Thailand is a unique nation in relation to its Southeast Asian counterparts. It persisted through the colonialism that has been a common thread of these histories and stands as the only Southeast Asian country to not be subject to direct European control. It grew with the powerful ancient civilizations of Burma to its east, Cambodia to its west, and China to its north. It persisted during a period that saw British control in surrounding Burma and Malaysia while French Indochina was established on the opposite side when it controlled modern Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. It retains itself to this day as a Kingdom, no longer Siam, but a bright and exciting nation.
Early History
The early Tai people centered themselves in what are still known as mueang. I liken it to the Filipino Barangay noted in the Philippines blog or our modern towns. The mueang was the village unit that was overseen by the overall leader established primarily on a hereditary basis. These would be clearly distinct instilling a sense of identity and allegiance. These villagers were agricultural and spread out with the Tai people traced throughout modern Thailand and Laos.
They interacted with the earlier and more established Mon (Myanmar) and Khmer (Cambodia) civilizations who had already been long engrained in a process commonly coined as:
"Indianization"
No Southeast Asian history is complete without the recognition of India and China’s influence. In the west its likened to tracing customs to the Greeks and Romans. One interpretation is that Southeast Asia, Thailand included, inherited much of its cultural and religious elements for India and much of its politics from China. Each region was impacted differently depending upon which Hindu gods or which practice of Buddhism was adhered to. This was often geographically and commercially influenced given that geography influenced trade and trade brings traditions and customs with it.
Indian culture brought Sanskrit epics like the Ramanyana, and the belief that a king is a Hindu deity reincarnated. In each of Southeast Asia’s kingdoms these stories were not merely taken as they were in India but implemented with those kingdoms earlier systems. The main and most persistent belief system for Thailand was:
Theravada Buddhism
Similar to modern Myanmar, Thailand was swept up by Theravada Buddhism a sect that expanded south from India to the island nation of Sri Lanka, where it is still its capital. The Mon people of Myanmar were the first to establish themselves as a formal Buddhist kingdom under the Theravada sect. The early Mon’s had previously held territory in the center of Thailand giving the Tai people deep interaction with Indian explanations of the world. To their east the Khmer civilizations were more engrained with Hinduism and the earlier Brahminism which the Tai people also incorporated.
As development continued the area comprising Thailand developed as two kingdoms, the:
Sukhothai & Lanna
Given modern Thailand’s large geographic territory various kingdoms persisted throughout its rich history. The two most notable are the Lanna in the North centered in modern Chiang Mai and the Sukhothai in the south. For these kingdoms being surrounded by Burma and Khmer kingdoms was difficult place. Interestingly, both emerged through revolt against these older counterparts.
The Sukhothai arose as a 13th century Tai revolt against the Khmers and the Lanna emerged through the conquering of a Mon Kingdom. The idea of a distinct Tai would have to have been present long before the motivation or organization of these revolts.
Following their establishment as kingdoms they continued the practice of Theravada Buddhism and expanded upon their modest beginnings. Their neighbors were still powerful and with the Burmese people overtaking the earlier Mon in Myanmar they moved to take Lanna from the 16th-18th century. To the south, the Sukhothai were succeeded by the:
Ayudha
The Ayudha (“Ayutthaya”) held much of what we now consider to be modern Thailand. It was their neighboring kingdoms that called their country “Siam” which would eventually stand into modern history. By the 15th century the kingdom was strong enough to sack the Khmer capital of Angkor Wat. As it can sometimes be with conquest, the Ayudha adopted some aspects of Khmer practices. Conquering leadership would take a liking to a title as prestigious as “god king”, and also began formalizing laws and social hierarchy.
The king who established these systems was Trailok. His systems persisted into the 19th century and included a process known as:
Sakdi Na
Sakdi Na grades were essentially a social hierarchy points system based on acres of land. These grades limited the number of acres any official or person could own following leaderships numerical ranking of its subjects. According to Britannica this could be anywhere between 4,000 acres for the king’s highest ministers and 10 acres for a common freeman. The ranking made a person’s standing in the kingdom clear. Similarly, he would rank his provinces with four classes to clarify their hierarchical relations with each other.
Other established systems included the separation of military and administrative functions and the centralization of their governance operations.
