THE MON AND KHMER IN THAILAND    The closely related Mon and Khmer peoples entered Southeast Asia along migration routes from southern China in the…

THE TAI PEOPLE The forebears of the modern Thai were Tai-speaking people living south of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) on the mountainous plateau of…

THE SUKHOTHAI PERIOD  Situated on the banks of the Mae Nam Yom some 375 kilometers north of present-day Bangkok, Sukhothai was the cradle of Thai…

THE AYUTHAYA ERA (1350-1767) The kingdom of Ayutthaya was founded by U Thong, an adventurer allegedly descended from a rich Chinese merchant family who married…

  THE THAI KINGSHIP    The Thai rulers were absolute monarchs whose office was partly religious in nature. They derived their authority from the ideal…

THE FINAL PHASE OF AYUTTHAYA KINGDOM  After a bloody period of dynastic struggle, Ayutthaya entered into what has been called its golden age, a relatively…

THE BANGKOK PERIOD (1767 – 1932) As they had in the sixteenth century, the Thai made a rapid recovery under a brilliant military leader. Taksin…

THE CHAKKRI DYNASTY  With the death of Taksin, the Thai throne fell to Chakkri, a general who had played a leading role with Taksin in…

THE MONGKUT ‘S OPENING TO THE WEST  Nang Klao died in 1851 and was succeeded by his forty-seven- year-old half brother, Mongkut (Rama IV, 1851-68).…

THE CHULALONGKERN ‘S REFORMS When Mongkut died, his eldest son, Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1868-1910), a minor at the time, succeeded him. Under his father’s direction,…

THE PRIDI AND CIVILIAN REGIME: 1944 – 1947  The new government was headed by Khuang Aphaiwong, a civilian linked politically with conservatives like Seni. The…

  THE COUP D’ETAT IN 1932    The long era of absolute monarchy was brought to a sudden end on June 24, 1932, by a…