History

The Early People -- Archaeologists believe that Thailand was a major thoroughfare for Homo erectus en route from Africa to China and other parts of Asia. The earliest evidence of prehistoric life lies in stone tools, dating back some 700,000 years from an excavation site around Lamphang in northern Thailand. Cave paintings, found throughout the country, are believed to originate as early as 2,000 B.C., with people dancing, dressed in feathers and kilts, with domesticated animals, popular regional fish such as dolphins (in the south) and catfish (in the north), and wild animals in hunting scenes and grassy patches that appear to be rice paddies. Human remains have been excavated at many sites, the most famous of which, Ban Chiang, contained the first evidence of a Bronze Age in Thailand. Controversy over dating methods suggested that this area may have acquired metallurgy knowledge independent of the few other world centers who'd mastered the skill, but more accurate radiocarbon testing has put Thailand's Bronze Age at about 1500 to 1000 B.C., after China's. It is not known what happened to these early inhabitants.

Modern civilization did not arrive in Thailand until about 1,000 years ago. There is archaeological evidence that points to an area in central and southern China as a cultural heartland for the descendants of many of the peoples of Southeast Asia. These people began to appear in northern Southeast Asia in the first millennium A.D., and continued to migrate south, east, and west in waves over the following 8 centuries, settling primarily in what is now Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma). These people, who are called Tai, became dispersed over a vast area of space, sharing a cultural and linguistic commonality. Their descendants are the core bloodline of the Thai people of today, the Shan of northern Burma, the Tai people of northern Laos, the Lu of Yunnan province in southern China, as well as groups in Vietnam, on the Chinese island of Hainan, and others in northeastern India. The total number of Tai people today is estimated at 70 million.

The early Tais lived in nuclear families with a dozen or two households forming an independently ruled muang, or village. They lived in raised houses in the lowlands, making a living from subsistence agriculture and gathering necessary items from the forest around them. In times of threat, either to economic stability or from outside aggression, many muang would combine forces. The organization was usually lead by the strongest village or family. What developed were loosely structured feudal states where both lord and villager benefited -- the lord from manpower and the villager from stability. The Tais expanded as ruling fathers sent sons out into the world to conquer or colonize neighboring areas, establishing new muang in farther regions.

The Dvaravati (Mon) Period -- From the 6th century, Southeast Asia underwent a gradual period of Indianization. Merchants and missionaries from India introduced Brahmanism and Buddhism to the region, as well as Indian political and social values, and art and architectural preferences. Many Tai groups adopted Buddhism, combining its doctrine with their own animistic beliefs. But the true significance of India's impact can be seen in the rise of two of the greatest Southeast Asian civilizations, the Mon and Khmer.

Historians have very little information about the Mon civilization. No one knows where these people came from, how far they reached, or where their capital was. What we do know is that around the 6th century A.D., the Mon were responsible for establishing Buddhism in central Thailand. Ancient Mon settlements lined the fringes of Thailand's central plains area, seemingly stretching as far west as Myanmar (Burma), north toward Chiang Mai, northeast to northern Laos and the Khorat Plateau, and east to Cambodia.

The Srivijaya Empire -- In the southern peninsula, the Srivijaya Empire, based in Java, began to play an important role in cultural affairs. Before the 9th century A.D., port cities along southern shores had drawn traders from all over the region and beyond. However, the Srivijayas, who had assimilated their own unique brand of Buddhism from India, would leave a lasting impression on these cities, linking them with other Southeast Asian lands and importing Buddhism and Buddhist art. While the empire never actually conquered and ruled the area, its cultural reign is still evident in Nakhon Si Thammarat, and in the southern arts of this period. Some historians argue that Chaiya, near Surat Thani, could have been capital of the empire for a time, but the claim is largely disputed. Srivijaya power, ground by endless warring with southern India, headed into decline and disappeared from Thailand by the 13th century.

The Khmers -- By the early 9th century A.D., the Khmer Empire had risen to power in Cambodia, spreading into surrounding areas. Indravaraman (877-89) saw the kingdom reach the Khorat Plateau in northeastern Thailand. Suryavarman I (1002-50) extended the kingdom to the Chao Phraya Valley and north to Lamphun, driving out the Mons. Suryavarman II (1113-15?) pushed the kingdom even farther, forcing the Mons still deeper into Myanmar (Burma).

