Relationship With Royalty
During his time in Siam, Bradley was almost always associated with the royal family. Prince Chutanami, the brother of Prince Mongkut, had urged Bradley to visit the kingdom in order to convince Chutanami’s, as well as the other women of the kingdom, that the practice of lying by fire after childbirth was harmful to their health. Due to his popularity, Bradley was asked to visit the Queen of Siam. Upon entering the throne room and taking a seat, Chutanami sat on the same level as Bradley, signifying equality.
Shortly after this visit, Prince Chutanami urgently requested the medical services of Bradley to take care of the sickness of Prince Mongkut. When the treatment of Bradley healed Mongkut, a friendship was born between the two. While the medical attention given by Bradley linked him with the royal family for the remainder of his life, it was not until 1835, when Bradley brought a Siamese printing press to Siam from Singapore, that their relationship truly flourished. By royal request, Bradley printed The Opium Edict in 1839, which marked the beginning of printing public documents in Siam. Mongkut took a strong interest in the printing press and after he took a visit to London, Bradley and Mongkut made the first copyright transaction in the history of Siam in 1862, a travel journal of Mongkut’s visit. With royal approval, Bradley founded the first newspaper in Siam, the Bangkok Recorder which was published monthly from 1844-1845 and 1865-1867. He also printed the annual almanac, the Bangkok Calendar, from 1859 till his death.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked outcomes from Bradley’s relationship with royalty is the change that took place in the education system. Mongkut valued education very highly and Bradley created boarding schools for native children to learn in a Western education setting. The boarding schools, while unsuccessful for multiple reasons, showed the emphasis put on education in Siam during this period. Bradley advised the royal court to pursue education until his death. As an advocate for education, Bradley held high regards for Anna Leonowens, the educator of Mongkut’s children. Bradley admired the perseverance of Leonowens even though she was not treated with respect from the natives. Bradley did admit, however, that Leonowens did not have a significant impact on Siam which is contrary to what she reported in her novel Anna and the King of Siam.
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