History of Thailand

Thai Map

The Earliest Inhabitants
The area, which is now Thailand, has been populated ever since the dawn of civilization in Asia. The first humans in this region were hunter-gatherers whose way of life was based on hunting wild animals and gathering whatever grew wild in the woods and the hills.

Later on man learnt to modify nature, growing cereals such as rice and breeding livestock. Rice-growing communities sprang up. Metal casting and pottery making also became highly developed skills as these prehistoric settlements prospered. Cast bronze technology in the northeastern Thailand area dates from around 2000 BC, making the prehistoric settlements in Thailand just as technologically advanced as those of India and China.

Since the 1960's, archaeological excavations in various parts of Thailand have unearthed many interesting and important sites, a large number of which are prehistoric. There are several Stone Age settlements, the most notable among them being Ban Kao in Kanchanaburi Province, Non Nok Tha in Khon Kaen Province, and Ban Chiang in Udon Thani Province.

The spectacular finds at Ban Chiang include bronze utensils and ornaments, painted pottery, and bimetallic (bronze and iron) weapons. Ban Chiang was apparently settled as far back as 6,000 years ago and was continually inhabited for some 4,000 years. It was an agricultural community, with skilled metal workers and potters. Artistically, the glory of Ban Chiang is the large amount of painted pottery found at the site. The most graceful shapes and intricate designs can be found on pottery dating back to the 300 BC - 200 AD period. The people who lived in Ban Chiang comprised only one among many prehistoric communities in Thailand, which makes Thailand one of the cradles of Asian civilization and an area which was inhabited for thousands of years before the emergence of the first Thai state.

Mon and Khmer Dominance
From the 9th to the 11th century AD, the area that is now central and western Thailand was occupied by a Mon civilization called Dvaravati. The Mon race, which shared the same linguistic lineage as the Khmers, was later to settle in southern Burma. Little is known about the political or social "empire" of Dvaravati, but it seems quite likely that there were in fact several Mon states sharing a common culture, rather than a monolithic "empire" with a capital city. Important Dvaravati sites in Thailand include Nakhon Pathom, Khu Bua, Phong Tuk, and Lawo (Lopburi). Some superb bas-reliefs, sculptures, and archaeological remains survive from this obscure period of history.

Dvaravati was an "indianized" culture, Theravada Buddhism being the dominant religion. Theravada Buddhism was to remain the major religion in this area for the next millennium, co-existing with animism, Hinduism, and Mahayana Buddhism. The ideas and philosophy of Theravada Buddhism inspired much of
Dvaravati art and sculpture, whose forms were also based on Indian prototypes.
By the 11th-12th centuries, Mon dominance over central Thailand had been replaced by the power of the ever-expanding Khmer Empire to the east.

The capital of this empire was the great city of Angkor, and the Khmer rulers were masters of a tightly organized society with remarkable capacities for territorial and cultural expansion. The Khmers also successfully controlled most of the trade routes in the Thailand-Indochina region. Khmer territories stretched well into the area that is present-day Thailand, covering the northeastern region, much of the center, and coming as far west as Kanchanaburi Province. The Khmer built stone temples in the northeast, some of which have been restored to their former glory, notably those at Phimai and Phanom Rung.

Stone sculptures and lintels depicting Hindu gods, stone Buddha images in the distinctive Khmer style, and bronze statuary, some of great beauty, are other vestiges of Khmer cultural dominance. Politically, however, the Khmers probably did not control the whole of this area directly but exercised power through vassals and governors.

The Chao Phraya River Basin had always been an area with an ethnic mix: Mons, Khmers, and Lawas. Towards the end of the 13th century, Khmer power in this area waned and new kingdoms, dominated by the Thai race, sprang up. They had been influenced by Khmer rule and culture, but spectacular legacies from his ancestors is his fleet of this new race comes from?
The Emergence of the Thais The origin of the Thai (or Tai) race is shrouded in mystery.

Many theories and hypothesis have been put forward, some more convincing than others.
One theory is that the Thai race immigrated southwards into Southeast Asia from the Altai mountain range in northwestern China-Mongolia. Since archaeological, ethnographic, and linguistic researches do not bear this out, the theory now has few champions. Another unconvincing hypothesis contends that the Thai, having migrated from Sichuan province in central China, founded a kingdom in southern China called Nanchao, from whence they were driven further south by the all-conquering Mongol ruler Kubilai (Kublai Khan) in 1253, into Indochina and present-day Thailand. This theory is not very tenable because Nanchao was not a Thai-dominated kingdom, and it appears too that Thai had immigrated into the area that is now Thailand well before 1253.

A third theory propounds that the Thais were originally of Austronesian, rather than Mongoloid, stock and had migrated northwards from the Malay Archipelago. The most convincing theory, however, is that which relies largely on linguistic evidence. From research done in the southern Chinese provinces of Kwangtung, Kwangsi, and Yunnan, where the Thai language is still spoken, the proponents of this theory maintain that the Thais migrated southward from these provinces.
The fifth, and latest, hypothesis claims that archaeological and anthropological evidence proves that Thailand has been inhabited continuously even since prehistoric times. Ethnic groups mixed with each other until it was difficult to tell them apart. Animism, material culture, and folklore, however, point to continuity in the settlement of this area. This hypothesis has been cogently put forward by its proponents, but it sidesteps too conveniently the issue of Thai migration by maintaining that the Thai have been here all along, the present-day Thai nation being but a mixture of various races.

