David Olusoga’s Hidden Histories
On 28 September 1917, the kingdom of Siam (modern-day Thailand) adopted a new flag. The decision came in the shape of a royal decree, issued by King Rama VI. Having already declared war on Germany, and begun to assemble a Siamese Expeditionary Force that was later sent to the western front, Siam had joined what would prove to be the winning side in the First World War. The new national flag, the Thong Trairong (the Siamese Tricolour), which remains the flag of Thailand today, emphasised Siam’s place among the Allied nations. Red, white and blue, it sat comfortably alongside the union flag of Britain, the US’s Stars and Stripes and the Tricolore of France.
In their determination to signal Siam’s status as a modern independent state, the kingdom’s leaders abandoned its previous flag, the Thong Chang Puak, or ‘Elephant Banner’. The old flag featured a white elephant against a background of deep red – a reference to the sacred white elephants that for centuries have been kept by the kings of Siam and Thailand. Today in Bangkok there are 11 royal white elephants, five of whom hold royal titles. These are the survivors of a group of 21 accrued by the late king Bhumibol, styled Rama IX, during his long reign. This record number was significant in a nation where the number of white elephants owned by a monarch is regarded as a symbol of his status and majesty. In May this year, when the new king, Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), was crowned, white-painted elephants were paraded through the capital. Meticulously trained, they were made to kneel in front of portraits of the monarch.
Thailand’s white elephants are in fact closer to pink or tawny brown in colour. They are considered divine, and all of those discovered belong by law to the king, whether wild or captive. As well as being part of the theatre of the royal court, white elephants have traditionally been part of Thai diplomacy. For centuries, kings of Siam gave white elephants as gifts to the leaders of other states. There is also the legend that some Siamese kings gifted white elephants to nobles who had fallen from favour. As these huge animals are holy, and could not be put to work, and as the cost of keeping them fed and watered was enormous, it was said that this royal gift could lead to financial ruin. It is from here that westerners derive the habit of labelling failed and expensive building projects as ‘white elephants’.
The tradition of offering elephants as diplomatic gifts was evident in 1862, when another of Thailand’s great kings, Mongkut, sent a letter to US president James Buchanan in which he offered Washington a number of Thai elephants as a gift. In this case the animals on offer were not the revered white elephants but working elephants, then used by the Thais in the logging industry. By the time the letter arrived, Buchanan had left office, Abraham Lincoln was president and the United States was in the midst of the Civil War. It therefore fell to Lincoln and his secretary of state, William Seward, to delicately respond. Thanking the Thai king, Lincoln explained that his government “would not hesitate to avail itself of so generous an offer if the object were one which could be made practically useful in the present condition of the United States”. Sadly, Lincoln explained, the climate of the US did not favour “the multiplication of the elephant” and that “on land, as well as on water” the steam engine was regarded as the “most efficient agent of transportation in internal commerce”. No elephants were sent to the US, and relations between Bangkok and Washington were not harmed by their rejection.