The history of Thailand began with the Thais who migrated to present-day Thailand in the first millennium with their own small countries. These countries are still threatened by the two countries Burma and Dai Viet, as well as by the clash between the Thais and the Laotians. From the 12th century to the beginning of the 20th century, this country was called Siam (Siam). In 1939, after a political event, the official name of the kingdom was called Thailand with the word “Thai” meaning “freedom”. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, due to its flexible and correct foreign policy, Thailand became the only country in Southeast Asia that did not become a colony of European imperialism.
It was discovered that the Malay, Mon and Khmer civilizations once thrived on Thai territory today. Thais have linguistic ties with several ethnic groups in southern China. Therefore, it is said that the origin of the Thai people is from Yunnan province, but some people believe that the ethnicity of this country passed from the delta of the Menam Chao Phya river in southern China and experienced the period of expansion. The Kublai Khan waste rock is expected to move south again.
Kingdom of Sukhothai
Groups of Thais began to migrate to Thailand as early as the 8th century. The Khmers have used them as soldiers since the 7th century. In 1238, the Thais drove out the Khmer lords and established a new state. Under Sukhothai, King Ramkhamhaeng invaded Khmer territory as far south as Nakhon Si Thammarat. He was also the one who created the first Thai alphabet and made people understand the value of art. However, his death (in 1300) marked the decline of the Sukhothai Empire. In 1378 a new state was born, Ayuthaya, which attacked and occupied Sukhothai and one step became the most powerful state in the history of all the Thai kingdoms.
Kingdom of Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya is the kingdom where the king is considered the lord of all living things. Society has aristocracy and slavery. The country has also grown and gone to war with other neighboring countries. After destroying Sukhothai, the Ayutthaya dynasty, or Siam (Siam), began to invade the South. In 1431, King Boromaraja II robbed the Khmer city of Angkor Thom, forcing the Khmers to settle in Phnom Penh. In 1569 Ayutthaya became the territory of Burma. It was not until 1584, when Prince Naresuan seized the opportunity to declare independence and expel all Burmese from the country. In the following century, the Kingdom of Siam began to attract the attention of the West. The first Dutch traders set foot in the country in 1601. From there, too, Europeans began to compete for harbor privileges and trade in Thailand. It was also the period when Ayutthaya gradually fell only to collapse after an attack that burned down the Burmese capital. When the kingdom of Ayutthaya fell, a general by the name of Taksin gathered an army to recapture the city, but Ayutthaya was devastated so he decided to move the capital to Thonburi. In 1763, the biggest attack of the Burmese took place. The Siamese immediately counterattacked. Taksin, a general of Han origin, organized a resistance, pushed back the Burmese and established a new capital in Bangkok, conquered the vassal states and recaptured the North from the Burmese. From there, the conquest of all the Thai peoples began: attacking the Burmese in the north in 1774, capturing Chiang Mai in 1776, and reuniting Thailand. In 1782, Chaophraya Chakri deposed Taksin from the throne of Siam, ascended the throne and became King Rama I, founded the current Chakri dynasty. capital building according to the old Ayutthaya model It was also he who revived Thai art and culture based in part on the memories of the elderly who survived the destruction of Ayutthaya.
The ancient city of Ayutthaya
The period 1763-1782
The Chakri dynasty
Chao Phraya Chakri ie King Rama I was the founder of the Chakri dynasty which still exists today. Rama I moved the capital to Bangkok and gave him
The period 1782-1932
The first period of the Chakri dynasty was an authoritarian monarchy known as Siam or Kingdom of Rattanakosin. At that time, it was a powerful kingdom in the region, just before the 19th century colonial invasions from West to Southeast Asia.
From 1818, Siam opened up and came into contact with the West, starting with an agreement with the Portuguese. In 1932, Thailand changed from an authoritarian monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The country was under a military dictatorship until 1992, when the regime ended, ushering in a new era of Thai democracy.