The controversy over the origin of the Thais shows no sign of abating, and further research is needed before we can draw any definite conclusions. What is beyond dispute, however, is that by the 13th century the Thais had become a force to be reckoned within mainland Southeast Asia, and Thai princes ruled over states as far apart as Lanna, Suphannaphum (Suphanburi), Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Sukhothai.
Sukhothai (13th - 15th Century)

The state that is still regarded by Thai historical tradition as the "first Thai kingdom" was Sukhothai. There were, in fact, contemporaneous Thai states such as Lanna and Phayao, both in present-day northern Thailand, but the Thai historical imagination has been most stirred by Sukhothai. Even today, the evocative ruins of Sukhothai and its twin city Si Satchanalai conjure up images of material prosperity, artistic greatness, and serene Buddhist piety. Indeed, Sukhothai is remembered as much for its art and architecture as for its political achievements.
Sukhothai began life as chiefdom under the sway of the Khmer empire: the oldest monuments in the city were built in the Khmer style or else show clear Khmer influence. During the first half of the 13th century the Thai rulers of Sukhothai threw off the Khmer yoke and set up an independent Thai kingdom.

One of the victorious Thai chieftains became the first king of Sukhothai, with the name of Si Inthrathit (Sri Indraditya). Sukhothai's power and influence expanded in all directions by conquest (the Khmer were driven southwards), by a farsighted network of marriage alliances with the ruling families of other Thai states, and by the use of a common religion, Theravada Buddhism, to cement relations with other states.

Si Inthrathit's son and successor was King Ramkhamhaeng, undoubtedly the most famous and dynamic monarch ever to rule the Sukhothai kingdom. Much of what we know about Sukhothai in the 13th century derives from King Ramkhamhaeng's stone inscription of 1292. The inscription is problematic, but it is considered to be a seminal source of Sukhothai history as well as a masterpiece of Thai literature.

t eloquently extols the benevolence of King Ramkhamhaeng's rule, the power and prosperity of Sukhothai. The king was accessible to his people. For example, he had a bell hung in front of a palace gate so that any subject with a grievance could ring it and ask for justice:
"King Ramkhamhaeng, the ruler of the kingdom, hears the call; he goes and questions the man, examines the case, and decides it justly for him. So the people of Sukhothai praise him."
According to the inscription, the king did not levy road tolls or taxes on merchandise. His liberality was such that he did not tax his subjects' inheritance at all. Such a paternalistic and benevolent style of kingship has caused posterity to regard the Sukhothai kingdom's heyday as a "golden age" in Thai history.

Even allowing for some hyperbole in King Ramkhamhaeng's inscription, it is probably true that Sukhothai was prosperous and well governed. Its economy was self-sufficient, small-scale, and agricultural. The Thai people's basic diet was the same as that of many other people in Southeast Asia, consisting of rice and fish as staple foods. Both, according to King Ramkhamhaeng's inscription were plentiful:
"In the time of King Ramkhamhaeng this land of Sukhothai is thriving. There are fish in the water and rice in the fields."
Sukhothai may have been self-sufficient as far as food was concerned, but its prosperity also depended on commerce. During the Sukhothai period glazed ceramic wares known as "sangkhalok" were produced in great quantities at the kilns of Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai and exported regularly to other countries in the South China Sea area, specimens having been found in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Sukhothai also traded with China through the traditional Chinese tributary system: the Thai king was content to send tribute to the Chinese emperor and be classified as a vassal, in return for permission to sell Thai goods and buy Chinese products.
Although animistic beliefs remained potent in Sukhothai, King Ramkhamhaeng and his successors were all devout Buddhist rulers who made merit on a large scale.

The major cities of the Sukhothai kingdom were therefore full of monasteries, many of which were splendid examples of Thai Buddhist architecture. Sukhothai adopted the Ceylonese school of Theravada Buddhism, beginning with King Ramkhamhaeng's invitation to Ceylonese monks to come over and purify Buddhism in his kingdom. This Ceylonese influence manifested itself not only in matters of doctrine but also in religious architecture. The bell-shaped stupa, so familiar in Thai religious architecture, was derived from Ceylonese models. Sukhothai style Buddha images are distinctive for their elegance and stylized beauty, and Sukhothai's artists introduced the graceful form of the "walking Buddha" into Buddhist sculpture.

Sukhothai's cultural importance in Thai history also derives from the fact that the Thai script evolved into a definite form during King Ramkhamhaeng's time, taking as its models the ancient Mon and Khmer scripts. Indeed, this remarkable king is credited with having invented the Thai script.

King Si Inthrathit and King Ramkhamhaeng were both warrior kings and extended their territories far and wide. Their successors, however, could not maintain such a far-flung empire. Some of these later kings were more remarkable for their religious piety and extensive building activities than for their warlike exploits. An example of this type of Buddhist ruler was King Mahathammaracha Lithai, believed to have been the compiler of the Tribhumikatha, an early Thai book on the Buddhist universe or cosmos. The political decline of Sukhothai was, however, not wholly owing to deficiencies in leadership. Rather it resulted from the emergence of strong Thai states further south, whose political and economic power began to challenge Sukhothai during the latter half of the 14th century. These southern states, especially Ayutthaya, were able to deny Sukhothai access to the area.