With each conquering reign, magnificent Khmer temples were constructed in outposts farther and farther from the Cambodian center of the empire. These early temples were built for the worship of Hindu deities. Brahmanism, having been brought to Cambodia with traders from southern India, influenced not only Khmer religion and temple design (with the distinct corncob shaped prang, or tower), but government administration and social order as well. Conquering or forcing villages into their control, the Khmers placed their own leaders in important centers and supplied them with Khmer administrative officers. The empire was extremely hierarchical, with the king as supreme power, ruling from his capital.

The populations of these outposts were largely Tai, and while the Khmers had the authority, Tais were blending in as laborers, slaves, and temple workers. Temple murals in Angkor show quite clearly the Khmer attitude toward what they called Syam. The mural shows a stiff orderly regiment of Khmer soldiers following Tais who were shoddy but fierce.

Angkor, Cambodia's great ancient temple city, was built during the reign of Suryavarman II. It is believed the temples of Phimai and Phanom Rung in Isan predated the Khmer's capital temple complex, influencing its style. But by this time the Khmer empire was already in decline. The last great Khmer ruler, Jayavarman VII (1181-1219), extended the empire to its farthest limits -- north to Vientiane, west to Burma, and down the Malay peninsula. It was he who shifted Khmer ideology toward Buddhism, building temples in Khmer-style, but no longer with a Hindu purpose. His newfound Buddhism inspired him to build extensive highways (portions of which are still evident today), plus more than 100 rest houses for travelers and hospitals in the outer provinces. Jayavarman VII's death in 1220 marks Thailand's final break from Khmer rule. The last known Khmer settlement is at the sight of Wat Kamphaeng Laeng in Phetchaburi.

The Lanna Kingdom: the Northern Tais -- By A.D. 1000, the last of the Tai immigrants had traveled south from China to settle in northern Thailand. Several powerful centers of Tai power -- Chiang Saen in northern Thailand, Chiang Hung in southern China, and Luang Prabang in Laos -- were linked by a common heritage and the rule of extended families. In the region, muang grew stronger and better organized, but infighting remained a problem. In 1239, a leader was born in Chiang Saen who would conquer and unite the northern Tai villages and create a great kingdom. Born the son of the king of Chiang Saen and a southern Chinese princess, Mengrai ascended the throne in 1259, and established the first capital of the Lanna Kingdom at Chiang Rai in 1263. Conquering what remained of Mon and Khmer settlements in northern Thailand, he assimilated these peoples and cultures. After occupying Lamphun, he shifted his base of power to Chiang Mai in 1296.

Mengrai's Lanna Kingdom became an important empire in the north. Religiously, the Lanna Tais combined traditional animist beliefs with Mon Buddhism. Retaining Mon connections with Ceylon, the Lanna Kingdom saw the rise of a scholarly Buddhism, with strict adherence to orthodox Buddhist ways. Lanna kings were advised by a combination of monks and astrologers, ruling over a well-organized government bureaucracy. Citizens of Lanna enjoyed the benefits of infrastructure projects for transportation and irrigation; developed medicine and law; and heralded the arts through religious sculpture, sacred texts, and poetry. By and large the people were only mildly taxed, and were allowed a great deal of autonomy.

But a rising power threatened Lanna, as well as its neighbors. The Mongols, under the fierce expansionist leadership of Kublai Khan, forced their way into the region. Mengrai, forming strategic alliances with Shan leaders in Myanmar (Burma) and two other Tai kingdoms to the south (one of which, the Sukhothai, would rise as the zenith of Thai culture), succeeded in keeping the Mongols at bay.

Sukhothai: The Dawn of Siamese Civilization -- While Mengrai was busy building Lanna, a small kingdom to the south was on the verge of stellar power. After the demise of first the Dvaravarti civilization, and later the Khmers, the Tai people who'd made their way into the Chao Phraya valley found themselves in small disorganized vassal states. A tiny kingdom based in Sukhothai would dwell in obscurity until the rise of founding father King Indraditya's second son, Rama. Single-handedly defeating an invasion from neighboring Mae Sot at the Burmese border, Rama proved himself a powerful force, immediately winning the respect of his people. Upon his coronation in 1279, Ramakhamghaeng, or "Rama the Bold," set the scene for what is recognized as the first truly Siamese civilization.

