By the early 1200s,Thais had established small northern city-states in
Lanna, Phayao and Sukhothai. In 1238, two Thai chieftains rebelled
against Khmers suzerainty and established the first truly independent
Thai kingdom in Sukhothai ( literally "Dawn of happiness").
The Sukhothai period saw the Thais' gradual expansion throughout the
entire Chao Phaya River basin, the establishment of Theravada Buddhism
as the paramount Thai religion, the creation of the Thai alphabet and
the first expression of nascent Thai art forms, including painting,
sculpture, architecture and literature, The Sukhothai period is
nostalgically viewed by many Thais today as a golden age of Thai
politics, religion and culture.
Sukhothai declined during the 1300s and eventually became a vassal state
of Ayuthaya, a dynamic young kingdom farther south in the Chao Phaya
River valley. Found in 1350, Ayuthaya remained the "Thai capital
until 1767 when it was destroyed by Burmese invaders.
During Ayuthaya's 417 years as the capital, under the rule of 33 kings,
the Thais brought their distinctive culture to full fruition, totally
rid their lands of the Khmer presence and fostered contace with Arabian,
Indian, Chinese, Japanese and European powers. Ayutthaya's destruction by the Burmese was as severe a blow to the
Thais as the loos of Paris or London would have been to the French or English.
However, a Thai revival occurred within a few months and the Burmese were
expelled by King Taksin, who later made Thon Buri his capital. In 1782,
the first king of the present Chakri dynasty, Rama I (the current king is Rama IX,
and it has been prophesied that his dynasty will have only nine kings),
Established his new capital on the site of a riverside hamlet called Bangkok--
"Village of Wild Plums"( Bangkok, in fact, is not the name used by Thais. They call it
Krungthep., "City of Angels" which is only the first word in an official name which,
if published here, would stretch across three full lines. The less reverent of residents
often refer to it as "The Big Mango".)
Two Chakri monarchs, Mongkut (Rama IV), who reigned from 1851 to 1868, and
his son Chulalongkorn (Rama V) saved Thailand form Western domination through
adroit diplomacy and selective modernization. As a result, the only country in Southern
Asia to have avoided colonization by a Western power. King Mongkut medicine,
was responsible for instituting major educational reforms, while his son abolished
slavery.
Today, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. Since 1932, Thai Kings, including the current monarch,
H.M. the King Bhumipol Adulyadej, have exerised their legislative powers through a national
assembly, their executive powers through a cabinet headed by a powers through the courts.
The country's name was officially changed from Siam to Thailand in 1939.
The word
"Thai" means free, and therefore Thailand means "the Land
of the free". Previously the country was well known to the world as
"Siam" and only on May 11,1949 did an official proclamation
changed the name of the country into "Prathet Thai" or
"Thailand" by which it has since come to be known throughout
the world.
In childhood, our
school textbooks told us that our ancestors had their roots in Southern
China where they originated some 4,500 years ago. Under pressure from
China, they moved southward through Burma down to the Indo-Chines
penisular, the "Thai noi" then established their capital in
Sukhothai, the north province of Thailand.
Now there are
conflicting opinions and theories about the origin of the Thais since
the discovery of many instruments and artifacts at the village of Ban
Chiang in Nong Han District of the northeastern province of Udon Thani.
The theory about the origin of the Thai people has now changed, it
appears that the Thais might have first settle down here in Thailand and
later scattered to various part of Asia, even to some parts of China.
The controversy
over the origin of the Thais shows no sign of definite conclusion as
many more theories have been put forward and some even go further to say
that the Thais were originally of Austronesian rather than Mongoloid.
What the outcome of the dispute may be, by the 13th century the Thais
had already settle down within the Southeast Asian mainland with
Sukhothai as the "first kingdom". The Sukhothai era marked a
period of great cultural development. Under King Ramkhamhaeng the Great
who ruled from 1275 to 1315, the land of Sukhothai was thriving. There
were fish in the water and rice in the fields. Due to the kingdom's
prosperity, it is regarded as a "golden age" in the Thai
history.
Then in 1350, a
new dynasty led by King Ramathibodi I (Uthong) established a new capital
at Ayutthaya, and in 1378 during the reign of King Borommaracha I,
Sukhothai was subdued to become a tributary state of Ayutthaya. The
Ayutthaya kingdom survived several wars with Burma before falling to the
invading Burmese in 1767.
Following this
defeat, the Thais led by King Taksin retreated south and established
another capital at Thon Buri. On his death in 1782, the King was
succeeded by King Phra Buddha Yodfah Chulaloke (Rama I) who moved the
capital across the river to the present location in Bangkok as Thon Buri
was too vulnerable to Burmese attack. the King founded the Chakri
dynasty with rules the country to the present day.