The Sukhothai kingdom did not die a quick death. Its decline lasted from the mid- 14th until the 15th century. In 1378, the Ayutthaya King Borommaracha I subdued Sukhothai's frontier city of Chakangrao (Kamphaengphet), and henceforth Sukhothai became a tributary state of Ayutthaya. Sukhothai later attempted to break loose from Ayutthaya but with no real success, until in the 15th century it was incorporated into the Ayutthaya kingdom as a province. The focus of Thai history and politics now moved to the central plains of present-day Thailand, where Ayutthaya was establishing itself as a centralized state, its power outstripping not only Sukhothai but also other neighboring states such as Suphannaphum and Lawo (Lopburi).
The Kingdom of Ayutthaya (1350- 1767)

For 417 years the kingdom of Ayutthaya was the dominant power in the fertile Menam or Chao Phraya Basin. Its capital was Ayutthaya, an island-city situated at the confluence of three rivers, the Chao Phraya, the Pasak, and the Lopburi, which grew into one of Asia's most renowned metropolises, inviting comparison with great European cities such as Paris. The city must indeed have looked majestic, filled as it was with hundreds of monasteries and criss-crossed with several canals and waterways that served as roads

An ancient community had existed in the Ayutthaya area well before 1350, the year of its official "founding" by King Ramathibodi I (Uthong). The huge Buddha image at Wat Phananchoeng, just outside the island-city, was cast over twenty years before King Ramathibodi I moved his residence to the city area in 1350. It is easy to see why the Ayutthaya area was settled prior to this date since the site offered a variety of geographical and economic advantages. Not only is Ayutthaya at the confluence of three rivers, plus some canals, but its proximity to the sea also gave its inhabitants an irresistible stimulus to engage in maritime trade. The rice fields in the immediate environs flooded each year during the rainy season, rendering the city virtually impregnable for several months annually.

These fields, of course, had an even more vital function, that of feeding a relatively large population in the Ayutthaya region. Rice grown in these plants yielded a surplus large enough to be exported regularly to various countries in Asia.

Ayutthaya's first king, Ramathihodi I, was both a warrior and a lawmaker. Some old laws codified in 1805 by the first Bangkok king date from this much earlier reign. King Ramathibodi I and his immediate successors expanded Ayutthaya's territory, especially northward towards Sukhothai and eastward towards the Khmer capital of Angkor. By the 15th century, Ayutthaya had established a firm hegemony over most of the northern and central Thai states, though attempts to conquer Lanna failed.

Ayutthaya also captured Angkor on at least one occasion but was unable to hold on to it for long.

The Ayutthaya kingdom thus changed, during the 15th century, from being a small state primus inter pares among similar states in central Thailand into an increasingly centralized kingdom wielding tight control over a core area of territory, as well as having looser authority over a string of tributary states.

The greater size of Ayutthaya's territory, as compared with that of Sukhothai, meant that the method of government could not remain the same as during the days of King Ramkhamhaeng. The paternalistic and benevolent Buddhist kingship of Sukhothai would not have worked in Ayutthaya. The king of the latter therefore created a complex administrative system allied to a hierarchical social system. This administrative system dating from the reign of King Trailok, or Borommatrailokanat (1448-1488), was to evolve into the modern Thai bureaucracy. The Ayutthayan bureaucracy contained a hierarchy of ranked and titled officials, all of whom had varying amounts of "honour marks" (sakdina).

Thai society during the Ayutthaya period also became strictly hierarchical. There were, roughly, three classes of people, with the king at the very apex of the structure. At the bottom of the social scale, and the most numerous, were the commoners (freemen or phrai) and the slaves. Above the commoners were the officials or "nobles" (khunnang), while at the top of the scale were the princes (chao). The one classless sector of Thai society was the Buddhist monkhood, or sangha, into which all classes of Thai men could be ordained. The monkhood was the institution that could weld together all the different social classes, the Buddhist monasteries being the center of all Thai communities both urban and agricultural

The Ayutthayan kings were not only Buddhist kings who ruled according to the dhamma (dharma), but they were also devaraja, god-kings whose sacred power was associated with the Hindu, gods Indra and Vishnu. To many Western observers, the kings of Ayutthaya were treated as if they were gods. The French Abbe de Choisy, who came to Ayutthaya in 1685, wrote that, "the king has absolute power. He is truly the god of the Siamese:
no-one dares to utter his name." Another 17th century writer, the Dutchman Van Vliet, remarked that the king of Siam was "honored and worshipped by his subjects more than a god."
The Ayutthaya period was early Thai history's great era of international trade. Ayutthaya's role as a port made it one of Southeast Asia's richest emporia. The port of Ayutthaya was an entrepot, an international market place where goods from the Far East could be bought or bartered in exchange for merchandise from the Malay, Indonesian Archipelago, India, or Persia, not to mention local wares or produce from Ayutthaya's vast hinterland. The trading world of the Indian Ocean was accessible to Ayutthaya through its possession, for much of its 417-year history, of the seaport of Mergui on the Bay of Bengal.

This port in Tenasserim province was linked to the capital by a wild but ancient and frequently used overland trade route.
Throughout its long history, Ayutthaya had a thriving commerce in "forest produce," principally sapanwood (a wood which produces reddish dye), eaglewood (an aromatic wood), benzoin (a type of incense), gumlac (used as wax), and deerhides (much in demand in Japan). Elephant teeth and rhinoceros horns were also highly valued exports, but the former was a strict royal monopoly and the latter relatively rare, especially compared with deerhides. Ayutthaya also sold provisions such as rice and dried fish to other Southeast Asian states. The range of minerals found in the kingdom was limited, but tin from Phuket ("Junkceylon") and Nakhon Si Thammarat ("Ligor") was much sought after by both Asian and European traders.

The Chinese, with their large and versatile junks, were the traders who had the most regular and sustained contact with Ayutthaya. The Ayutthaya kings, in order to conduct a steady and profitable trade with Ming and Manchu China, from the 14th to the 18th centuries, entered willingly into a tributary relationship with the Chinese emperors.

The Thais recognized Chinese suzerainty and China's preeminent position in Asia in return for Chinese political sanction and, even more desirable, Chinese luxury goods. Muslim merchants came from India and further West to sell their highly-prized clothes both to Thais and to other foreign traders. So dominant were Chinese and Muslim merchants in Ayutthaya that an old Thai law dating back to the 15th century divides the Thai king's foreign trade department into two: a Chinese section and a Muslim section.

