History

Main article: History of Thailand

There is evidence of human habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the
present, with stone artifacts dated to this period at Tham Lod Rockshelter in Mae Hong Son. Similar
to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of
India, starting with the Kingdom of Funan around the 1st century CE to the Khmer
Empire.[23] Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong
Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today.

The ruins of Wat Chaiwatthanaram at Ayutthaya

Indian influence on Thai culture was partly the result of direct contact with Indian settlers, but mainly
it was brought about indirectly via the indianized kingdoms of Dvaravati, Srivijaya, and
Cambodia.[24] E.A. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in
the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire and far on into the first millennium after
Christ.[24] Later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta
Empire.[24]
According to 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.
Additionally, "the Mongols, after the seizure of Ta-li on January 7, 1253 and the pacification of
Yunnan in 1257, did not look with disfavor on the creation of a series of Thai principalities at the
expense of the old Indianized kingdoms." The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons,
and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, followed by the Khmer Empire in the 11th.
The History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282. In 1287,
three Thai chiefs, Mangrai, Ngam Muang, and Ram Khamhaeng formed a "strong pact of
friendship".[25]
After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 13th century, various states thrived there, established by the
various Tai peoples, Mons, Khmers, Chams and Ethnic Malays, as seen through the numerous
archaeological sites and artefacts that are scattered throughout the Siamese landscape. Prior to the
12th century however, the first Thai or Siamese state is traditionally considered to be the
Buddhist Sukhothai Kingdom, which was founded in 1238.
Following the decline and fall of the Khmer empire in the 13th–15th century, the Buddhist Tai
kingdoms of Sukhothai, Lanna, and Lan Xang (now Laos) were on the rise. However, a century later,
the power of Sukhothai was overshadowed by the new Kingdom of Ayutthaya, established in the
mid-14th century in the lower Chao Phraya River or Menam area.
Siamese envoys presenting letter to Pope Innocent XI, 1688

Ayutthaya's expansion centred along the Menam while in the northern valleys the Lanna Kingdom
and other small Tai city-states ruled the area. In 1431, the Khmer abandoned Angkor after Ayutthaya
forces invaded the city.[26] Thailand retained a tradition of trade with its neighbouring states, from
China to India, Persia, and Arab lands. Ayutthaya became one of the most vibrant trading centres in
Asia. European traders arrived in the early 16th century, beginning with
the envoy of Portuguese duke Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511, followed by the French, Dutch, and
English. The Burmese–Siamese War (1765–1767) left Ayutthaya burned and sacked by
King Hsinbyushin Konbaung.
After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 to the Burmese, Taksin moved the capital to Thonburi for
approximately 15 years. The current Rattanakosin era of Thai history began in 1782 following the
establishment of Bangkok as capital of the Chakri dynasty under King Rama I the Great. According
to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "A quarter to a third of the population of some areas of Thailand and
Burma were slaves in the 17th through the 19th centuries."[27][28]

20th century
Territorial losses to western powers by year

Despite European pressure, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation to never have been
colonized.[29] This has been ascribed to the long succession of able rulers in the past four centuries
who exploited the rivalry and tension between the French and British Empire. In 1896, Britain and
France guaranteed of the Chao Phraya valley as their buffer state (not the whole of Siam),[30] while
the remaining parts of Southeast Asia were colonized by the western powers. Western influence
nevertheless led to many reforms in the 19th century and major concessions, most notably the loss
of a large territory on the east side of the Mekong to the French and the step-by-step absorption by
Britain of the Shan and Karen people areas and Malay Peninsula.
As part of the concessions which the Chakri dynasty offered to the British Empire in return for their
support, Siam ceded four predominantly ethnic-Malay southern provinces to the British Empire in
the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909. These four provinces (Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis)
would later became Malaysia's four northern states.
In 1917, Siam joined the Allies of World War I and is counted as one of the victors of World War I.
The bloodless revolution took place in 1932 carried out by the Khana Ratsadon group of military and
civilian officials resulted in a transition of power, when King Prajadhipok was forced to grant the
people of Siam their first constitution, thereby ending centuries of absolute monarchy.
In 1939, the name of the kingdom, "Siam", was changed to "Thailand".

