Description
Thailand,[a] formerly known as Siam,[b] and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia. It is located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 sq mi), with a population of over 66 million people.[4] Thailand is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar. It also shares maritime borders with Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. Bangkok is the nation's capital and largest city. Nominally, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy; however, in recent history, its government has experienced multiple coups and periods of military dictatorships.
Tai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 11th century; the oldest known mention of their presence in the region by the exonym Siamese dates to the 12th century. Various Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon kingdoms, Khmer Empire and Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states such as the Kingdoms of Ngoenyang, Sukhothai, Lan Na and Ayutthaya, which rivalled each other. Documented European contact began in 1511 with a Portuguese diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya, which became a regional power by the end of the 15th century. Ayutthaya reached its peak during cosmopolitan Narai's reign, gradually declining thereafter until being ultimately destroyed in the 1767 Burmese–Siamese War. Taksin quickly reunified the fragmented territory and established the short-lived Thonburi Kingdom. He was succeeded in 1782 by Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, the first monarch of the current Chakri dynasty.
Throughout the era of Western imperialism in Asia, Siam remained the only nation in the region to avoid being colonized by foreign powers, although it was often forced to cede both territory and trade concessions in unequal treaties. The Siamese system of government was centralized and transformed into a modern unitary absolute monarchy in the reign of Chulalongkorn. In World War I, Siam sided with the allies, a political decision to amend the unequal treaties. Following a bloodless revolution in 1932, it became a constitutional monarchy and changed its official name to Thailand, which was a satellite of Japan in World War II. In the late 1950s, a military coup under Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat revived the monarchy's historically influential role in politics. Thailand became a major ally of the United States, and played an anti-communist role in the region as a member of the failed SEATO that was designed to block further communist gains in Southeast Asia. Apart from a brief period of parliamentary democracy in the mid-1970s, Thailand has periodically alternated between democracy and military rule. Since the 2000s, It has been caught in a bitter political conflict between supporters and opponents of Thaksin Shinawatra, which culminated in two coups, most recently in 2014 and the establishment of its current and 20th constitution and faces the ongoing 2020 Thai protests.
Thailand is a middle power in global affairs, and a founding member of ASEAN; ranking high in the Human Development Index. It has the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, and the 20th-largest in the world by PPP. Thailand is classified as a newly industrialized economy; manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy.[11][12]
Contents
1 Etymology
1.1 Etymology of Siam
1.2 Etymology of "Thailand"
2 History
2.1 Prehistory
2.2 Early states and Sukhothai Kingdom
2.3 Ayutthaya Kingdom
2.4 Thonburi Kingdom
2.5 Modernisation and centralisation
2.6 Constitutional monarchy, World War II and Cold War
2.7 Contemporary history
3 Politics and government
3.1 Lèse majesté
4 Geography
4.1 Climate
4.2 Environment and wildlife
5 Administrative divisions
6 Foreign relations
7 Armed forces
8 Education
9 Science and technology
10 Economy
10.1 Economic indicators for Thailand
10.2 Recent economic history
10.3 Income, poverty and wealth
10.4 Exports and manufacturing
10.5 Tourism
10.6 Agriculture and natural resources
10.7 Energy
10.8 Informal economy
11 Transportation
12 Demographics
12.1 Ethnic groups
12.2 Population centres
12.3 Language
12.4 Religion
13 Health
14 Culture
14.1 Art
14.2 Architecture
14.3 Literature
14.4 Music and dance
14.5 Entertainment
14.6 Cuisine
14.7 Units of measurement
15 Sports
15.1 Sporting venues
16 See also
17 Notes
18 References
19 Further reading
20 External links
Etymology
Thailand (/ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/ TY-lənd;[13] Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai, pronounced [pratʰêːt tʰaj] (About this soundlisten)), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha-anachak Thai [râːtt͡ɕʰaʔaːnaːt͡ɕàk tʰaj] (About this soundlisten)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม, RTGS: Sayam [sajǎːm]), is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia.
