Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream

Positioned in the north of the Malay Peninsula, the Isthmus of Kra is the narrowest land mass separating the Andaman Sea from the Gulf of Thailand. Cutting a canal across this isthmus – seldom more than 50 miles across – will reduce almost 1,500 miles of sea route between Europe and East Asia and...

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Main Author:	Ngui Yew Kit, Clarence
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2012
Online Access:	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5356/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5356/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5356/1/Akademika82%281%29%2520Bab%25208-L.pdf

id	ukm-5356
recordtype	eprints
spelling	ukm-53562016-12-14T06:38:12Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5356/ Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream Ngui Yew Kit, Clarence Positioned in the north of the Malay Peninsula, the Isthmus of Kra is the narrowest land mass separating the Andaman Sea from the Gulf of Thailand. Cutting a canal across this isthmus – seldom more than 50 miles across – will reduce almost 1,500 miles of sea route between Europe and East Asia and offer a time saving of almost three days. Yet, what initially appears to be a logical and potentially profitable construction project has proven to be nothing more than an elusive dream. This article looks at the various proposals forwarded for The Kra Canal between 1824 and 1910, during the reigns of King Rama III Phra Nangklao, King Rama IV Mongkut and King Rama V Chulalongkorn. Coincidentally, these three eras represented the period of Siam's modernisation amid creeping European colonisation. These eras also showed Siam's different approaches to foreign relations: Phra Nangklao was an isolationist, Mongkut welcomed foreigners and Chulalongkorn was a fervent moderniser. In their different separate ways, all the three kings entertained various proposals to construct a canal across the Isthmus of Kra only to see to their failure of taking off beyond the planning stages. The insecurity of Siam's independence at the height of European colonialism in Southeast Asia was the penultimate reason for Siam's refusal to realise the Kra Canal dream. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2012 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5356/1/Akademika82%281%29%2520Bab%25208-L.pdf Ngui Yew Kit, Clarence (2012) Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream. AKADEMIKA, 82 (1). pp. 71-80. ISSN 0126-5008 http://www.ukm.my/penerbit/akademika/jademik-contents.html
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building	UKM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
description	Positioned in the north of the Malay Peninsula, the Isthmus of Kra is the narrowest land mass separating the Andaman Sea from the Gulf of Thailand. Cutting a canal across this isthmus – seldom more than 50 miles across – will reduce almost 1,500 miles of sea route between Europe and East Asia and offer a time saving of almost three days. Yet, what initially appears to be a logical and potentially profitable construction project has proven to be nothing more than an elusive dream. This article looks at the various proposals forwarded for The Kra Canal between 1824 and 1910, during the reigns of King Rama III Phra Nangklao, King Rama IV Mongkut and King Rama V Chulalongkorn. Coincidentally, these three eras represented the period of Siam's modernisation amid creeping European colonisation. These eras also showed Siam's different approaches to foreign relations: Phra Nangklao was an isolationist, Mongkut welcomed foreigners and Chulalongkorn was a fervent moderniser. In their different separate ways, all the three kings entertained various proposals to construct a canal across the Isthmus of Kra only to see to their failure of taking off beyond the planning stages. The insecurity of Siam's independence at the height of European colonialism in Southeast Asia was the penultimate reason for Siam's refusal to realise the Kra Canal dream.
format	Article
author	Ngui Yew Kit, Clarence
spellingShingle	Ngui Yew Kit, Clarence Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream
author_facet	Ngui Yew Kit, Clarence
author_sort	Ngui Yew Kit, Clarence
title	Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream
title_short	Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream
title_full	Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream
title_fullStr	Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream
title_full_unstemmed	Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream
title_sort	kra canal (1824-1910): the elusive dream
publisher	Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate	2012
url	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5356/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5356/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/5356/1/Akademika82%281%29%2520Bab%25208-L.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T19:43:55Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T19:43:55Z
_version_	1777405772999688192

Kra Canal (1824-1910): The Elusive Dream

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