Originally the Tai were an animist people in Southwest China, though not ethnically Chinese, and from the 9th century began to migrate southward, little by little, into parts of Southeast Asia and the fertile Chao Phraya valley. They settled down in an area that today is Burma, Laos and Thailand, and here they came into contact with other civilizations such as the Mon, Khmer and Lawa.

From the 7th to 14th century AD the Khmer established a mighty kingdom based in Angkor, from where they expanded and would eventually rule over practically the whole of Indochina. They were already present in Thailand's most important basin during the Dvaravati period, where they mixed with the local Mon population. Whilst their conquests throughout the 7th to 11th centuries brought cultural influences in art, language and religion, their political dominance eventually overthrew the Dvaravati culture. They made Lopburi their central outpost and it soon became a religious centre. Throughout the region different small kingdoms were founded but remained subject to the overwhelming power of the Khmer.

In 1238 the first independent Thai kingdom of Sukhothai (dawn of happiness) was established in the northern part of the region, taken from the Khmer by the war lord Sri Intaratitya. In 1281 the more northerly Haripunchai was conquered, this time from the Mon by the armies of king Mengrai (fig.). It was made part of the northern realm of Lan Na (a million paddies), a kingdom that flourished between the 13th and 14th century AD, with Chiang Mai as its centre. King Mengrai consolidated the power of the northern regions by making a pact (fig.) with two other rulers (fig.), king Ramkamhaeng (fig.) of Sukhothai and king Ngam Muang (fig.) of Phayao. In the 13th century Lopburi was wrested from the Khmer by the increasing power of Sukhothai to the North.

Thus, several city states grew and the Thais gradually became leaders of multiracial districts and vassal states. Their subjects were made tributary, worked in commission for the state, and had to fight in the wars of its kings. In return they were given use of land, dispensation of justice, and the advantages of a community larger than the usual family or village. Sukhothai developed amongst several rival Thai kingdoms into the most important power centre in the North. During the reign of king Ramkamhaeng (1279-1298) absolute monarchy commenced, Theravada Buddhism introduced by Indian monks and missionaries from Sri Lanka was adopted as the official religion, and the first Thai script was created by the king based on Khmer script.

Sukhothai is still regarded as Thailand's first real kingdom and capital, and the cradle of its civilisation. It would preserve this regional power status for almost a century until the city of Ayutthaya, founded in 1350 by prince Ramathibodi on an island in the Chao Phraya river as the capital of a new  southern Thai state, gained supremacy. After several incidental conflicts the kingdom of Sukhothai was eventually overshadowed by this mighty rival from the south, which would soon make Sukhothai its vassal and finally place it under direct rule.

Ayutthaya also knew a period of foreign rule under the Khmer and Burmese. Only king Naresuan (fig.) would bring temporary relief from this. Burma had conquered Ayutthaya in 1569 and had made it into a vassal state, placing a Thai vassal king on the throne. Born in 1555, as son to this king Maha Thammaracha and his principal wife, a daughter of king Chakkraphat, Naresuan was as a child taken into captivity to Burma to ensure loyalty from his father. In 1571 the Burmese king Bayinnaung allowed him to go home in exchange for his sister. In spite of the young age of 16 his father immediately sent him to the northern province Phitsanulok to rule the region. At the same time he was appointed successor to the throne of Ayutthaya. He finally became king (fig.) in 1590 when his father died, and in 1593 he liberated Ayutthaya from the Burmese yoke when he defeated the Burmese crown prince in a duel on elephant back, fought in Nong Sarai near Suphanburi.

During the Ayutthaya period Buddhism was intertwined with countless aspects of animism and Brahmanism, partly due to the influence of the remaining Khmer culture, and thus became to date a mishmash of different gods and spirits. The Thai monarchs became absolute rulers and started to present themselves as the incarnation of a divine being, following the Indian-Brahmin example. This made the 'god king',  in contrast to the kings of the Sukhothai period, a distant, inaccessible being who wielded unrestricted rule over his people. As Chao Chiwit (Lord of Life) the sovereign could accordingly decide over the life and death of his subjects.