Etymology of Siam
The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens. By outsiders, prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam (Thai: สยาม RTGS: sayam, pronounced [sajǎːm], also spelled Siem, Syâm, or Syâma). The word Siam may have originated from Pali (suvaṇṇabhūmi, 'land of gold') or Sanskrit श्याम (śyāma, 'dark') or Mon ရာမည(rhmañña, 'stranger'). The names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned and artificial distortion.[clarification needed][14] Another theory is the name derives from Chinese: "Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late 14th century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam."[15]:8 A further possibility is that Mon-speaking peoples migrating south called themselves syem as do the autochthonous Mon-Khmer-speaking inhabitants of the Malay Peninsula.[citation needed]
SPPM Mongkut Rex Siamensium, King Mongkut's signature
The signature of King Mongkut (r. 1851–1868) reads SPPM (Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha) Mongkut Rex Siamensium (Mongkut King of the Siamese), giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to "Thailand".[16] Thailand was renamed Siam from 1946 to 1948, after which it again reverted to "Thailand".
Etymology of "Thailand"
According to George Cœdès, the word Thai (ไทย) means 'free man' in the Thai language, "differentiating the Thai from the natives encompassed in Thai society as serfs".[17]:197 A famous Thai scholar argued that Thai (ไท) simply means 'people' or 'human being', since his investigation shows that in some rural areas the word "Thai" was used instead of the usual Thai word khon (คน) for people.[18] According to Michel Ferlus, the ethnonyms Thai-Tai (or Thay-Tay) would have evolved from the etymon *k(ə)ri: 'human being' through the following chain: *kəri: > *kəli: > *kədi:/*kədaj > *di:/*daj > *dajA (Proto-Southwestern Tai) > tʰajA2 (in Siamese and Lao) or > tajA2 (in the other Southwestern and Central Tai languages classified by Li Fangkuei).[19] Michel Ferlus's work is based on some simple rules of phonetic change observable in the Sinosphere and studied for the most part by William H. Baxter (1992).[20]
While Thai people will often refer to their country using the polite form prathet Thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย), they most commonly use the more colloquial term mueang Thai (Thai: เมืองไทย) or simply Thai; the word mueang, archaically referring to a city-state, is commonly used to refer to a city or town as the centre of a region. Ratcha Anachak Thai (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย) means 'kingdom of Thailand' or 'kingdom of Thai'. Etymologically, its components are: ratcha (Sanskrit: राजन्, rājan, 'king, royal, realm'); -ana- (Pali āṇā 'authority, command, power', itself from the Sanskrit आज्ञा, ājñā, of the same meaning) -chak (from Sanskrit चक्र cakra- 'wheel', a symbol of power and rule). The Thai National Anthem (Thai: เพลงชาติ), written by Luang Saranupraphan during the patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as prathet Thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย). The first line of the national anthem is: prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai (Thai: ประเทศไทยรวมเลือดเนื้อชาติเชื้อไทย), 'Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh and blood'.
History
Main article: History of Thailand
Prehistory
Main articles: Prehistoric Thailand, Early history of Thailand, and Tai peoples
Map showing geographic distribution of Tai-Kadai linguistic family. Arrows represent general pattern of the migration of Tai-speaking tribes along the rivers and over the lower passes.[21]:27
There is evidence of continuous human habitation in present-day Thailand from 20,000 years ago to the present day.[22]:4 The earliest evidence of rice growing is dated at 2,000 BCE.[21]:4 Bronze appeared circa 1,250–1,000 BCE.[21]:4 The site of Ban Chiang in northeast Thailand currently ranks as the earliest known centre of copper and bronze production in Southeast Asia.[23] Iron appeared around 500 BCE.[21]:5 The Kingdom of Funan was the first and most powerful Southeast Asian kingdom at the time (2nd century BCE).[22]:5 The Mon people established the principalities of Dvaravati and Kingdom of Hariphunchai in the 6th century. The Khmer people established the Khmer empire, centred in Angkor, in the 9th century.[22]:7 Tambralinga, a Malay state controlling trade through the Malacca Strait, rose in the 10th century.[22]:5 The Indochina peninsula was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India from the time of the Kingdom of Funan to that of the Khmer Empire.[24]
The Thai people are of the Tai ethnic group, characterised by common linguistic roots.[25]:2 Chinese chronicles first mention the Tai peoples in the 6th century BCE. While there are many assumptions regarding the origin of Tai peoples, David K. Wyatt, a historian of Thailand, argued that their ancestors which at the present inhabit Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, India, and China came from the Điện Biên Phủ area between the 5th and the 8th century.[25]:6 Thai people began migrating into present-day Thailand around the 11th century, which Mon and Khmer people occupied at the time.[26] Thus Thai culture was influenced by Indian, Mon, and Khmer cultures.[27]
According to French historian George Cœdès, "The Thai first enter history of Farther India in the eleventh century with the mention of Syam slaves or prisoners of war in Champa epigraphy", and "in the twelfth century, the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat" where "a group of warriors" are described as Syam.[17]:190–191, 194–195
Early states and Sukhothai Kingdom
Main articles: Initial states of Thailand and Sukhothai Kingdom
Sukhothai Kingdom
Sukhothai and neighbours, end of 13th century CE.
