Uma Amizade Duradoura

Over 500 Years of Enduring Friendship

Abstract

The first Portuguese embassy to Siam arrived in 1511. In 1518, Siam and Portugal concluded a pact of friendship and trade, though the document has since been lost and its exact contents are unknown. Trade followed, and the Portuguese settlement became one of the largest foreign communities in Ayutthaya by the early 18th century. In 1820, he Portuguese became the first foreign country to establish a consulate in Bangkok, at the site where the embassy still stands. A new treaty of trade and friendship was signed in 1859, and updated in 1925. The Portuguese have influenced the language and cuisine of Thailand, and the legacy includes three distinctive neighbourhoods in Bangkok.