Initial contacts with Europe were made in the beginning of the 16th century with Portugal and later with England and France. Although the population continued to call themselves Thai, the country started to become known by the name Siam, which is derived from Sanskrit and means 'dark', a name given by the Khmer on the grounds of the dark complexion of the Thai. It remained the official name of the country until 1939.

After the Burmese conquered Ayutthaya in 1767 after a two year siege and battle in which they destroyed the city completely, general Taksin founded a new capital in Thonburi, then a vast swampy delta with the nickname 'sea of mud'. Fled to Chanthaburi in the Southeast he raised an army and within the same year Taksin was able recapture a large part of Central Siam. The Burmese were dispelled, reconstruction started, and the general crowned himself king. The king of Chiang Mai managed to dispel the Burmese from the largest part of North Thailand with the support of the Siamese, and the northern city states finally became vassals of Siam, that now began to consolidate its power. The control of the country was recovered and several northern states were merged and added to Central Siam.

In 1772 king Taksin appointed general Yotfa commander-in-chief of the Siamese army and after the latter conquered the Laotian town of Vientiane, he brought the Emerald Buddha back to Thonburi where it was temporary placed in Wat Arun. After king Taksin showed signs of megalomania he was expelled from office in 1782, by order of general Chakri after a smoldering struggle for power, and executed by the then prevailing protocol: beaten to death under a red satin cloth with a sandalwood club. Afterwards Chao Phraya Chakri took office as Yotfa, the first king of the Chakri dynasty (fig.), later named Rama I (fig.).

Chakri Dynasty

General Chao Phraya Chakri took office as Yotfa, the first king of the Chakri dynasty (fig.), later named Rama I (fig.), and made the Garuda the national emblem of the monarchy. As the mythological mount of the Indian god Vishnu, the protector and second god in Hindu theology of which Rama is an incarnation, it reflects the position of the Thai monarch as the protector of the nation.

In 1809 king Chakri's son ascended the throne and ruled until 1824. He was succeeded by Phra Nang Klao, the third king of the Chakri dynasty (fig.) who introduced the use of crown titles for the kings of the Chakri dynasty, taking the crown title of Rama III for himself, whilst bestowing the titles Rama I and Rama II posthumously upon his predecessors. The titles Rama and Chakri, derived from an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, indicates that the idea of divine descent continued to exist to a certain extent.

With the rule of Rama I both the Chakri dynasty and the Bangkok period began. The capital was moved from Thonburi to the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya river, where it was better secured against possible attacks from Burma. The Chakri dynasty still continues to the present day with king Bhumipon Adunyadet reigning since 1946 as Rama IX.

King Mongkut (fig.), half brother of Rama III, called Phra Chom Klao by the Thai, lived 27 years as a Buddhist monk before ascending the throne in 1851 as Rama IV (fig.). During his priesthood he studied Sanskrit, Pali, Latin and English, history and several western sciences, including astronomy. Interested by western ideas he modernised his realm and established diplomatic relations with the then Superpowers. To avoid colonisation commercial treaties were signed, though always with very favourable conditions for the West.

By presenting himself as a friend rather than a foe and approaching the Superpowers with gifts instead of weapons king Mongkut succeeded in averting an imminent colonisation, at least temporarily. Due to the establishment of several allies none of the Superpowers dared to attack or invade Siam for fear of a conflict with each other. The monarchy became once again more humane. The law forbidding subjects to look into the face of the king was done away with as well as the system of forced labour for the state. In 1868 Mongkut died of malaria. He had 82 children and 35 wives.