World War II

Map of Thailand during World War II (1941-1945)

Franco-Thai War
Main article: Franco-Thai War
After France was conquered by Nazi Germany in June 1940, many Thais consider it as a precious
opportunity to regain territories lost to France during the reign of King Rama V. Publicity campaigns
led by nationalists took place in Bangkok on 8 October 1940. Thai government proposed that,
if French Indochina was lack of protective capability of itself, so they should return those territories to
Thailand. This proposal was strongly rejected by the French. The French mobilized its troops to Thai
border at Aranyaprathet, so prime minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram regarded it as an act of war.
Thailand, with outclassed army and air force, won the most battles over the French. However, Japan
became concerned that Thai advances would be an obstacle to the Japanese since Japan was
allowed to occupy Northern French Indochina. Therefore, Japan stepped in to mediate the conflict.
The ceasefire was signed on 9 May 1941 with some parts of French Indochina were ceded to
Thailand by French.
Joined the Axis
Main article: Thailand in World War II
7 December 1941, Japan demanded the right to move troops across Thailand to the Malayan
frontier. The Japanese invasion launched on the morning of 8 December, occurred in co-ordination
with attacks throughout Asia and engaged the Royal Thai Army for six to eight hours before
Phibunsongkhram ordered an armistice. Shortly thereafter, Japan was granted free passage, and on
21 December 1941, Thailand and Japan signed a military alliance with a secret protocol, wherein
Tokyo agreed to help Thailand regain territories lost to the British and French.[31]
Subsequently, Thailand declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom on 25 January
1942, and undertook to "assist" Japan in its war against the Allies, while at the same time
maintaining an active anti-Japanese Free Thai Movement. Approximately 200,000 Asian labourers
(mainly romusha) and 60,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) worked on the Burma Railway, which
is commonly known as the "Death Railway".[31]

Modern history
See also: History of Thailand (1932–1973) and History of Thailand since 1973
The history of Thailand from 1932 to 1973 was dominated by the military dictatorships that were in
power for much of the period. The main personalities of the period were the dictator Luang
Phibunsongkhram (better known as Phibun), who allied the country with Japan during the Second
World War; and the civilian politician Pridi Phanomyong, who founded Thammasat University and
was briefly the prime minister after the war.
A succession of military dictators followed Pridi's ousting — Phibun again, Sarit
Thanarat and Thanom Kittikachorn — under whom traditional, authoritarian rule was combined with
increasing modernisation and westernisation under the influence of the US. The end of the period
was marked by Thanom's resignation, following a massacre of pro-democracyprotesters led by
Thammasat students. Thanom misread the situation as a coup d'état, and fled, leaving the country
leaderless. HM appointed Thammasat University chancellor Sanya Dharmasakti PM by royal
command.
Thailand helped the USA and South Vietnam in the Vietnam War between 1965–1971. The USAF
based F-4 Phantom fighters at Udon and Ubon Air Base, and stationed B-52s at U-Tapao. Thai
forces also saw heavy action in the covert war in Laos that occurred from 1964 to 1972.
In 1973, there was a popular uprising which resulted in the end of the ruling military dictatorship of
anti-communist Thanom Kittikachorn and altered the Thai political system. Notably, it highlighted the
growing influence of Thai university students in politics.
For most of the 1980s, Thailand was ruled by prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda, a democratically-
inclined[citation needed] strongman who restored parliamentary politics. Thereafter the country remained a
democracy, apart from a brief period of military rule from 1991 to 1992. The populist Thai Rak
Thai party, led by prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, governed from 2001 until 2006. In 2006 mass
protests against the Thai Rak Thai party's alleged corruption, prompting the military to stage a coup
d'état in September. A general election in December 2007 restored a civilian government, but in May
2014 another military coup returned absolute power to the army.