In 1617 the first English Factory was established, third behind the Portuguese and the Dutch, much to the latter's displeasure.Jumsai p. 8Lach, Van Kley p. 1172 By this time the King was on friendly terms with the English and granted them a further two houses, the English reciprocated by helping Songtham fight against the Cambodians in his wars.Jumsai p. 9 The English were mostly interested in trade and concentrated their efforts around the ports of Tennasserim, Mergui and Pattani. There were great rivalry and conflicts between the English and the Dutch to control these areas.Jumsai p. 9 Because of the constant conflicts, the low profits yielded and mismanagement, the factory was forced to close in 1623, despite the pleas of the Siamese King for the Company to continue its activities.Jumsai p. 10