Phra Achana, Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai Historical Park.
The ruins of Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai Historical Park.
After the decline of the Khmer Empire and Kingdom of Pagan in the early-13th century, various states thrived in their place. The domains of Tai people existed from the northeast of present-day India to the north of present-day Laos and to the Malay peninsula.[25]:38–9 During the 13th century, Tai people had already settled in the core land of Dvaravati and Lavo Kingdom to Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south. There are, however, no records detailing the arrival of the Tais.[25]:50–1
Around 1240, Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao, a local Tai ruler, rallied the people to rebel against the Khmer. He later crowned himself the first king of Sukhothai Kingdom in 1238.[25]:52–3 Mainstream Thai historians count Sukhothai as the first kingdom of Thai people. Sukhothai expanded furthest during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (r. 1279–1298). However, it was mostly a network of local lords who swore fealty to Sukhothai, not directly controlled by it.[25]:55–6 He is believed have invented Thai script and Thai ceramics were an important export in his era. Sukhothai embraced Theravada Buddhism in the reign of Maha Thammaracha I (1347–1368).
To the north, Mangrai, who descended from a local ruler lineage of Ngoenyang, founded the kingdom of Lan Na in 1292, centered in Chiang Mai. He unified the surrounding area and his dynasty would rule the kingdom continuously for the next two centuries. He also created a network of states through political alliances to the east and north of the Mekong.[15]:8 While in the port in Lower Chao Phraya Basin, a federation around Phetchaburi, Suphan Buri, Lopburi, and the Ayutthaya area was created in the 11th century.[15]:8
Ayutthaya Kingdom
Main article: Ayutthaya Kingdom
Ayutthaya Kingdom
Ayutthaya and neighbours, c. 1540 CE.
Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Ayutthaya Historical Park.
Siamese Embassy To Louis XIV, in 1686, a painting by Nicolas III de Larmessin.
According to the most widely accepted version of its origin, the Ayutthaya Kingdom rose from the earlier, nearby Lavo Kingdom and Suvarnabhumi with Uthong as its first king. Ayutthaya was a patchwork of self-governing principalities and tributary provinces owing allegiance to the King of Ayutthaya under the mandala system.[28]:355 Its initial expansion was through conquest and political marriage. Before the end of the 15th century, Ayutthaya invaded the Khmer Empire three times and sacked its capital Angkor.[29]:26 Ayutthaya then became a regional power in place of the Khmer. Constant interference of Sukhothai effectively made it a vassal state of Ayutthaya and it was finally incorporated into the kingdom. Borommatrailokkanat brought about bureaucratic reforms which lasted into the 20th century and created a system of social hierarchy called sakdina, where male commoners were conscripted as corvée labourers for six months a year.[30]:107 Ayutthaya was interested in the Malay peninsula, but failed to conquer the Malacca Sultanate which was supported by the Chinese Ming Dynasty.[22]:11, 13
European contact and trade started in the early-16th century, with the envoy of Portuguese duke Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511, Portugal became an allied and ceded some soldiers to King Rama Thibodi II.[31] The Portuguese were followed in the 17th century by the French, Dutch, and English. Rivalry for supremacy over Chiang Mai and the Mon people pitted Ayutthaya against the Burmese Kingdom. Several wars with its ruling dynasty Taungoo Dynasty starting in the 1540s in the reign of Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung were ultimately ended with the capture of the capital in 1570.[30]:146–7 Then was a brief period of vassalage to Burma until Naresuan proclaimed independence in 1584.[15]:11
Ayutthaya then sought to improve relations with European powers for many successive reigns. The kingdom especially prospered during cosmopolitan Narai's reign (1656–1688) when some European travelers regarded Ayutthaya as an Asian great power, alongside China and India.[21]:ix However, growing French influence later in his reign was met with nationalist sentiment and led eventually to the Siamese revolution of 1688.[30]:185–6 However, overall relations remained stable, with French missionaries still active in preaching Christianity.[30]:186
After a bloody period of dynastic struggle, Ayutthaya entered into what has been called the Siamese "golden age", a relatively peaceful episode in the second quarter of the 18th century when art, literature, and learning flourished. There were seldom foreign wars, apart from conflict with the Nguyễn Lords for control of Cambodia starting around 1715. The last fifty years of the kingdom witnessed bloody succession crises, where there were purges of court officials and able generals for many consecutive reigns. In 1765, a combined 40,000-strong force of Burmese armies invaded it from the north and west.[32]:250 The Burmese under the new Alaungpaya dynasty quickly rose to become a new local power by 1759. After a 14-month siege, the capital city's walls fell and the city was burned in April 1767.[33]:218
Thonburi Kingdom
Main article: Thonburi Kingdom
Taksin the Great enthroned himself as a Thai king, 1767-12-28.
