history of Thailand

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 COUP D’ETAT IN SEPTEMBER 2006 Thailand was a constitutional monarchy until the sudden coup on September 19, 2006. The King was well respected and…

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

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…

  THE PHIBUN’S NATIONALIST REGIME    The promoters, both civilian and military, had given their political movement a nationalist label, but unanimity among them went…

THE THAILAND IN WORLD WAR II Thailand responded pragmatically to the military and political pressures of World War II. When sporadic fighting broke out between…

  THE RETURN OF PHIBUN AND THE MILITARY FORCE IN THAILAND As a result of Pridi’s fall from grace and the manner in which the…

THE COUP D’ETAT IN NOVEMBER 1947 In November 1947, the so-called Coup d’Etat Group, led by two retired generals and backed by Phibun, seized power…

 THE COUP D’ETAT IN NOVEMBER 1951 By 1951 Phibun had begun to share political power with two associates who had participated with him in the…