Chinese, Indians, and later on Japanese and Persians all settled in Ayutthaya, the Thai kings welcoming their presence and granting them complete freedom of worship. Several of these foreigners became important court officials.
Containing merchandise from all corners of Asia, the thriving markets of Ayutthaya attracted traders from Europe. The Portuguese were the first to arrive, in 1511, at the time when Albuquerque was attempting to conquer Melaka (Malacca). They concluded their first treaty with Ayutthaya in 1516, receiving permission to settle in Ayutthaya and other Thai ports in return for supplying guns and ammunition to the Thai king. Portugal's powerful neighbor Spain was the next European nation to arrive in Ayutthaya, towards the end of the 16th century. The early

17th century saw the arrival of two northern European East India Companies: the Dutch (V.O.C.) and the British. The Dutch East India Company played a vital role in Ayutthaya's foreign trade from 1605 until 1765, succeeding in obtaining from the Thai kings a deerhide export monopoly as well as one of all the tin sold at Nakhon Si Thammarat. The Dutch sold Thai sapanwood and deerhides for good profits in Japan during Japan's exclusion period, after 1635.
The French first arrived in 1662, during the reign of Ayutthaya's most outward-looking and cosmopolitan ruler. King Narai (1656-1688).

French missionaries and merchants came to the capital, and during the 1680's splendid embassies were exchanged between King Narai and King Louis XIV. The French tried to convert King Narai to Christianity and also attempted to gain a foothold in the Thai kingdom when, in 1687, they sent troops to garrison Bangkok and Mergui. When a succession conflict broke out in 1688 an anti-French official seized power, drove out the French garrisons, and executed King Narai's Greek favorite Constantine Phaulkon, who had been championing the French cause. After 1688, Ayutthaya had less contact with Western nations, but there was no policy of national exclusion. Indeed, there was increased trading contact with China after 1683, and there was continued trade with the Dutch, the Indians, and various neighboring countries.

Ayutthaya's relations with its neighbors were not always cordial. Wars were fought against Cambodia, Lanna, Lanchang (Laos), Pattani, and above all, Burma, Ayutthaya's powerful neighbor to the west. Burmese power waxed and waned in cycles according to their administrative efficiency in the control of manpower. Whenever Burma was in an expansionist phase, Ayutthaya suffered. In 1569, King Bayinnaung captured Ayutthaya, thus initiating over a decade's subjection to the Burmese. One of the greatest Thai military leaders, Prince (later King) Naresuan, then emerged to declare Ayutthaya's independence and to defeat the Burmese in several battles and skirmishes, culminating in the victory of Nong Sarai, when he killed the Burmese Crown Prince in combat on elephant back.

During the 18th century Burma again adopted an expansionist policy. The kings of the Alaunghphaya Dynasty were intent on subduing the Ayutthaya kingdom, then in its cultural and artistic prime. During the 1760's, the Burmese armies inflicted severe defeats on the Thais, who had been somewhat too fortunate and complacent in having enjoyed over a century of comparative peace. In April 1767, after a 15-month siege, Ayutthaya finally succumbed to the Burmese, who sacked and burnt the city, thus putting an end to one of the most politically glorious and culturally influential epochs in Thai history.
King Taksin: Warfare and National Revival (1767-1782)

After the shattering defeat that had culminated in Ayutthaya's destruction, the death and capture of thousands of Thais by the victorious Burmese, and the dispersal of several potential Thai leaders, the situation seemed hopeless. It was a time of darkness and of troubles for the Thai nation. Members of the old royal family of Ayutthaya had died, escaped, or been captured by the Burmese and many rival claimants for the throne emerged, based in different areas of the country. But out of this national catastrophe emerged yet another savior of the Thai state: the half-Chinese general Phraya Taksin, former governor of Tak. Within a few years this determined warrior had defeated not only all his rivals but also the Burmese invaders and had set himself up as king.

Since Ayutthaya had been so completely devastated. King Taksin chose to establish his capital at Thon Buri (across the river from Bangkok). Although a small town, Thon Buri was strategically situated near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River and therefore suitable as a seaport. The Thais needed weapons, and one way of acquiring them was through trade. Besides, foreign trade was also needed to bolster the Thai economy, which had suffered extensively during the war with Burma. Chinese and Chinese-Thai traders helped revive the economy by engaging in maritime trade with neighboring states, with China, and with some European national

King Taksin's prowess as a general and as an inspirational leader meant that all attempts by the Burmese to reconquer Siam failed. The rallying of the Thai nation during a time of crisis was King Taksin's greatest achievement. However, he was also interested in cultural revival, in literature and the arts. He was deeply religious and studied meditation to an advanced level. The stress and strain of such much fighting and the responsibility of rebuilding a centralized Thai state took their toll on the king. Following an internal political conflict in 1782. King Taksin's fellow general Chao Phraya Chakri was chosen king. King Taksin's achievements have caused posterity to bestow on him the epithet "the Great".

King Rama I and the Reconstruction of the Thai State (1782-1809)
The new king, Phraphutthayotfa Chulalok, or Rama I, was like King Taksin a great general. He was also an accomplished statesman, a lawmaker, a poet, and a devout Buddhist. His reign has been called a reconstruction" of the Thai state and Thai culture, using Ayutthaya as a model but at the same time not slavishly imitating all things Ayutthaya. He was the monarch who established Bangkok as the capital of Thailand and was also the founder of the Royal House of Chakri, of which the ruling monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, is the ninth king. The significance of his reign in Thai history is therefore manifold

King Rama I was intent on the firm reestablishment of the Buddhist monkhood, allying church to state and purifying the doctrine. The Tripitaka, or Buddhist scriptures, were re-edited in a definitive text by a grand council of learned men convened by the king in1788-9. This concern with codification and textual accuracy was also apparent in the collation and editing of laws both old and new which resulted in one of the major achievements of his reign: the "Three Seals Code" or Kotmai tra samduang. This too was the work of a panel of experts assembled by the king. King Rama I consistently explained all his reforms and actions in a rational way. This aspect of his reign has been interpreted as a major change in the intellectual outlook of the Thai elite, or a re-orientation of the Thai world-view. The organization of Thai society during the early Bangkok period was not fundamentally different from that of the late Ayutthaya period. Emphasis was still placed on manpower and on an extensive system of political and social patronage. The officials' main duty was still to provide the crown with corvee labor and to provide patronage to the commoners.

