Dit Bunnag-Monroe letter

This letter from Dit Bunnag (1768-1855) to President James Monroe (1758-1831) represents the earliest known correspondence between the governments of Siam and the United States. It is signed by “Phaja Surivongmontri,” referring to Somdet Chao Phraya Dit Bunnag, one of the most influential noblemen in Siam during the nineteenth century.

Dit Bunnag’s letter recounts a meeting between Prince Chetsadabodin (later King Nangklao, or Rama III, 1788-1851) and Stephen Williams (1781-1844), an American sea captain who had arrived in Bangkok to trade for sugar.

Williams helped to initiate one of the United States’ oldest relationships in the Eastern Hemisphere.