A method of this nature seems cruel and unusual to people brought up in an era where it is believed government should function as the protector of individual rights and freedom of opportunity. However, these were drastically different times. It is far too complicated to address here whether this method contributed or hindered the Ayudha. The kingdom would grow in power as would its neighbor. The Burmese people now ruled modern Myanmar and as part of their expansion in:
1767 - Ayudha falls to the Burmese
Thousands of people were forced to move into Burma, including the royal family. However, the Burmese did not stop there. They also burned and destroyed all records and pieces of art. In the aftermath of this destruction another character enters the stage of Thai history.
Taksin
A charismatic military commander who led his troops back into Ayudha to expel the occupying Burmese force. He would be the one to strategically move the kingdoms capital near modern Bangkok in a city known as Thon Buri. He is said to have done this for two main reasons.
1) Geographically it placed them in a difficult position for further Burmese conquest
2) Ease of trade with the Chinese
Taksin was an ambitious and unstable figure but did manage to reignite the Tai position. He rapidly returned of their previous holdings and even began seeking new ones into Cambodia and Laos. He would eventually be overthrown and put to death in 1782. His former military commander would succeed him and initiate the:
Chakri Dynasty
The dynasty remains in effect today and one of the early successors would move the capital across the river inhabiting what is now the metropolis of Bangkok. Burmese attacks continued and intensified with attempted invasion. It would take British interest in Burma to finally free Siam from their attacks. As their west was finally softening, they were able to secure themselves and grow their position to the east making the Khmer a vassal state and interfering in Laos.
As the British declared war on Burma in 1824 the dynasty then feared that they too could soon be under colonial threat. In anticipation of this they signed the:
1826 - Anglo-Siamese Treaty
The treaty outlined agreed upon conditions of trade and established a relationship between the two governments. In the coming years European involvement would continue to intensify. Demands for free trade were made and Britain continued to lead the way with opening of a Bangkok consulate. The remainder of the Europe and others would soon follow which would reduce Siam’s ability to make fully independent decisions. Siam was a strong enough force and negotiated with the surrounding colonizers effectively to ensure it was not subject to full scale attempts at colonial control. This strategy worked primarily by Siam strategically giving territory to the British and French while retaining the core of their nation.
These negotiations were not exactly diplomatic in nature. One such example is the French navigating the rivers to the shores of Bangkok. The French with their war ships anchored at the riverside employed a tactic coined as:
Gunboat diplomacy
This tactic brought the French control over the previously Siamese territories within modern Laos and Cambodia. In addition, Britain would expand to their western border and forced the ceding of their Malaysian provinces.
During the mid 19th century this western involvement brought many advisors to the country. One of such events was the romanticized:
The King & I
A story told by British tutor, Anna Harriette Leonowens about the court and her relationship with King Mongkut. The story is said to have some inaccuracies but is an interesting depiction of the pressure Siam faced to adopt western standards. Some of these would have been good for the Thai people and others a loss of ancient customs. Siam’s leadership did conduct some significant reforms in the late 19th and early 20th century. King Chulalongkorn and his son Vajiravudh would bring reforms that reduced the powers of their courts. They adopted ministries, organized tax collection, abolished slavery, modernized education, and improved infrastructure. Vajiravudh was the last absolute monarch and tilted towards more democratic policy. He was educated abroad and continued the reforms of his father. Under his reign we see the rise of Thai nationalism in the 20st century.
Modern History
As Thailand entered the 20th century their independence would have afforded them significantly more wealth and organization compared to their colonized counterparts. They were a power, which included a respectable military. Siam sent soldiers to fight alongside the Allies in world war one. As it is with monarchy sometimes wealth brings with it extravagance, and with extravagance comes fiscal problems. These threatened the progress of the Kings officials and middle class to the point of the:
1932 Coup
Opposition to Siam began with the public discontent of those studying abroad. It resulted in the formation of a Peoples Party. One that quickly shifted to plotting an overthrow of absolute monarchy in the country. The coup involved military support but not violent. The revolutionaries demanded that the king rule beneath a constitution.