NeBurmese remained a threat to the Thai kingdom during this reign and launched several attacks on Thai territory. King Rama I was ably assisted by his brother and other generals in defeating the Burmese in 1785 and 1786, when the Burmese tried to invade Siam. King Rama I not only drove out these invading armies but also launched a bold counter-attack as retaliation, invading Tavoy in Lower Burma. During this reign, Chiang Mai was added to the Thai kingdom, and the Malay states of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Trengganu all sent tribute to King Rama I. The recovery of the Thai state's place and prestige in the region was one of King Rama l's major achievements.

The most long-lasting creation of King Rama I was perhaps the city of Bangkok (Rattanakosin). Before 1782, it was just a small trading community, but the first king transformed it into a thriving, cosmopolitan city based on Ayutthaya's example. He had a canal dug to make it an island-city and it contained Mon, Lao, Chinese, and Thai communities similar to Ayutthaya. He also had several Ayutthaya-style monasteries built in and around the city.

King Rama I was indeed, a great builder-king He endeavored to model his new palace closely on the Royal Palace at Ayutthaya and in doing so helped create one of Bangkok's enduring glories: the Grand Palace with its resplendent royal chapel, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. King Rama I also completely rebuilt an old monastery, Wat Photharam, and had it renamed Wat Phra Chetuphon, which became not only an exemplar of classical Thai architecture but also a famous place of learning. The cosmopolitan outlook of the Thais during King Rama l's reign was also reflected in the arts of the period. Both painting and literature during the early Bangkok period showed a keen awareness of other cultures, though Thai traditional forms and conventions were adhered to, King Rama I's reconstruction of the Thai State and Thai culture was so comprehensive that it extended also to literature. The king and his court poets composed new versions of the Ramakian (the Thai version of the Indian Ramayana epic) and the Inao (based on the Javanese Panji story).

King Rama II and His Sons King Rama I's son Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai, or Rama II, acceded to the throne peacefully and was fortunate to have inherited the crown during a time of stability. His reign was especially remarkable for the heights attained by Thai poetry, particularly in the works of the King himself and of Sunthon Phu, one of the court poets. King Rama II was a man gifted with an all-round artistic talent: he had a hand in the carving of Wat Suthat's vihara door-panels, considered to be the supreme masterpiece of Thai woodcarving.

At the end of King Rama II's reign, two princes were in contention for the succession. Prince Chetsadabodin was lesser in rank than Prince Mongkut, but he was older, had greater experience of government, and had a wider power base. In a celebrated example of Thai crisis power management, Prince Mongkut (who had just entered the monkhood) remained monk for the whole of his brother's reign (1824-1851).

The avoidance of an open struggle between the princes worked out well for both the country and for the Royal House. While King Rama III ruled firmly and with wisdom, his half-brother was accumulating experience that was to prove invaluable to him during his years as king. The priest-prince Mongkut was able to travel extensively, to see for himself how ordinary Thais lived, and to the lay the foundations for a reform of the Buddhist clergy. In the late 1830's he had set up what was to become the Thammayut sect or order (dhammayutika nikaya), an order of monks which became stronger under royal patronage. To this very day the royal family of Thailand is still closely associated with the Thammayut order.

The Growing Challenge of the West (1821-1868)
The major characteristic of Thai history during the 19th and 20th centuries may be summed up by the phrase "the challenge of the West." The reigns of King Rama II and his two sons, Rama III and Rama IV, marked the first stage in the Thai kingdom's dealings with the West during the Age of Imperialism.
During the Ayutthaya period, the Thais had more often than not chosen just how they wanted to deal with foreign countries, European states included. By the 19th century this freedom of choice became more and more constricted. The West had undergone a momentous change during the Industrial Revolution, and western technology and economy had begun to outstrip those of Asian and African nations.

This fact was not readily apparent to the Asians of the early 19th century, but it became alarmingly obvious as the century wore on and several erstwhile proud kingdoms fell under the sway of the western powers. The early 19th century was a time when the Napoleonic Wars were preoccupying all the major European powers, but once the British had gained their victory in Europe, they resumed their quest for additional commerce and territory in Asia.
King Rama III may have been "conservative" in outlook, striving hard to uphold Buddhism (he built or repaired many monasteries), and refusing to acknowledge the claims of Western powers to increased shares in the Thai trade, but he was above all a shrewd ruler.

He was justifiably wary of Western ambitions in Southeast Asia, but he was tolerant enough to come to an agreement with Burney, as well as to allow Christian missionaries to work in the kingdom. One of the men most intellectually stimulated by the Western missionaries was Prince Mongkut. The priest-prince had an inquiring mind, a philosophical nature, and a voracious appetite for new knowledge. He learnt Latin from the French Catholic bishop Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix and English from the American Protestant missionary Jesse Caswell. Prince Mongkut's intellectual interests were wide-ranging; not only did he study the Buddhist Pali scriptures but also Western astronomy, mathematics, science, geography, and culture.

