Jessadabodindra - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

Jessadabodindra died on 2 April 1851 without having named a successor. Jessadabodindra had many children including sons, but raised none of his consorts to queen. The throne passed to his half-brother, Prince Mongkut.

Jessadabodindra stated on his deathbed that "Our wars with Burma and Vietnam were over, only the threats of the Westerners was left to us. We should study their innovations for our own benefits but not to the degree of obsession or worship." This vision coincided with intense Western intervention in Siam in the reign of Mongkut. He was able to predict but not see neighboring kingdoms of; Burma and Vietnam, fell to European colonial rule. His deathbed statement shows that he had foreseen the Western threats and also expresses his sympathy towards the Europeans contrasted to most Asian rulers of his time.

During his reign, trade between Siam and China became prosperous. The King kept his profits in red purses beside his bed, subsequently this money was known as "Red Purse Money". Jessadabodindra stipulated that the Red Purse Money which he had earned through his personal business acumen should be set aside as the State's emergency fund for the future "so that Siam would be able to buy the land back" if it might enter into a squabble with a foreign power. In the reign of his nephew Chulalongkorn, Siam indeed had to pay reparation to France for the 1893 Paknam incident (part of Franco-Siamese War), and part of the money did come from Jessadabodin's Red Purse Money.

Thai baht 15th Series banknotes issued to draw attention to deeds of Chakri Dynasty monarchs in agriculture, science, religion and finance, depicted King Rama III on the reverse of the 500-Baht banknote issued August 3, 2001, with a partial quotation of his deathbed statement below a Chinese sailing ship.