Overview of Thai History
Thailand was once referred to as Siam but on May 11, 1949 an official proclamation changed the name of the country. Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia to have never been colonized. Over 4,500 years ago people from Southern China moved southward through Burma down to the Indo- Chinese peninsula which was the northern province of Thailand (Terwiel, 1983). Wyatt states that Thailand’s history can be broken down into five periods: Nanchao Period (650-1250 A.D.), Sukhothai Period ( 1238-1378 A.D.), Ayutthaya Period (1350- 1767), Thon Buri Period (1767-1772), and the Rattanakosin Period ( 1782- Present).
According to Baker, by the 13th century the Thais had settled within the Southeast Asian Mainland with Sukhothai as the first kingdom and under rule of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great. This era marked a period of cultural development and considered the golden age in Thai history. Next was the Ayutthaya Kingdom which survived several wars with Burma before falling in 1767 and the Thais retreated south to establish another capitol at Thon Buri. Ayutthaya’s sovereigns were absolute monarchies and assumed the titles “god-king”.The next king to rule was in 1782 King Phra Buddha Yodfah Chulaloke who moved the capitol across the river to the present location in Bangkok. This king also founded the Chakri dynasty which rules the country to this day. This is the era when the King reopened relations with Western nations and developed trade with China (Baker, 2005).
References
Baker, C. J. (2005). A history of Thailand. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Terwiel, B. J. (1983). A history of modern Thailand, 1767-1942. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press.
Wyatt, D. K. (2003). Thailand: a short history (2nd ed.). New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.
According to Baker, by the 13th century the Thais had settled within the Southeast Asian Mainland with Sukhothai as the first kingdom and under rule of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great. This era marked a period of cultural development and considered the golden age in Thai history. Next was the Ayutthaya Kingdom which survived several wars with Burma before falling in 1767 and the Thais retreated south to establish another capitol at Thon Buri. Ayutthaya’s sovereigns were absolute monarchies and assumed the titles “god-king”.The next king to rule was in 1782 King Phra Buddha Yodfah Chulaloke who moved the capitol across the river to the present location in Bangkok. This king also founded the Chakri dynasty which rules the country to this day. This is the era when the King reopened relations with Western nations and developed trade with China (Baker, 2005).
References
Baker, C. J. (2005). A history of Thailand. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Terwiel, B. J. (1983). A history of modern Thailand, 1767-1942. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press.
Wyatt, D. K. (2003). Thailand: a short history (2nd ed.). New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.