early 18th century, Ayutthaya was a prominent center for trade and diplomacy, attracting European missionaries, particularly from France and Portugal. These missionaries aimed to spread Christianity and establish communities among the local population. The presence of European powers and their religious representatives influenced local politics, culture, and religion. After a certain openness during the 17th century however, hostility to Christianity grew in the early to mid-eighteenth century.^[2]

This edict was part of a broader context of religious persecution occurring in Southeast Asia during the 18th century. Already, any missionary work was forbidden in China since the Yongzheng emperor's edict of 1724.^[3]

Content of the Edict

The 1731 Edict specifically addressed the activities of Christian missionaries in Ayutthaya. It sought to regulate their operations by imposing restrictions on their ability to convert locals and establish places of worship. The edict aimed to balance the growing influence of foreign religious practices with the preservation of traditional Buddhist beliefs and the socio-political structure of the kingdom. More specifically, the Edict contained 4 prohibitions:

prohibition from using the Cambodian and Siamese scripts in translating anything that pertains to the Christian religion
prohibition from preaching in the Siamese language
prohibition of conversion to Christ of any Siamese, Mon or Lao people
prohibition of critical books against Buddhism^[4]

In October 1731, Thai officials and masons brought the edict carved on stone and built a pedestal on which it was set up in a prominent place in the vestibule, facing the door that led to the seminary in Ayutthaya. A duplicate inscription was placed in the church at Mergui.^[4]^{[close paraphrasing]}

Impact

The edict had significant implications for missionary work in Siam. It limited the scope of missionary activities and reflected the Thai monarchy's intention to maintain sovereignty over religious practices. Despite these restrictions, missionary presence continued in the region, leading to ongoing dialogues and tensions between local customs and foreign influences.

Since the inscriptions had become effaced, a new stone was placed at the cathedral in May 1749 and another new one was placed in the church at Mergui at the beginning of the following year.^{[close paraphrasing]}^[5]

Resentment grew stronger and stronger among the missionary community against the stone edict, and it was even referred to Rome which recommended not to take any actions against it. However, in early February 1760, only a few days before an invading Burmese army reached the outskirts of the capital, a young French missionary, Philippe-Robert Cirou, broke the stone into pieces and threw them into the river in front of the cathedral. In January 1765, a Burmese army approached Mergui. Georges Alary, another young priest who had arrived from France the previous year, took advantage of the disorder to break the Mergui stone to pieces. A few days later, the Burmese took control of the port, and Alary was taken away as a prisoner. The mission there came to an end and was not restored.^[4]^{[close paraphrasing]}

On October 13, 1774, a new royal edict forbade the Peguans and the Siamese from becoming Christians or Muslims, in line with the edict of 1731.^{[citation needed]}

Legacy

The 1731 Edict is often viewed as a crucial moment in the history of Christianity in Thailand, highlighting the complex interplay between indigenous beliefs and external religious pressures. It set a precedent for future interactions between the Thai state and missionary organizations, influencing the trajectory of religious practices in the region for years to come.^{[citation needed]}

From 1775, the missionaries lost the support of the king in the rebuilding of the mission. The problem this time came from the oath of loyalty to the king, considered to be part of the fundamental law of Siam. During the ceremony, the mandarins had to drink water that was supposed to eliminate traitors to the king, with Buddha as a witness. In 1775, Bishop Le Bon specified that Christians were forbidden to drink the water or even pretend to. He wrote a letter to the king to inform him of his decision. Instead, he proposed organizing a Christian ceremony of oath to the king. In response, King Taksin imprisoned the bishop and two priests from Bangkok. The latter received a hundred lashes with a rattan in the presence of the king, then were put in the cangue, chained and detained until 1776.^[5]

Despite not always being enforced, and being passed on through unspoken trauma alone as missionaries discretely went one with their work, the Edict was in someway overturned by the much more liberal 1878 by the Edict of Religious Toleration. First announced by King Chulalongkorn in 1878, the edict says that whoever wishes to embrace any religion could from there onwards.^[6]

References

^ Launay, Adrien (1920). Histoire de la mission de Siam, 1662-1811: documents historiques (in French). P. Téqui. pp. 126–128.
^ Trakulhun, Sven (2016). "European Perceptions of Religion in Southeast Asia: Travel Accounts, 16th to 20th centuries". In Arnez, Monika; Sarnowsky, Jürgen (eds.). Accommodating Buddhism: European Travellers and Siamese Religion in the 18th Century. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 133–155.
^ Laamann, Lars Peter (2006). Christian heretics in late imperial China: Christian inculturation and state control ; 1720 - 1850. Routledge studies in the modern history of Asia (1. publ ed.). London New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-29779-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c Breazeale, Kennon (2017). "The 1731 Edict on Missionary Activities". Journal of the Siam Society. 105: 140–150.
^ ^a ^b Forest, Alain (1998-01-01). Les missionnaires français au Tonkin et au Siam XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles: Analyse comparée d'un relatif succès et d'un total échec - Livre I : Histoires du Siam (in French). Editions L'Harmattan. p. 288. ISBN 978-2-296-37359-4.
^ DeSombre, Michael George (2020-09-30). "Celebrating a shared history of religious freedom". The Nation (Thailand). Retrieved 2024-10-21.

[1] Launay, Adrien (1920). Histoire de la mission de Siam, 1662-1811: documents historiques (in French). P. Téqui. pp. 126–128.

[2] Trakulhun, Sven (2016). "European Perceptions of Religion in Southeast Asia: Travel Accounts, 16th to 20th centuries". In Arnez, Monika; Sarnowsky, Jürgen (eds.). Accommodating Buddhism: European Travellers and Siamese Religion in the 18th Century. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 133–155.

[3] Laamann, Lars Peter (2006). Christian heretics in late imperial China: Christian inculturation and state control ; 1720 - 1850. Routledge studies in the modern history of Asia (1. publ ed.). London New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-29779-0.

[:0-4] Breazeale, Kennon (2017). "The 1731 Edict on Missionary Activities". Journal of the Siam Society. 105: 140–150.

[:1-5] Forest, Alain (1998-01-01). Les missionnaires français au Tonkin et au Siam XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles: Analyse comparée d'un relatif succès et d'un total échec - Livre I : Histoires du Siam (in French). Editions L'Harmattan. p. 288. ISBN 978-2-296-37359-4.

[6] DeSombre, Michael George (2020-09-30). "Celebrating a shared history of religious freedom". The Nation (Thailand). Retrieved 2024-10-21.

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