His eldest son Chulachomklao, in the West known as Chulalongkorn, continued the policies of his father. Educated by European private teachers he continued with reforms after the western model. Public schools were established and modernisation implemented, including the construction of a railway network. Under his rule slavery was abolished and a modern judicial and prison system was established. In this the king was assisted by his General Advisor Gustave Rolin-Jaequesmyns (fig.), a Belgian diplomat whose merit in 1898 availed him the title of Chao Phraya Aphai Raja, the highest noble title ever given to a foreign national. The custom of granting noble ranks to ordinary citizens was abolished after the rule of Chulalongkorn's successor Rama VI.

During the expansionist aims of the colonial Superpowers, Chulalongkorn was compelled under pressure of a possible military intervention to make more concessions and give up substantial parts of Siamese territory: the East of the Mae Khong was ceded to imperial France, whilst in the South the British laid claim to parts of the vassal states around Penang. That Siam was never colonised is owed to the reserved diplomacy of Siam and the fact that the British and French wanted to avoid conflict. Siam was a neutral buffer state between their colonies in Burma and Indochina. The colonial threat necessitated Rama V precisely demarcating the borders of his realm, forcing him to centralise administrative power and incorporate the still remaining smaller vassal states into Siamese territory.

With crown prince Wajirunhit's (fig.) untimely death in 1895 at the age of seventeen, his half-brother prince Wachirawut, eldest son of queen Saowapha, was appointed as the new successor to the throne by king Chulalongkorn, at the age of thirteen. After the death of Rama V, who had a total of 77 children, he ascended the throne in 1910 (fig.). As Rama VI he implemented even more reforms, especially in the field of education and administration. Educated in the West he introduced the use of surnames for his subjects and encouraged them to adopt more western ways, such as western clothing and hair style. He stimulated patriotism and promoted nationalism on a large scale. In 1917 he changed the Siamese flag  (a white elephant on a red field) by the present red-white-blue-white-red, horizontal striped banner, colours symbolising the nation (red), the monarchy (blue) and religion (white). His regime was rather extravagant and when he died in 1925 the treasury was empty.

During the rule of his successor Prajadhipok absolute monarchy came to an end. Because of the enormous breach his predecessor had made in the treasury the economy was stagnant. This in combination with the existence of an oligarchic system that excluded even the most brilliant civilians from higher posts eventually led to a coup d'état in 1932. A group of anti monarchist soldiers supporting the Western educated intellectual Pridi Phanomyong, seized power and introduced a constitutional monarchy. At this time Rama VII was diligently working on a new constitution that might have worked better than the so-called democratic system that was imposed by the leaders of the conspiracy. But in spite of this Rama VII  on 10 December 1932 signed the constitution that would bring an end to more than seven hundred years of absolute monarchy.

Before his execution king Taksin cursed general Chakri saying that his power would come to an end if Thonburi, the ancient capital under Taksin, would ever be connected with Rattanakosin, the part of town where king Chakri established his government. In 1932 a Memorial Bridge was built to celebrate the 150 year anniversary of the Chakri dynasty, connecting both places. When in the same year absolute monarchy came to an end, many saw this as a fulfillment of the Taksin curse.

Modern History

With the induction of the constitution in 1932, democracy existed in principal though there were still frequent coup d'états, in which Thailand was sometimes ruled for lengthy periods by military leaders and even dictators. One coup followed the other and in 1935 a disappointed king Prajadhipok eventually abdicated. King Ananda, son of the brother of the childless king Prajadhipok, succeeded the abdicating Rama VII. He was however just ten years old and still at school in Switzerland, and it was not until after WW II that he would return to Siam as Rama VIII.

In 1946 some months after his return the young king was found shot dead in his bed, a mystery that was never officially resolved. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the present king Bhumipon Adunyadet, who wasn't formally crowned king until after his marriage with Sirikit Kitthiyagon, on 5 May 1950. He is Thailand's longest reigning king.