His wide knowledge of the West helped him to deal with Britain, France, and other powers when he reigned as King of Siam (1851-1868) King Mongkut was the first Chakri king to embark seriously on reform based on Western models. This did not mean wholesale structural change, since King Mongkut did not wish to undermine his own status and power as a traditional and absolute ruler.

He concentrated on the technological and organizational aspects of reform. During this reign, there were road building, canal digging, shipbuilding, a reorganization of the Thai army and administration, and the minting of money to meet the demands of a growing money economy. The King employed Western experts and advisers at the court and in the administration. One of his employees at court was the English governess Anna H. Leonowens, whose books on Siam have resulted in several misunderstandings concerning King Mongkut's character and reign. Far from being the strutting "noble savage" figure portrayed by Hollywood in the musical "The King and I." King Mongkut was a scholarly, conscientious, and humane monarch who ruled at a difficult time in Thai history.

The Reign and Reforms of King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910)
The reforms and foreign policy of King Mongkut were carried on by his son and successor, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who came to the throne a frail youth of 16 and died one of Siam's most loved and revered kings, after a remarkable reign of 42 years. Indeed, modern Thailand may be said to be a product of the comprehensive and progressive reforms of his reign, for these touched almost every aspect of Thai life.

King Chulalongkorn faced the Western world with a positive, eager attitude: eager to learn about Western ideas and inventions, positively working towards Western-style "progress" while at the same time resisting Western rule. He was the first Thai king to travel abroad; he went to the Dutch and British colonial territories in Java, Malaya, Burma, and India, and also made two extended trips to Europe towards the end of his reign. He did not just travel as an observer or tourist but worked hard during his trips to further Thai interests. For instance, during one of his European sojourns he obtained support from Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and the German Kaiser Wilhelm II to put Siam in a stronger international position, no longer dominated by Britain and France.

The King also traveled within his own country. He was passionately interested in his subjects' welfare and was intent on the monarchy assuming a more visible role in society. He wanted to see at first-hand how his subjects lived and went outside his palace often, sometimes incognito. His progressive outlook led him, in what was his first official act, to forbid prostration in the royal presence. He considered that such prostration was humiliating to the subject and apt to engender arrogance in the ruler. Influenced by Buddhist morality and Western examples, he gradually abolished both the corvee system and the institution of slavery, a momentous and positive change for Thai society.

During this reign, Siam's communications system was revolutionized. Post and telegraph services were introduced and a railway network was built. Such advances enabled the central government to improve its control over outlying provinces. One of the central issues inaugurated in 1892 of King Chulalongkorn's reign was the imposition of central authority over the more distant parts of the kingdom. The King initiated extensive reforms of the administration, both in the provinces and in Bangkok. Western-style ministries were set up, replacing older, traditional administrative bodies. The old units, which were remodeled according to the Western pattern, were those of the Interior, of War, of Foreign Affairs, of Finance, of Agriculture, of the Palace, and of Local Administration. Completely new ministries were also created, such as the ministries of Justice, of Public Instruction, and of Public Works. This new ministerial system of government was
King Chulalongkorn's contribution to education was also to prove of great significance to modern Thailand. During this reign "public instruction" or education became more secular than ever before in Thai history. Secular schools were established in the 1880's aimed at producing the educated men necessary for the smooth functioning of a centralized administration. One of the pressing issues of the reign was the necessity to prove to the Western colonial powers that Siam had become a "modern" and "progressive" country: the problem, however, was that the King and his advisers had very little time in which to do so.

The King was eager to send Thais abroad for their education partly because the country needed skills and knowledge from the West and partly because Thai students abroad could come into direct contact with Europe's elite. Conversely, the King also hired several westerners to act as advisers to the Thai government in various fields, among them the Belgian Rolin-Jacquemyns (a "General Adviser" whose special knowledge was in jurisprudence) and the British Financial Advisers H. Rivett-Carnac and W.J.F. Williamson. Such policies were deemed to be essential for Siam's survival as a sovereign state and its progress to modernity.

Thai foreign policy during King Chulalongkorn's long reign was a series of precarious balancing acts, playing off one Western power against another, and trying to maintain both sovereignty and territorial integrity. Siam's heartland had to be preserved at all costs, even to the extent of conceding to Britain and France some peripheral territories whenever the pressure became too intense.

Even Siam's subtle and supple foreign policy was not always enough to offset the appetite for territory. In 1893, Siam ceded all territories on the east ("left") bank of the Mekong River to France, then building up its Indochinese Empire. In 1904, the Thais had to cede all territories on the west bank of the Mekong to France.
The Thai government wanted to put an end to the clauses concerning extra-territoriality, land tax, and trade duties in the treaties concluded with Western countries during King Mongkut's reign.

In return for the mitigation of treaty disabilities, the Thais had to cede several territories. For example, in 1907 the Khmer provinces of Siem Reap, Battambang, and Sisophon were ceded to France in return for French withdrawal from the eastern Thai province of Chanthaburi and the abandonment of French extraterritorial claims over their "protected persons" (mostly Asian and therefore not properly French at all). In 1909, Siam gave up its claims to the Malay states of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Trengganu, all of which became British protectorates.

This cession of territory was again agreed to by Siam in return for a lessening of certain treaty disabilities. It was fortunate indeed for the Thai kingdom that Britain and France had agreed in 1896 to keep Siam as a "buffer zone" between British and French territorial possessions in Southeast Asia.
King Chulalongkorn kept Siam an independent sovereign state in spite of all these crises, and all the while he strove to uphold Thai cultural, artistic, and religious values. The Thammayut order of monks founded by King Mongkut thrived during this reign, extending its influence from Bangkok to the provinces.

