A Brief History of Thailand
Introduction
Modern day Thailand and its people are an ancient melting
pot of Southeast Asian cultures. A variety of people have
called the area home over the years, most notably the
‘Tai’ of Southern China, who first came here in the first
century AD. Over time various Tai tribes settled in what
are now Burma (Shans), Laos (Lao) and Thailand (Thais).
Most modern day Thais are descendants of this clan in one
form or another. Combined with periodic Burmese and Khmer
invasions and more recent Chinese settlement, this is very
a unique people.
Early History
Civilization, in one form or another, has been in Thailand
for at least 5000 years, with evidence of bronze tools,
pottery manufacture and wet rice cultivation in the
northeast dated before to 3000BC. Prior to the development
of Thai kingdoms, the region was controlled by other
significant civilizations including the Mon Dvaravati
Kingdom (6th-11th centuries), Malay Srivijaya Empire
(7-13th centuries) and the Khmer Empire (9th-13th
centuries) During this period Hindu beliefs were replaced
by Buddhism (via Burma) as the primary religion of the
region.
Early Thai Kingdoms
The first major Thai kingdom, at Sukhothai, was
established in 1238 when the Thais led by King Intharathit
drove out the regional Khmer governors and became
autonomous. During the reign of Ramkhamhaeng (1279-98) the
Sukhothai kingdom peaked in grandeur and influence but
thereafter declined in power until it came under control
of Ayutthaya in the 1370s. King Ramkhamhaeng is
traditionally credited with codifying the Thai alphabet
based on the Sanskrit derived script of the Khmer kingdom.
In 1259 the Lanna Kingdom in the Chiang Mai and Chiang
Rai regions of Thailand was founded by King Mengrai. This
state remained mostly independent of, though cooperative
with, their Sukhothai, Ayutthaya and Burmese neighbours
until it was conquered and partitioned by the Burmese in
1560.
During the Sukhothai and Lanna kingdoms Theravada
Buddhism was also brought to Thailand from Sri Lanka
becoming the Buddhist religion for most of SE Asia.
The Ayutthaya Period
Ayutthaya was established on the banks of the Chao Phraya
River as the capital of Siam in 1350 by King Ramathibodi.
In 1378 it annexed the remaining portions of the Sukhothai
kingdom and began a period of expansion and wars with its
neighbours. At its peak Ayutthaya controlled or was the
main power over a loose empire that occupied parts of
modern day eastern Myanmar, northern parts of Malaysia,
most of western Laos and the western half of Cambodia
including the Khmer capital of Angkor.
The Portuguese were the first foreigners to establish
an embassy here (1511), followed by the Dutch (1605), the
English (1612), the Danes (1621) and finally the French
(1662). By the end of the 17th century the city itself had
grown to more than a million people and was described by
some western visitors as the most glorious city on earth.
In 1680 Ayutthaya expelled foreigners and sealed itself
off from the west for the next 150 years.
With the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767 to a united
Burmese army, its residents fled south, settling on the
banks of the Chao Phraya River.
Bangkok and the Chakri Dynasty
In 1769 General Phraya Taksin, made himself king of Siam
and quickly regained Ayutthaya and northern Thailand,
forcing the Burmese to withdraw. His rule was cut short in
1782 by one of his generals, Chao Phraya Chakri who was
offered the throne after Taksin was deposed, crowning
himself Phra Yot Fa. With this change came the
establishment of the Chakri Dynasty with ‘Krung Thep’
(Bangkok) as its capital beginning the modern period of
Thai history known as the Ratonakosin period.
In 1825 Rama III, King Chakri’s grandson, ascended the
throne and ruled over an empire that eventually included
eastern and southern Burma, portions of Malaya, most of
Laos and virtually all of Cambodia. He further revived
Thai culture, cultivated trade with China and brought the
first printing press to the kingdom.
Rama IV, King Mongkut, previously a Buddhist monk for
27 years succeeded his brother and continued to modernize
the country by negotiating looser trade ties with the west
and establishing a modern, European-styled education
system.
True modernization came under King Mongkut son, the
highly revered Rama V (King Chulalongkorn) who made the
first state visits to Europe, brought back such items as
the locomotive, establishing the country’s first railway,
abolished slavery and instituted the modern monetary
system. Until his death 1910, Rama V shrewdly kept Siam
from becoming a colony of Britain or France, but did so by
ceding controlled regions of Burma and Malaya to the
British and all of Laos and Cambodia to the French.
In 1932 the absolute monarchy was replaced with a
constitutional one during the reign of Rama VII and
shortly after the country’s name changed from Siam to
Thailand in 1939. Rama VIII was crowned King in 1945 but
died of mysterious circumstances the next year, paving the
way for his younger brother to ascend the throne.
Rama IX and transition to democracy
At age of 18, Rama IX was crowned in 1946 as King
Bhumiphol Adulyadej, and is still ruling to this day –
King Bhumiphol is the world’s longest reigning, living
monarch. During the first part of his reign, Thailand was
largely controlled by the military until in 1973 massive
demonstrations prompted King Bhumiphol to intervene and
help the country transition to a full democracy.
Since 1992 after a series of military coups and
demonstrations had taken place, the country has had
generally stable democratic elections. The first complete,
four-year, democratically elected term was completed by
the Thai Rak Thai Party (Thai Love Thai) in 2004. Under
Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai Rak Thai was elected to a second
term, capturing another majority government in 2005.
Since December, 2005, pressure has come to bear against
Thaksin and his government due to perceived corruption,
electioneering and defection of leaders within the Thai
Rak Thai party. In April 2006 Thaksin called a snap
election that was successfully boycotted by opposition
parties. King Bhumiphol refused to open a less than
complete parliament and in the aftermath Thaksin was
forced to resign.
As of May, Thailand is waiting for a new election to be
called as no parliament is currently sitting.
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