Ban Kuti Jihn Museum is a museum in Thonburi, named after the community in which
it is located and which in turn is named after the epithet given to the Santa
Cruz Church in 1835, after the original church made of wood was rebuilt in a
design resembling Chinese edifices called Keng, and which was subsequently
nicknamed Kuti Jihn (กุฎีจีน), i.e. ‘Chinese dwelling’. The small family-run
museum is housed in a building that used to be the home of a Catholic family in
the Kuti Jhin Community and has a cosy garden, a coffeeshop and a souvenir shop,
and is dedicated to the history, culture and traditions of this old
Portuguese-Thai community, especially the historical events in the period
immediately after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, i.e. the battle by General
Taksin that drove the Burmese out of Siam, his instatement as the new King, and
the establishment of Thonburi as the new Siamese capital. Earlier, in 1516,
Portugal had signed a treaty with Ayutthaya to supply firearms and ammunition.
With this treaty came the rights for the Portuguese to reside, trade and
practice their religion in the Kingdom. In recognition of their support against
the Burmese in the form of supply of cannons and muskets, as well as Portuguese
mercenaries, King Taksin on 14 September 1769 granted the Portuguese a plot of
land near his royal residence, now known as the Thonburi Palace, in order to
build a church, in the area today known as Kuti Jihn. In Thai, the museum is
known as Phiphithaphan Ban Kuti Jihn (พิพิธภัณฑ์บ้านกุฎีจีน) and in English its
name is also transcribed Baan Kudichin Museum.
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