The capital and much territories lied in chaos after the war. The former capital was occupied by the Burmese garrison army and five local leaders declared themselves overlords, including the lords of Sakwangburi, Pimai, Chanthaburi, and Nakhon Si Thammarat. Chao Tak, a capable military leader, proceeded to make himself a lord by right of conquest, beginning with the legendary sack of Chanthaburi. Based at Chanthaburi, Chao Tak raised troops and resources, and sent a fleet up the Chao Phraya to take the fort of Thonburi. In the same year, Chao Tak was able to retake Ayutthaya from the Burmese only seven months after the fall of the city.[34]
Chao Tak then crowned himself as Taksin and proclaimed Thonburi as temporary capital in the same year. He also quickly subdued the other warlords. His forces engaged in wars with Burma, Laos, and Cambodia, which successfully drove the Burmese out of Lan Na in 1775,[30]:225 captured Vientiane in 1778[30]:227–8 and tried to install a pro-Thai king in Cambodia in the 1770s. In his final years there was a coup, caused supposedly by his "insanity", and eventually Taksin and his sons were executed by his longtime companion General Chao Phraya Chakri (the future Rama I). He was the first king of the ruling Chakri Dynasty and founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom on 6 April 1782.
Modernisation and centralisation
Main article: Rattanakosin Kingdom
Rattanakosin Kingdom
Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok. Considered the sacred palladium of Thailand.
Siamese territorial concessions to Britain and France by year.
King Chulalongkorn with Tsar Nicholas II in Saint Petersburg, during his first Grand Tour in 1897.
Under Rama I (1782–1809), Rattanakosin successfully defended against Burmese attacks and put an end to Burmese incursions. He also created suzerainty over large portions of Laos and Cambodia.[35] In 1821, Briton John Crawfurd was sent to negotiate a new trade agreement with Siam – the first sign of an issue which was to dominate 19th century Siamese politics.[36] Bangkok signed the Burney Treaty in 1826, after the British victory in the First Anglo-Burmese War.[30]:281 Anouvong of Vientiane, who mistakenly held the belief that Britain was about to launch an invasion of Bangkok, started the Lao rebellion in 1826 which was suppressed.[30]:283–5 Vientiane was destroyed and a large number of Lao people was relocated to Khorat Plateau as a result.[30]:285–6 Bangkok also waged several wars with Vietnam, where Siam successfully regained hegemony over Cambodia.[30]:290–2
From the late-19th century, Siam tried to rule the ethnic groups in the realm as colonies.[30]:308 In the reign of Mongkut (1851–1868), who recognised the potential threat Western powers posed to Siam, his court contacted the British government directly to defuse tensions.[30]:311 A British mission led by Sir John Bowring, Governor of Hong Kong, led to the signing of the Bowring Treaty, the first of many unequal treaties with Western countries. This, however, brought trade and economic development to Siam.[37] The unexpected death of Mongkut from malaria led to the reign of underage Prince Chulalongkorn, with Somdet Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse (Chuang Bunnag) acting as regent.[30]:327
Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) initiated centralisation, set up a privy council, and abolished slavery and the corvée system.[30] The Front Palace crisis of 1874 stalled attempts at further reforms.[30]:331–3 In the 1870s and 1880s, he incorporated the protectorates up north into the kingdom proper, which later expanded to the protectorates in the northeast and the south.[30]:334–5 He established twelve krom in 1888, which were equivalent to present-day ministries.[30]:347 The crisis of 1893 erupted, caused by French demands for Laotian territory east of Mekong.[30]:350–3 Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation never to have been colonised by a Western power,[38]