When King Chulalongkorn died in 1910 a new Siam had come into being. The Thai kingdom was now a more centralized, bureaucratic state partly modeled on Western example. It was also a society without slaves, with a ruling class that was partly westernized in outlook and much more aware of what was going on in Europe and America. Technologically, too, there had been many advances: there were now railroads and trams, postage stamps and telegraphs.
With so many achievements to his credit, and a charisma that was enhanced by his longevity, it was no wonder that the Thai people grieved long and genuinely for King Chulalongkorn when he died. October 23, the date of his death, is still a national holiday, in honour of one of Siam's greatest and most beloved kings.

Nationalism and Constitution (1910-1932)
King Chulalongkorn's son and successor Vajiravudh (Rama VI) was the first Thai king to have been educated abroad, in his case at Harrow School and Oxford University in England. King Vajiravudh (r. 1910-1925) was notable for his accomplishments as a poet, dramatist (in both English and Thai), and polemicist.

He was a convinced nationalist and was the first person to try to instill a western-style nationalistic fervor in his subjects. Like his father, he was determined to modernize Siam while still upholding traditional Thai values and royal authority.
King Vajiravudh chose to work on issues and problems that appealed to his personal interests, largely in the literary, educational, and ideological fields. The King was also keenly interested in military affairs and formed his own paramilitary organization, the "Wild Tiger Corps," to inculcate nationalism and promote national unity.

When the First World War broke out, he was determined to join the Allies in their struggle against Germany. His decision in 1917 to send Thai troops to fight in Europe was a felicitous piece of timing: although the Thai expeditionary force did not see much action. Siam's participation in the war on the Allied side earned the country and its king much praise and recognition from the international community.
The major achievements of King Vajiravudh, however, lay in the area of education and related legislation.

In 1913, he compelled his subjects by law to use surnames and thus be no different from the Western nations. As a measure of his personal commitment to this idea, he himself coined hundreds of family names.
In 1921, the King issued a law on compulsory primary education, which was the first step in Siam 5 path towards universal primary education. Two of present-day Thailand's most prestigious educational establishments were founded by King Vajiravudh, Chulalongkorn University, Siam's first Western-style University, named in honour of King Chulalongkorn, and Vajiravudh College, a boarding school for boys modeled upon the English public school.
The death of King Vajiravudh in 1925 meant that Prince Prajadhipok, his younger brother, succeeded to the throne since King Vajiravudh had no male heir. The new king (also known as Rama VII) began his reign at an unenviable juncture of both Thai and world history. The global economic depression of the late 1920's and early 1930's forced the Thai government to make economic measures that led to some discontentment. As for Siam's internal development, the dilemma about when or whether to institute wide-ranging political reforms became more acute during this reign.

King Prajadhipok was a liberal and a conscientious man. A soldier by training, he nevertheless worked hard in addressing himself to Siam's problems, and his comments on various matters of government and administration in the state papers of this reign reveal him to be an admirable ruler in many ways. He was well aware of the desirability of establishing Siam in the international political community as a country with a "modern" and "liberal" constitutional system of government. The King, however, was still in the process of trying to convince the more conservative of his relatives in the Supreme State Council about the need to promulgate a constitution when matters were taken out of his hands by the bloodless "revolution", or coup d'etat, of 24 June 1932.

The 1932 coup d'etat put an end to absolute monarchy in Siam. Prior to this event, there had been an increased political awareness among the middle-ranking military officers and civilian officials who were to become the major figures in the coup group, which called itself the People's Party. Many of these men had been educated abroad, principally in France and Britain. There had also been a degree of discontent within the military and civilian bureaucracy resulting from. the royal government's retrenchment program, which in turn had been dictated by the worldwide economic depression.

Government expenditures had been cut by one-third in early 1932, salaries were also cut, and many government officials lost their jobs. All these factors were instrumental in motivating the coup group of 1932 to initiate a new system of government. A formal constitution was promulgated and a National Assembly set up. Siam thus became a constitutional monarchy without any bloodshed or wholesale changes in its society and economy

After 1932: The Ascendancy of the Military
After June 1932, the country 5 governments alternated between democratically-elected and differing degrees of military rule. It was a period of transition, of trying to balance new political ideals and expectations with the pragmatism of power politics.
King Prajadhipok abdicated in March 1935, feeling that he could no longer cooperate with the People's Party in a constructive way. He went into exile in England, where he died in 1941. The new king was Ananda Mahidol, the ten-year-old son of Prince Mahidol of Songkla, one of King Chulalongkorn's sons. The extreme youth of the new king, and his absence from the country while pursuing his studies in Switzerland, left the People's Party with a relatively free hand in shaping the destiny of the kingdom.

During the 1940's leading figures of the People's Party dominated Thai politics. Two men in particular stood out: the civilian leader Dr. Pridi Panomyong and the young officer Luang Pibulsongkram (later Field Marshal P. Pibulsongkram). While the country experimented with various forms and degrees of democracy and several constitutions were promulgated, the two groups which held power were, alternately, the military and the civilian bureaucratic elite.
Dr. Pridi Panomyong tried to lay down the foundations of a socialistic society with his economic plan of 1933. This plan was considered to be too radical.

It proposed to nationalize all land and labor resources and to have most people working for the state as government employees. These ideas were unacceptable to the more conservative elements both within the People's Party and also in the elite as a whole, which did not desire any sweeping structural changes in Thai society. Dr. Pridi was forced into temporary exile, and the National Assembly prorogued.

After 1933, Siam entered a long period of military ascendancy. The army that had been so carefully and systematically built up during the reign of King Chulalongkorn became a formidable institution. During King Vajiravudh's reign, in 1912, some officers had tried unsuccessfully to stage a coup d'etat, wanting to see Siam progress into modernity in terms of politics and government. In 1932 some senior and middle-ranking military officers had formed part of the People's Party. The most dynamic of these military officers was undoubtedly Luang Pibulsongkram, who came into prominence after he had played a crucial role in the defeat of a royalist counter-revolution in 1933. The Thai army was to be Field Marshal P. Pibulsongkram's power base during the next 25 years.

