The treaty had the primary effect of liberalising foreign trade in Siam, and was signed by five Siamese plenipotentiaries (amongst them Wongsa Dhiraj Snid, one of the King's half-brothers) and Sir John Bowring, the British envoy and colonial governor of Hong Kong.

[1] That treaty had failed to settle commercial issues, leading to the arrival of Sir John Bowring to Siam in order to negotiate a new one.

[1] The regulations in short were: The treaty's largest effect (after liberalising foreign trade) was the legalization of opium exports into Siam, which had previously been banned by the Siamese Crown.

[6] Despite this, Bowring established an amiable relationship with the Siamese delegation, being welcomed like foreign royalty and showered with pomp (including a 21-gun salute).

[2] The treaty is now credited by historians with ensuring the economic rejuvenation of Bangkok, as it created a framework in which multilateral trade could operate freely in Southeast Asia, notably between China, Singapore, and Siam.