In response to the Khmer's tight grip, Ramakhamhaeng established himself as an accessible king. It is told he had a bell outside his palace for any subject to ring in the event of a grievance. The king himself would come to hear the dispute and would make a just ruling on the spot. He was seen as a fatherly and fair ruler who allowed his subjects immense freedoms. His kingdom expanded rapidly, it seems through voluntary subjugation, reaching as far west as Pegu in Burma, north to Luang Prabang, east to Vientiane, and south beyond Nakhon Si Thammarat to include portions of present-day Malaysia.

After centuries of diverse influences from outside powers, in Sukhothai, for the first time, we see an emerging culture that is uniquely Siamese. The people of the central plains had a heritage mixed with Tai, Mon, Khmer, and indigenous populations, with threads of India and China interwoven in their cultural tapestry. Ramakhamhaeng was a devout Buddhist, adopting the orthodox and scholarly Theravada Buddhism from missionaries from Nakhon Si Thammarat and Ceylon. A patron of the arts, the king commissioned many great Buddha images. While few sculptures from his reign remain today, those that do survive display a refined creativity. For the first time, physical features of the Buddha are Siamese in character. Images have graceful, sinuous limbs and robes, radiating flowing motion and delicate energy. Ramakhamhaeng initiated the many splendid architectural achievements of Sukhothai and nearby Si Satchanalai. In addition, he is credited with developing the modern Thai written language, derived from Khmer and Mon examples. Upon Ramakhamhaeng's death in 1298, he was succeeded by kings who would devote their attentions to religion rather than affairs of state. Sukhothai's brilliant spark faded almost as quickly at it had ignited.

Ayutthaya: Siam Enters the Global Scene -- In the decades that followed, the central plains area found itself without firm leadership. Along came U Thong, born the son of a wealthy Chinese merchant family, he was also distantly related to the royals of Chiang Saen. Crowning himself Ramathibodi, he set up a capital at Ayutthaya, on the banks of the Lopburi River, and from here set out to conquer what was left of Khmer outposts, eventually swallowing the remains of Sukhothai. The new kingdom incorporated the strengths of its population -- Tai military manpower and labor, Khmer bureaucratic sensibilities, and Chinese commercial talents -- to create a strong empire. Ayutthaya differed quite greatly from its predecessor. Following Khmer models, the king rose above his subjects atop a huge pyramid-shaped administration. He was surrounded by a divine order of Buddhist monks and Brahman sanctities. During the early period of development, Ayutthaya rulers created strictly defined laws, caste systems, and labor units. Foreign traders from the region, China, Japan, and Arabia, were required to sell the first pick of their wares to the King for favorable prices. Leading trade this way, the kingdom was buttressed by great riches. Along the river, a huge fortified city was built -- with temples that glittered as any in Sukhothai. This was the Kingdom of Siam that the first Europeans, the Portuguese, encountered in 1511.

But peace and prosperity would be disrupted with the coming of Burmese invasion forces that would take Chiang Mai (thus the Lanna Kingdom) in 1558 and finally Ayutthaya in 1569. The Lanna Kingdom that King Mengrai and his successors built would never regain its former glory. Fortunately Ayutthaya had a happier fate with the rise of one of the greatest leaders in Thai history. Prince Naresuan, born in 1555, was the son of the puppet Tai King placed in Ayutthaya by the Burmese. Although Naresuan was directly descended from Sukhothai leaders, it was his early battle accomplishments that served to better distinguish him as a ruler. Having spent many years in Burmese captivity, he returned to Ayutthaya to raise armies to challenge Burmese rule. His small armies were inadequate against the Burmese, but in an historic battle scene, Naresuan, atop an elephant, challenged the Burmese crown prince and defeated him with a single blow.