During the interregnum the kingdom was ruled by a governmental council but also lived in the grip of military despots such as Phibun Songkram (fig.), who found his inspiration from leaders like Mussolini and Hitler. He became leader of the government on the brink of WW II  after a power struggle with Dr. Pridi Phanomyong. Whilst Field Marshal Phibun ruled the people with an iron fist, in 1939 he changed the name of Siam into Prathet Thai or Thailand (Land of the Free), then a contradiction in terms. In 1944 he was forced to step down having sided with Japan during WW II.

For a short while it seemed a democratic civil  regime would be installed, but due to the confusion that arose after the mysterious death of Rama VIII, the military once again seized power in a coup d'état. In 1948 Phibun made a political comeback. His support however had faded and in 1957 he was ousted by yet another coup. Already back in May 1950 attempts for a coup were made, on the quaysides along Phra Rachawang (fig.), the royal palace. The premier was taken hostage and abducted to a warship that lay at anchor on the Chao Phraya. After being released by his captors he swam ashore and the ship was bombed by the air force.

In 1957 general Sarit became the new leader. This charismatic dictator carried out many reforms and consolidated central government. In 1963 he died from a liver disorder. Senior military officers Thanom, Praphat and Narong took power and installed another dictatorial regime that would last for ten years. The infrastructure of the country developed but unemployment in the countryside took on dramatic proportions, causing many to migrate to the capital. In 1973 student demonstrations against the military regime resulted in carnage with many students killed. King Bhumipon intervened  in empathy with the rebellious population, calling for calm in a televised speach. Thanom and Praphat fled the country and a democratic coalition government was installed.

The following three years became a period of reformation, called the Democratic Experiment. Unions and political parties were formed, corruption was openly denounced. Then in October 1976 Thanom and Praphat returned and again there were extensive demonstrations. Forty-six students at Thammasat University were killed and two hundred injured in a massacre by rightwing factions who forced their way onto campus angered over a puppet hung up by students which resembled crown prince Wachiralongkorn. Martial law was declared and a military junta took over. Thousands of students fled the capital after 6 October 1976 and joined the subversive CPT, the Communist Party of Thailand, in the jungle. Another two coups followed and later, under the rule of general Kriangsak Chomanan, more room was created for democracy. In 1980 he was forced to step down and was succeeded by Prem Tinasulanonda, the supreme commander of the army. Under his rule the domestic communist threat was ended and the economy experienced strong growth.

In 1988 the helm was taken over by Chatichai Choonhavan, the first democratically elected premier. The economy kept growing but the influence of the military in political affairs declined, resulting in another coup in February 1991, this time under leadership of general Suchinda Kraprayoon. The military installed a government with Ananda Panyarachun as the new premier. On 22 March 1992 new elections saw a victory for the pro-army parties and Narong Wongwan became the new premier. But amidst accusations of Narong's involvement in the Thai drug trade the military used its constitutional prerogative to replace him. On May fifth the popular opposition leader Chamlong Srimuang of the Palang Dharma Party began a hunger strike in protest against general Suchinda Kraprayoon, who in spite of all promises to the contrary became premier in April. Although Chamlong stopped his action a few days later, protest against Suchinda continued. When a massive crowd of protesters marched towards government buildings the army intervened and opened fire on the crowd. About fifty people lost their lives and hundreds of opposition leaders, including Chamlong, were arrested. A day later protesters clashed again with the army when it fired on an estimated 35,000 or so demonstrators. About two thousand protesters entrenched themselves in the Hotel Royal and were brutally removed and arrested.

Breakthrough finally came following the intervention of king Bhumipon. All protesters, including Chamlong, were released and Suchinda and Chamlong were received together by the king, who charged them to find a solution to this political crisis. General Suchinda was reprimanded for he had failed to find a peaceful solution to a political problem. After king Bhumipon promised amnesty to all parties involved, Suchinda resigned as premier on May 24 and on June 10 the king appointed Ananda Panyarachun again to premier, this time ad interim. Four months later, on 13 September, new parliamentary elections took place this time with great gain for the anti-military parties, who secured 185 of the 360 seats in total, enough to form a government.