BUSTARD CARDAMOM TRIBUTE FROM SALAVAN, LANXANG KINGDOM, BETWEEN 1826 AND 1851

Abstract

This article aims to study bustard cardamom, or phonreo, tributes from Salavan as one of the significant natural resources in international trade while the Kingdom of Lan Xang (Laos) was a colony of Siam.  Problems including labor for harvesting, authority structures concerned, tribute gathering and distribution as well as impacts of the policy concerning paying tribute to Siam on the locals of Salavan are also examined.  It is found that, between 1826 and 1851, Salavan, as part of Laos, was a colony of Siam and had to pay bustard cardamom tributes to Siam every year. The labor for bustard cardamoms were the locals who spoke Austroasiatic languages (Mon–Khmer languages) while the governors and officials of both Laos and Siam were in charge of tribute gathering and distribution to Bangkok.  After that, these tributes entered the international trade as merchandises for the eastern and western nations, especially China and India.  It is also found that incomplete supplies for the tributes had an impact on the locals in Salavan economically and socially.