The military had one vital advantage over other groups: an organizational strength born of being a strict and tightly-knit hierarchy. Once the military decided to involve itself in politics, it was inevitable that it would prove to be a dominant force.
The first governments of the post-1932 era tried to keep a balance between civilian and military elements so as not to alienate any important group. For instance, in 1934 the exiled Dr. Pridi Panomyong was brought back into the administration as Interior Minister largely because the Prime Minister, General Phraya Phahol Pholphayuhasena, was eager to preserve civilian support for his government.

Phraya Phahol also used Luang Pibulsongkram as a minister. During the period 1934-1938 both Dr. Pridi and Luang Pibulsongkram strove hard to consolidate their political power, the former through the Thai intelligentsia and the latter through influence over the army. When Phraya Phahol resigned in 1938 Luang Pibulsongkram succeeded him as Prime Minister, signifying that the military had gained a decisive advantage in the struggle for dominance in Thai politics.

In conformity with his view that a strongly enforced discipline backed by military strength was vital for Thailand's development he aimed at focusing nationalism to maximum intensity. He continued this policy until, in 1941, he was forced into collaboration with the occupying Japanese. Dr. Pridi, during the same period, was sympathetic to the Allies and worked with Thailand's underground resistance movement.

Towards the end of World War II, Field Marshal Pibul and his collaborative government resigned and Khuang Apaivongse became the Prime Minister in 1944. In the following year King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) returned from Switzerland, and Dr. Pridi became Prime Minister in 1946. But the unexpected death of the young King generated popular dissatisfaction and once again the tide turned. Dr. Pridi was forced into exile and Field Marshal Pibul again assumed power.

This time his period of leadership was to be a long one. It would witness the establishment of parliamentary democracy in Thailand and see the emergence of the country's students as a powerful political force whose protests contributed to Field Marshal Pibul's eventual overthrow.
In 1946, Thailand joined the United Nations, recognizing the future importance of the UN’s role in securing world peace. In 1950, shortly after the outbreak of war in Korea. Thailand announced its support of United Nations intervention and promptly sent a 2,000-man fighting force, naval and air force contingents, and several tons of rice.

Economically, the establishment of the People's Republic of China discouraged Thailand's Chinese from sending monthly remittances and encouraged local assimilation, which in turn stimulated local growth and profits.

As world demand for food products rose, the countryside began diversifying away from the rice monoculture. And in response to local demand, enterprising producers founded light manufacturing industries on city and town outskirts.
In 1957, the premiership changed from Field Marshal Pibul to Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat. Under his vigorous personal leadership, the government apparently satisfied the requirements of the ever-burgeoning population by emphasizing economic development and national security. As a consequence of these decisive actions and policies, Field Marshal Sarit provided the nation with a sound infrastructure which successive governments could easily continue and adapt.
Following the sudden death of Field Marshal Sarit in 1963, Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn was appointed Prime Minister.

The government led by Field Marshal Thanom not only concentrated on internal social and economic development but also promoted the stability of the region as a whole. Indeed, it was primarily through the initiative of Thailand that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967 in accordance with the Bangkok Declaration. However, in response to unprecedented political confusion caused by a student uprising in October 1973 Field Marshal Thanom relinquished the premiership in favor of Professor Sanya Dharmasakti.

During the period 1973-1976, the Thai political area witnessed successive governments headed by Professor Sanya Dharmasakti, M.R. Seni Pramoj, M.R. Kukrit Pramoj, again M.R. Seni Pramoj, and finally Dr. Tanin Kraivixian, each of whom strove to develop the country in its own way.
In 1977, General Kriengsak Chamanand became the Prime Minister. His government maintained political stability, which successfully encouraged foreigners to invest in Thailand.
General Prem Tinsulanonda became premier in 1979 and headed four governments between that time and 1988, when he declined another term. During these years, insurgency-caused conflicts were greatly reduced and many groups of insurgents emerged from their jungle hideouts to peacefully surrender to government officials. Moreover, national stability and successful foreign policies brought about a great many socio-political and economic developments.

In 1982 Thailand celebrated the 2nd centennial anniversary of Bangkok.
An elected Prime Minister, Major General Chatichai Choonhavan, took office in August of 1988. During his first year he continued the successful economic policies that have brought Thailand to the status of a newly industrialized country and was also active in foreign affairs, particularly those of neighboring Indochina.

In 1992 the military coup d'etat led by General Sunthorn Kongsompong ousted the democratically elected Chatichai cabinet. Mr. Anand Panyarachun, a diplomat and well-known businessman was appointed as the next Prime Minister. He led his cabinet as an interim government until his term ended in accordance with the constitution. A general election took place and resulted in an appointment of General Suchinda Kraprayoon as the Prime Minister. The cabinet led by General Suchinda Kraprayoon was ended by a political mass demonstration for democracy. After resignation of General Suchinda Kraprayoon, Mr. Anand Panyarachun was for the second time appointed as the Prime Minister. In his second period, Mr. Anand Panyarachun came with several liberalization programs for the enhancement of economic growth and the general advancements of the country. He has also introduced a nationwide reform and revised the outmoded laws of the country resulting in greater facilitation and greater assurance to the business community.

The Anand II interim cabinet came to an end when Chuan Leekpai won the election in 1992 and was Prime Minister from 1992 to 1995. In mid 1995, Banharn Silpa-Archa won the election and became Prime Minister until September, 1996. He was replaced by Chavalit Yongchaiyuth, who became Prime Minister until November, 1997. In November, 1997 Mr. Leekpai returned and became the Prime Minister.
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