History with Holland

Museum celebrates international ties

By Itsarin Tisantia
Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post

Baan Hollanda is a memorial museum that explores the international relations between the Kingdoms of Thailand and the Netherlands. Located along the bank of the Chao Phraya River in Ayutthaya, the museum was built to celebrate more than 400 years of ties between the two countries.

For Freeze Frame this week, SW looks at some of the exhibits at the museum.

The two-story museum building was built and enclosed by a stockade in the Dutch style.

The picture was taken when Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, accompanied by HRH Prince Willem-Alexander and HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited the site in 2004.

This display shows that The Dutch United East India Company (VOC) was established in 1602 and liquidated in 1795. It was the largest of the early modern trading companies operating in Asia.

Near the museum are remains of the first building officially built by the Dutch on the land of Siam in around the mid-1630s.

This zone exhibits ceramics, glassware and earthenware Dutch pipes and other household kitchen utensils found at the site.

This display shows political involvements and commercial trade routes between the Dutch and Siamese people.

This exhibit is a mock-up of a working room used by the Dutch while trading with Siam in the past.


Exercises

Read Freeze Frame. Then, specify whether each of the following words used as a noun, adjective or verb.

1. site …………………

2. celebrate …………………

3. Siamese …………………

4. political …………………

Vocabulary

  • tie (n): a strong connection between people, organisations, countries, etc.
    stockade (n): a line or wall of strong wooden posts built to defend a place
    accompany (v): to go or travel somewhere with somebody
    liquidate (v): to close a business and sell everything it owns in order to pay debts
    utensil (n): a tool that is used in the house
    mock-up (n): a model or copy of something, often the same size as the real one, used for testing or showing what the real thing looks like
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