With the Tais back in control, Ayutthaya continued through the following 2 centuries in grand style. Foreign traders -- Portuguese, Dutch, Arab, Chinese, Japanese, and English -- not only set up companies and missionaries, but were even encouraged to rise to some of the highest positions of power within the administration. Despite numerous internal conflicts over succession and struggles between foreign powers for court influence, the kingdom managed to proceed steadily. While its Southeast Asian neighbors were falling under colonial rule, the court of Siam was extremely successful in retaining its own sovereignty. It has the distinction of being the only Southeast Asian nation never to have been colonized, a point of great pride for Thais today.

The final demise of Ayutthaya would be two more Burmese invasions. The first, in 1760, was led by King Alaunghpaya, who would fail, retreating after he was shot by one of his own cannons. But 6 years later, two Burmese contingents, one from the north and one from the south, would besiege the city. The Burmese raped, pillaged, and plundered the kingdom -- capturing fortunes and laborers for return to Burma. The Thai people still hold a bitter grudge against the Burmese for their horrible acts.

The Rise of Bangkok: The Chakri Dynasty -- The Siamese did not hesitate to build another kingdom. The Burmese, leaving behind only small strongholds, left themselves open to a Siamese revival. Taksin, a provincial governor of Tak, in the central plains area, rose to power on military excellence, charisma, and a firm belief that he was divinely appointed to lead the land. Rather than build upon the ashes of Ayutthaya, Taskin rebuilt the capital at Thonburi, on the western bank of the Chao Phraya River, opposite present-day Bangkok. Within 3 years he'd reunited the lands under the previous kingdom, but his was a troubled rule. Taksin suffered from paranoia and his claims to divinity raised eyebrows in the monastic order and even within his own family. He had monks killed, and eventually his own wife and children. Regional powers were quick to get rid of him -- he was swiftly kidnapped and while covered in a velvet sack was beaten to death with a sandalwood club and buried secretly in his own capital. These same regional powers turned to the brothers Chaophraya Chakri and Chaophraya Surasi, great army generals who'd recaptured the north from Burma, to lead the land. In 1782, Chaophraya Chakri ascended the throne as the first king of Thailand's present dynasty: the Chakri dynasty.

King Ramathibodi, as he was known, moved the capital across the river to Bangkok, where he built a Grand Palace, royal homes and administrative buildings, and great temples. The city was based upon a network of canals, with the river as the central channel for trade and commerce. Siam was now a true melting pot of cultures not limited to the Tai, Mon, and Khmer descendants of former powers, but including powerful Chinese, Arab, Indian, and European bloodlines. The king himself proved to be connected in some way to each major lineage. His early tasks were to reorganize the Buddhist monkhood under an orthodox Theravada Buddhist doctrine, reestablish the state ceremonies of Ayutthaya times without the emphasis of Brahman and animistic sensibility, and revise all laws based upon just and rational arguments. He also wrote the Ramakien, based upon the Indian Ramayana, a legend that has become a beloved Thai tale, and subject for many Thai classical arts.

Despite military threats from all directions, the kingdom continued to grow through a succession of kings from the new royal bloodline. Ramathibodi and his two successors expanded the kingdom to the borders of present-day Thailand and beyond. Foreign relations in the modern sense were developed during this early era, with formal ties to European powers.

King Mongkut (1851-68) had a unique upbringing. As a monk he developed a scholarly character, which throughout his reign would show itself through his lean toward rational thinking and western learning. With his son, King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910), he led Siam into the 20th century as an independent nation, establishing an effective civil service, formalizing global relations, and introducing industrialization-based economics. He united the royal line under the title Rama. Assigning the title Rama I to the dynasty's first king, Mongkut then became Rama IV, his son Rama V. As an aside, it was King Mongkut who hired Anna Leonowens (recall The King and I) as an English tutor for his children. Thai people want everyone to know that Mongkut was not the overbearing, pushover fop described in her account. Historians side with the Thais, for she is barely mentioned in court accounts -- the story had its origins more in her imagination than in realty.

The reign of King Prajadhipok, Rama VII (1925-35), saw the growth of the urban middle class, and the increasing discontent of a powerful elite. By the beginning of his reign, economic failings and bureaucratic bickering weakened the position of the monarchy, which was delivered its final blow by the Great Depression. To the credit of the king, he'd been pushing for a shift to constitutional monarchy, but in 1932 a group of midlevel officials beat him to the punch with a coup d'état. Prajadhipok eventually abdicated in 1935.