Thailand
is a wondrous kingdom, featuring Buddhist temples, exotic wildlife, and
spectacular islands. Along with a fascinating history and a unique culture that
includes delectable Thai food and massage, Thailand
features a modern capital city, and friendly people who epitomize Thailand’s
“land of smiles” reputation.
History
Dating back to the Neolithic civilization
situated at the modern-day UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ban Chiang, the
history of Thailand
is long, proud, and fairly well documented. Over the early centuries of
the Common Era, tribes of Mon, Khmer, and Tai peoples established realms within
the borders of modern Thailand; the Mon speaking Buddhist civilization of
Dvaravati in the first millennium giving way to the Khmer empire of Angkor by
the turn of the second millennium.
However, the history of Thailand as we know it began when the kingdoms
of Lan Na (Chiang Rai/Chiang Mai) and Sukhothai, the first truly independent
Thai Kingdoms, established highly developed societies in the North and Central
regions of Thailand
in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Kingdom
of Ayutthaya, which was heavily
influenced by the Khmer’s of Angkor,
eventually conquered neighboring Sukhothai and dominated the region for the
next several hundred years of Thai history. Unfortunately, first Chaing
Mai and then Ayutthaya were overrun by Burmese
invaders, who occupied the Lan Na capital for several centuries and sacked Ayutthaya, forcing the central Thai kingdom to relocate
farther south, establishing a new capital in Thon Buri near Bangkok. After the short lived Thon
Buri Period (1767-1772), the capital was moved across the Chao
Phraya River, and the
first of the current line of Kings, Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty, established
the modern capital of Bangkok
to commence the Ratanakosin Period of Thai history. The adroit diplomatic
leadership of Kings Mongkut (Rama IV, 1851-1868) and Chulalongkorn (Rama V,
1868-1910) were responsible for maintaining a remarkable 700 year Thai history
during which the kingdom was never officially colonized by foreign powers; a
turbulent 20th century witnessed the transition to a system of constitutional
monarchy, currently overseen by Head of State, King Bumibol Adulyadej (1946-
present), is King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty and a tenuous but functional
democracy has existed under the regency of this much beloved king.