There were some difficulties in getting a proper constitution in order, and amidst this administrative confusion the military continued to grow. A military dictator emerged in 1938 named:
Phibunsongkhram
He was a strong supporter in Thai nationalism and became opportunistic during the second world war. As Germany defeated France in Europe, Siam moved to take their territory in Laos and Cambodia. As had happened to all of Asia, Siam became the subject of Japanese power. During Japan’s colonial ambitions they sought to weaken European and American territory in Asia. They entered Siam as part of their planned assault and occupation of British Malaysia and Singapore as they swept south. The dictator ordered the Thai army to surrender and subsequently signed a treaty of alliance with the Japanese declaring war on Britain and the United States in 1942.
Nationalism would however remain and attempts against the Japanese were made. The Japanese defeat in the war would bring about a power struggle in Siam in the:
Aftermath of War
This includes the mysterious 1946 death of the enthroned Ananda Mahidol. The government was under the control of a group known as the Free Thai Movement and was not able to adequately explain the cause of the conspiracy. The military would then return with a coup that brought the former dictator Phibunsongkhram back into power.
As the Cold War began Siam sided with the West in taking an Anti-Communist position. This included sending troops to support South Korea and Southern Vietnam, along with strict oversight of the Chinese, Laos, and Cambodian people and leaders. This siding with the side of the democracy brought significant aid and military support into the country from the United States. They grew in power and economic prosperity as a result and did not share the unfortunate 20th century that Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam were subjected.
Democracy however would not take hold overnight and was a persistent problem for a nation with an authoritarian history. It climaxed with a:
1973 Revolution
Which had involved the unfortunate killing of protesters. It would however, lead to another constitution, but Communism’s threat seeped internally with the establishment of the Communist Party of Thailand. The country would be pulled by these competing ideological forces but would ultimately prevail. President Choonhavan would be democratically elected in 1988 and a 1997 constitution would emerge. As the 21st century arrived so did the popularity of a political party known as:
Thai’s Love Thai’s
The TLT party won a majority for the first time in Thai elections, but its leader Thaksin Shinawatra was not without his faults. As a wealthy man he had conflicting interests between his family’s commercial affairs and the nation. One such example was the selling of a Thai telecom corporation to a Singapore holding company.
The Peoples Alliance for Democracy (PAD) known as the “Yellow Shirts” became his strong opposition. Thaksin attempted to calm the political unrest by calling a 2006 snap election to try and demonstrate his popularity. The election was boycotted by the other parties and later illegitimated by the Supreme Court.
In the same year another military coup would ensue, and another constitution would be prepared in 2007. Thaksin would join a new political party known as the People Power Party (PPP), which won a majority of the seats in the election. Its leader Samak Sundaravej became Prime Minister but protesters claimed he was merely the face of a nation still being led by Thaksin within the PPP. The mass protests led to Samak’s ousting and Thaksin who was now in exile was convicted on charges of corruption. Thaksin’s supporters emerged as the “Red Shirts” which intensified the demonstrations on both sides. The conflicts were so severe that the military under the leadership of Prayuth Chanocha declared:
Martial Law
This imposed strict measures and they undertook a bloodless coup to bring the power back into the hands of the military under a newly formed committee known as the National Council for Peace & Order (NCPO). Yet another constitution would be made and pressures within Thailand and abroad resulted in the lifting of the martial law.
Through all this political conflict Prayuth Chanocha remains as Prime Minister of Thailand. He is at times a blunt figure in politics along with being a songwriter whose songs are publicly played. The nation held:
March 24, 2019 Elections
Previous constitutional changes in 2016 gave the party a higher likelihood of re-election in relation to their counterparts. The controversial election had a 45-day delay in the announcement of the results which kept the military in power. The opposing parties have sought all means of protesting the result including a seven-party coalition which would provide them with enough seats to form the government. Thaksin is still deeply involved in Thai politics while remaining in exile. Though it remains likely that Chanocha and the military will remain in control of the nation.
The Thai people’s fight for true democracy continues. These still developing nations should act as a reminder for how precious these important systems truly are. As personal aspirations outweigh national responsibility everybody suffers. Still one must recognize and appreciate progress. Thailand continues to rise with improvement and draws tourists by the millions to its shores and bustling cities.
Sources:
General History:
A History of Southeast Asia – Arthur Cottrell
General History:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand
Thailand Elections:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/08/thai-parties-cry-foul-after-election-results-favour-military-junta
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47040001