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Urban histories tend to be dominated by large, global cities. But what does the history of the modern, colonial era look like from the perspective of smaller cities? By shifting the focus from the metropolis to the secondary city of Chiang Mai, this study provides an alternative narrative of the formation of the modern Thai state that highlights the overlap between European, American, and Siamese interests. Through a detailed analysis of Chiang Mai's urban space, the power dynamics that shaped the city come into focus as an urban-scale manifestation of colonial forces-albeit an incomplete one that allowed sacred space to become a source of conflict that was only resolved in the years before WWII. Today, as the city confronts the challenge of overdevelopment, the legacy of the colonial era, and the opportunity of heritage preservation, this deep, multi-layered history of the power of (and over) urban space is vital.
List of contents
Acknowledgements, Note on Transliteration and Sources, Introduction: Living in the City, The Urban Space of Chiang Mai, Organization of the Book, 1 The City Founded: A Deep Urban History of Chiang Mai, Urban Genesis in the Mainland, The Foundation of the New City, Center, Hinterland, Region, Conclusion, 2 The City Stabilized: The Kawila Restoration and Chiang Mai in the Nineteenth, Century, Chiang Mai Abandoned, Chiang Mai Rebuilt, The Nineteenth Century Logic(s) of Chiang Mai's Urban Space, Conclusion, 3 The Region Transformed: Forests and Foreigners and State Formation in Chiang Mai and The North, Lanna's Second Golden Age, Shifting the Balance, Siamese State Formation in the North &-A Silent Revolution?, Conclusion, 4 The City Reshaped: Power and Urban Space in Micro-Colonial Chiang Mai, Spaces of Power &-The Old Town, Chiang Mai and the development of a Dual City?, Spatial Transitions, Conclusion, 5 The New City and the New State: Chiang Mai's Sacred Space and Siam, The Decline of Sacro-Spatial Legitimacy in the Chiang Mai State, Khruba Siwichai, the State, and the Restoration of Sacred Space(s), Conclusion, Conclusion: The Heart of the City, Bibliography, Index
About the author
Taylor M. Easum is Assistant Professor of History at Indiana State University with research interests in Southeast Asian, urban, and colonial history. Recent publications include articles on contested urban networks, the construction of Thai and Lao ethnic identity, monuments and historical memory, and ongoing questions of urban heritage in Southeast Asia.
