The History of Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand (known as Siam until 1939) was ruled by the Khmers, based in what is now neighboring Cambodia, during the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1238, two Thai chieftains rebelled against Khmer domination and established the first independent Thai kingdom. Ayutthaya, to the north of Bangkok, was the capital of the kingdom from the early 14th century, until its destruction by Burmese invaders in 1767. The Burmese were quickly forced out and the monarchy re-established. The absolute rule of the monarchy lasted until 1932, when it was replaced by a system of constitutional monarchy.

Thereafter, Thailand
gradually installed a democratic, pluralistic system of government. Progress was slow, mainly because of the attitude of the military, which has traditionally exercised a strong (although rarely beneficial) influence on Thai politics. Since 1932, the army has taken over the government on no less than 17 occasions. During the Cold War, this was a minor consideration democratic governments were a rarity in the region and Thailands chief strategic ally, the USA, were more concerned with Thailands role as a bulwark against encroaching communism from elsewhere in Southeast Asia. In this regard, Thailand was an influential member of the main regional anti-communist bloc, Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Since the end of the Cold War, Thailand has been prominent in proposing the reformation of ASEAN into a regional trading bloc.This was part of a realignment of Thai foreign policy engineered by the government of Chatichai Choonhaven, who led the country from his election in 1988 until his overthrow in a military coup in February 1991. This coup the 17th and last since 1932 was a short-lived affair headed by army chief General Suchinda Kraprayoon and ended with a return to democratic civilian government in March 1992.

Over the next five years, Thailand had four elections and a variety of coalition governments. King Bhumibol, who is revered as a semi-deity by many Thais, intervened on several occasions to calm situations that appeared otherwise to be spiralling out of control. As well as the inherent problems of coalition politics, successive governments were also being undermined by growing corruption in Thailands political and business life. These issues were brought to a head by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, of which Thailand was one of the principal victims. The incumbent government fell, due to its inept handling of the crisis. After that, Chuan Leekpai, who had held the premiership between the end of 1992 and mid-1995, returned to the premiership at the head of Pak Prachatipat (Democratic Party), the main liberal party in Thailand.

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• ThaiAndProud

[teaclipper29]

So please buddy,do us all a favour,keep the lovey pics of the beautiful country (in places) you inhabit and be thankful,be happy about it,be positively ecstatic should u wish, but dont be PROUD! Pride comes before a fall mate,plus being Thai is not a fucking skill,so u have 0 reasons to be PROUD of it! U must leave Thailand and be debriefed,all Thais I know who have livd abroad in the west for some time never want to live at home again as theyv learnt to c thru the bullshit and propaganda of TH

[teaclipper29]

which as most of us 'farang' have seen, is what Thais do best! I dont want to be totally anti-thai as I live here and love the place and like many of the ppl too, its just the onces like yourself who are so arrogant and nationalist without having a clue about their own history.Whats more likely?Thais are the smartest, strongest most advanced race in the world, OR, They got repeatedly fucked & used by other countries who were more advanced,but just lied about the FACTS to keep public morale high?

[lma4utube]

@Tongsmart I've concurred with your verdict that cheap sex and drugs can be obtained in Thailand, this is mainly contributed to poverty (created by the corrupted government), where parents can't afford to feed them, hence selling them, in exchange for food and modern commodity, would lessen their burden - that's very sad but this is the reality. I've also noted because of Thailand Nationalism, the country is trying to deny its true history, and school kids were taught the distorted version.

[mayboyxykivsandy]

@Khmer96pride I feel the same. Forgive and forget. Thai people took from us. And you still agree with these fuckers. Understand one thing. We might almost look a like but there are a few differential between us. We didn't lie about what happen in the past.

[quantumcranium]

Ha..ha.....since all of you are so emotionaly charge up, it proves Thailand is a great country....and if you don't like it....is a free country....you are free to leave...and crawl back to that shit hole you came from.

[tawanwalking]

@sayyid14

->Sukhotai was fucking long time before british came to colonized Malaysia.. haha your view point is so weak dude.... yo yo yo you are lame and need to find the better way to make your soul stronger becoz we can break your neck with our iron legs so don't try to messed up with us YO you mother f++in face you need to shut your mouth up before you get arouse by our fists and knees including our muscle that fuckin flexible free!! ..lol Can I be a good rapper ?

[tawanwalking]

@sayyid14

"The Siamese Kings of Sukhotai and later, the Siamese Kingdom of Ayudhya asserted their powers and extended their control over most of Peninsular Malaysia including Malacca."

[tawanwalking]

@sayyid14

really? nonsense that those british gave the peninsular to us ..lol.. ...you should read more from british history...

[sayyid14]

@tawanwalking Cannon From Chinese latter by Arab-Turkish(siege of Constantinople),rember European dark age,They learn from Arab(Muslim) in Baghdad,Andalusia(Cordoba,Gran­ada, Seville etc),I said Sri Patani and Sri Nagara was make by Malays,East Asia are the 1st Maker of Cannon,European juz copy it,most of Techonlogy today are by Chinese and Arab,Musket also idea from Chinese,Rocket( by Muslim India,Tipu Sultan).Yes.Half of peninsular was in Siam coz British assist Thai.read history

[Khmer96pride]

I am Khmer and I respect Thai People !!!

Thailand is a realy great Country I am proud to have Thailand as my Neighboring Country. Thailand is a realy succesful Country , and People from Thailand representing their Country to the World.Me as Khmer I want that Cambodia develope like Thailand.

Forget the Border Wars , both Countries had a great Civilisation .

Much love from Neighbor Cambodia !!!!