Tragedi dalam Perang Kedah-Siam, 1821-1842: Suatu Sorotan Sejarah - Tragedy of Kedah-Siam War, 1821-1842: A Historical Review

Abstract

The geo-strategic factors that make Siam one of the most influential forces in Kedah's political, economic and social development. This is because Kedah's position on the border with Siam causes Kedah to be the focus of that power. This paper focuses on the history of the wars between Kedah and Siam from 1821 to 1842. Although this article commenced the discussion in 1821, however, the period before that also covered some important events that led to the outbreak of the Kedah war  against Siam in 1821. Later, the discussion also focused on the role of the British who were involved in the Kedah-Siam conflict which eventually led to their intervention in Kedah politics. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to shed light on the main effects of the Kedah-Siam conflict on the political institutions of the Kedah sultanate. This paper uses a historiographical approach and a reference source focused on primary material that is a British record and an old manuscript of Kedah history. Meanwhile, in terms of secondary sources, this analysis of the discussion over the period 1821-1842 relied heavily on the arguments made by local and Western scholars in their study of Kedah and Siamese relations as well as the British. This article concludes that the period between 1821 and 1842 was a dark side in the history of the Kedah sultanate who had to deal with the Siamese invasion and had no choice but to agree to accept British intervention in order to save Kedah from Siamese rule.