CHAPTER 1

Warfare and Depopulation of

the Trans-Mekong Basin

and the Revival of Siam’s Economy

Puangthong R. Pawakapan

Introduction

T

he exploitation rather than execution of prisoners of war is
often presented as a typical characteristic of Southeast Asian
warfare. Indeed, this practice could even be considered a corol-
lary of the well-established idea that control of human resources rather
than land was the most important element of traditional Southeast
Asian statecraft. Depopulation could devastate a polity because people
were needed for labour to generate revenues and to raise and mobilize
armies. Without these armies, outlying centres could break away. In the
case of Siam, which faced constant pressure from Burmese expansion,
population maintenance was a perpetual concern. Continued sporadic
warfare with Burma and the struggle among local rivals further exacer-
bated the problems. During King Taksin’s 15-year reign (1767–1782),
the Burmese attacked Siam’s frontier towns nine times. The huge loss
of population stemming from forced evacuation by the Burmese and
deserters made it tremendously difficult to restore Siam’s power. The
Siamese had to secure people in order to offset the continuing demo-
graphic damage caused by the Burmese and others.
Siamese wars against neighbouring states along the Mekong River
were always accompanied by the forced migrations of local people to
resettle in the Siamese-controlled areas. Field reports sent to Bangkok
on the situation of wars in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth