History of Thailand in brief
Up until recently it was thought that the first settlers in Thailand were immigrants from southern China, who migrated in the early part of the second millennium. However the discovery of archaeological artefacts at Ban Chiang only 20 years ago, suggests that the history of Thailand is one of the longest known in the world, with proof of civilization dating back to prehistoric times.
It was, however, the migrants from southern China who formed the first city states in the northern regions of present-day Thailand. Known from the beginning as Thais, meaning ‘free’, these first settlers included minority groups of Mon, Khmer and Chinese and also gave inspiration for the present day name which was changed from Siam to Thailand in 1932 - meaning land of the free.
Dvaravati and Khmer
The earliest distinguishable organised states formed in the fertile central plains during a period known now as Dvaravati, which declined in the 11th century as the Khmer influences arose from the powerful kingdom of Angkor in present day Cambodia. The land of the Mons, who defined the earliest culture of the area gradually came to be known as Syam - meaning golden land in Sanskrit. The moniker was responsible for both Siam, and the popular term Suvarnabhumi, which has a similar meaning.
Lanna and the North
Meanwhile kingdoms were forming in the North; with Lanna developing into a well organised and powerful state based out of Chiang Saen - a trading town on the Mekhong that survives to this day. The capital was later moved to Chiang Mai in 1296, but the nearby town of Lamphun pre-dates this settlement as the centre of the Hariphunchai kingdom.
As a result some of oldest preserved ruins and temples are found in these two towns. Lanna continued as an independent kingdom until the early 20th century despite 200 years under Burmese occupation. Even today visitors gets a real sense of the history as the old town is surrouded uniquely by the original moat, bastions and gates that date back 700 years. The city is a living museum with scores of temples that are 500 or more years old.
Sukhothai era
At the same time the Sukhothai period (1238-1350) saw the establishment of the first widespread kingdom in the region, at it’s regarded as one of the most important periods in the history of Thailand. It was a time of great cultural formation, with the birth of characteristics that are still strongly respected and upheld to this day. Theravada Buddhism was established, having been brought over from Sri Lanka centuries earlier. Moreover, written Thai language was formed and the distinctive Thai techniques in painting, sculpting and architecture made their first marks during this era. The ruins of Sukhothai and nearby Sri Satchanalai remain in a well preserved state.
Ayuthaya
Despite the short-lived prominence of the Sukhothai Kingdom, its traditions were upheld and used throughout the reign of the Kingdom of Ayuthaya, beginning in 1350. Over a 417 year period, 34 Kings sat on the throne of Ayuthaya making it one of the longest standing capitals in the history of Thailand. This period brought about further and more fervent formation of traditional Thai values, while diplomacy with many Asian and European powers was fostered.
Situated up river from present day Bangkok, it became a powerful trading kingdom that ruled a vast areas through vassal states and was described by resident foreign diplomats as the largest and most advanced city in Asia at the time. At its zenith the Ayuthaya Kingdom spanned the length of Southeast Asia including Laos, Cambodia, parts of Burma and northern Malaysia.
Rattanakosin era and the Chakris
However, this celebrated era was abruptly ended in 1767 with a Burmese invasion and take over. The city was sacked and the Siamese fled to set up a new capital further south. The Burmese could not consolidate their hold and with a year were expelled by forced led by the self-proclaimed King Thaksin, beginning the Thonburi period, which lasted a mere 15 years.
In 1782 the Chakri dynasty was founded and the capital moved to the East bank of the river Chao Phraya. The city came to be known internationally as Bangkok meaning ‘village of the wild plums’. In fact the official name is rather lengthy and ostentatious but is widely abbreviated by all Thais as Krung Thep or ‘City of Angels’. Since then it has expanded into a vast metropolis over the history of Thailand’s Rattanakosin period. This ushered in the Chakri dynasty which continues to this day.
Despite coming under threat after the 1932 coup introduced a constitutional monarchy, the monarchy maintains a powerful role in Thailand thanks to the long reign of the over-achieving and much loved present king; Rama IX. Thailand is one of the only Asian countries never to have been colonised and this is proudly attributed to King Mongkut (Rama IV) and his son King Chulalongkorn (Rama IV), who was credited with modernising Siam towards the end of the Nineteenth century
The present monarch of the Rattanakosin period, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), has served more than 60 years as King of Thailand. He is one of the most respected Kings in Thailand’s modern history. During his reign her has witness more than a dozen coups and a turbulent transition to democracy through a series of military run governments. More on Thai monarchy
First of the coups
The first of these started off after a group of European based and educated intellectuals took advantage of a weak monarchy to pull off a revolutionary coup in 1932. King Rama VII abdicated and left the monarchy rudderless while various factions jockeyed for control over the new Thailand for the next 10 years, until a puppet government capitulated voluntarily to the invading Japanese in World War II.
After the war Thailand paid a huge price for siding with the Japanese, with hefty war crimes penalties. At the hands of Japanese masters the locals suffered too, the most famous example being the saga of the Death Railway construction in Kanchanaburi, in which hundreds of thousands of labourers and POWs lost their lives. The only other notable event was the accession to the throne of a young and unlikely US-born, Swiss educated King who was thrust into the role when his 18 year brother was mysteriously assassinated. He would become Rama IX and go on to rule for more than 60 years to become the country’s greatest king.
The Bamboo curtain
Meanwhile Thailand had slipped behind without the benefit of foreign investment and was one of the region’s poorer countries. A series of coups and counter or failed coups continued to hamper its democratic advances, and the escalation of the Vietnam war in the region and threat of communism thrust the country to the forefront of the ‘Bamboo Curtain’. Successive military governments enjoyed hefty financial support from the US for supporting the West in their efforts, and this only served to maintain a dictatorial grip on the country by the ruthless General Sarit.
Other strongmen followed him, covering their corrupt excesses with generous financial injection from the US and palpable signs that Thailand was emerging to follow the tiger economy examples set elsewhere in Asia. But their time was soon up, and by 1973 students disgusted with their political repression stood up to be counted, demanding a real constitution. On October 14th, they were brutally put down and the resulting bloodshed forced the ruling pair of men in uniform to go into exile.
Turbulent years
A shaky coalition took charge and lasted three years before more student protests - this time at the returning home of the exiled strongmen - again caused the army to turn their guns on their own people. Hundreds more where killed resulting in mass disillusionment among the youth, many of whom took to the hills of the North to join the Thailand Communist movement.
This did little to appease the elite class, who tacitly supported another military backed pseudo-civilian government. More coups followed until the relatively stable eighties were ushered in under the royalist PM Prem Tinsulanonda.
Boom times and growing pains
By now, Thailand was an Asian tiger of its own, boasting one of the worlds fastest growing economies (at nearly 10 per cent for more than a decade) and Thais became more interested in money than politics. With the Vietnam war over, communism on the wane and Bangkok rapidly bursting at the seams due to migrant labour, Thailand had new problems to focus on. The communists were gradually reeled in with incentives and the country enjoyed unprecedented stability.
But Thai politics has a habit of shooting itself in the foot, and the country surprised the world in 1991 when the military emerged from the shadows of economic advancement to overthrow a government they accused of mass corruption. If their intentions were sound, they lost all credibility when a year later the promised elections installed the coup leader as the new Prime Minister with a heavy military influence on government.
Again the public didn’t stand for it, and massive street confrontation forced General Suchinda to step down after the King intervened to avoid more bloodshed. Finally a proper civilian government was installed and the rest of the decade saw a calamitous series of collapsed coalition governments while the rest of the country got on with making money. Corruption, scandals, allegiance swapping of minor coalition partners and vote buyer were all regular news, ensuring no government lasted more than 18 months.
But the biggest shock of the decade was the financial crisis in ’97, in which fiscally irresponsible management of the booming economy (corruption and grand larceny notwithstanding) precipitated an economic collapse that spread throughout Asia and devastating the fortunes of Thailand. Within months, against the advice of the IMF, a disastrous attempt to prop up the baht saw it lose 40 per cent of its value, as many went bankrupt and millions lost their jobs and mortgages. It would be eight years before the country had entirely recovered and to this day the unfinished skyscrapers around Bangkok have come to be symbols known as ‘ghosts of ’97’.
The Thaksin era
Finally, the new millennium ushered in stability in the form of a telecoms tycoon who had become exceedingly wealthy by cornering monopolies. Thaksin Shinawatra rose through the political ranks remarkably quickly and his new Thai Rak Thai party stormed to victory in 2001, promising hand outs to the poor. His CEO style of management was much admired and good for the economy, but his narrow avoidance of an assets concealment investigation shortly after taking office was an ominous sign of his tenure.
With the country back on its financial feet, Thais had never had it so good as the charismatic and business-minded billionaire instilled confidence in investors and forced through a results-orientated agenda. But trouble was brewing as allegations of corruption, cronyism, bullying and suppression of the media began to emerge. In 2003, under the media shadow of the Iraq war, his ill-conceived ‘war on drugs’ turned into a human rights disaster as more than 2000 people where executed without accountability among the police.
But he beguiled the poor rural masses with his populist policies and pulled off an unprecedented landslide victory in 2005, allegedly using his deep pockets. However, within a year it all began to unravel. Under pressure to wash his hands of his increasingly lucrative Shin Corp empire which was supposedly owned by his children, he sold out to the Singaporean government investment company Temasak in January 2006.
In doing so he made the critical mistake of undertaking tricky last minute ownership changes to avoid the hefty tax bill and it proved to be his undoing. Declared ethically unfit to rule by the increasing horde of critics, Thaksin came under heavy pressure as hundreds of thousands of Bangkokians took the streets demand he resign. He fought back, causing costly divisions among the people, effectively pitting the rural folk against the more informed city dwellers. A snap poll was called in April to give him a fresh mandate but it was boycotted by the opposition and the sham was declared null and void by the supreme court.
Not another coup!
Finally, on September 19th as Thaksin was about to address the United Nations in New York City, the army stepped into politics once more and shocked the world with yet another coup - Thailand’s 18th in 75 years. It spoilt the 60th anniversary celebrations of the king’s reign, but almost everyone was generally relieved and supportive when not a single drop of blood was shed. Citing corruption and divisions in society, the military promptly appointed a new government, abrogated the much vaunted 1997 constitution, and promised a new and less porous one within a year, followed by new elections.
In early 2007, Thai Rak Thai was dissolved and 111 of its members banned from politics for five years after a lengthy trial on election fraud. The military, meanwhile, took the opportunity to reassert itself after suffering an increasingly diminishing role, at the same time encouraging the interim government to get tough on graft. The Assets Scrutiny Commission was given extensive powers, ostensibly to go after the exiled Thaksin and his wife whose assets were seized and corruption charges laid against them.
With a new constitution approved in Thailand’s first ever referendum, elections taking place in December 2007 look set to introduce another era of bickering coalitions in a fractured political landscape. Meanwhile, the Thai Rak Thai juggernaut has re-emerged as a new and commanding party that suggests Thailand might yet have seen the back of Thaksin and his divisive politics.
As the military-appointed interim government tries to have him extradited, the man himself has joined the ranks of foreigners who have bought into the English premiership. While most Thais are now deeply depressed about politics, he whiles away his time at Manchester City football games.
Thailand meanwhile is now no longer the Asian tiger it once was, as its growth rate has slipped to 4 per cent (low by the region’s standards). A strengthening baht against the dollar has hurt its export industry, setbacks such as the tsunami and bird flu have interrupted it’s lucrative tourist industry, and a Muslim insurgency in the south continues to dog the government. Only the pride of having the world’s longest reigning monarch has kept the famous smile on the Thais faces.
