 The Thais, most historians believe, began migrating from
southern China in the early part of the Christian era. At first they formed a
number of city-states in the northern part of what is present-day Thailand, in
places like Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, but these were never strong
enough to exert much influence outside the immediate region. Gradually the Thais
migrated further south to the broad and fertile central plains, and expanded
their dominance over nearly the entire Indochina Peninsula. Contradictory as it
may seem, however, recent archaeological discoveries around the northeast
hamlet of Ban Chiang suggest that the world’s oldest Bronze Age civilization
was flourishing in Thailand some 5,000 years ago.
 Sukhothai
Period ( 1238 - 1350 A.D. )
By the early 1200s the Thais had
established small northern city-states in Lanna, Phayao, and Sukhothai. In
1238 two Thai chieftains, Khun Bang Klang Tao and Khun Pha Muang,
successfully rebelled against Khom suzerainty and established the first
truly independent Thai kingdom in Sukhothai – a kingdom that was short-lived but
of immense cultural importance in the nation’s history.
Sukhothai saw the Thais’ gradual expansion throughout the entire Chao Phraya
River basin and the establishment of Theravada Buddhism as the paramount Thai
religion. It was here that the first evidence of written Thai was left, along
with distinctively Thai styles of art such as painting, sculpture, architecture,
and literature, which survived after Sukhothai was absorbed by the kingdom of
Ayutthaya – a dynamic young kingdom further south in the Chao Phraya River
valley.
 Ayutthaya
Period (1350 - 1767 A.D.)
During Ayutthaya’s 417 years as
the capital, under the rule of 34 kings, the Thais brought their distinctive
culture to full fruition, totally rid their lands of Khom presence, and fostered
contact with Arabian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and European powers.
Contact with the West, especially, flourished during the reign of King Narai the
Great (1656-1688), in which an envoy was sent to France to establish foreign
diplomacy. Founded in 1350, Ayutthaya remained the Thai capital until it
was sacked and burned by the Burmese in 1767.
 Thonburi Period (1767 - 1782 A.D.)
Ayutthaya’s downfall was a severe blow to the
Thais. However, a Thai revival occurred within a few months, and the
Burmese were expelled by King Taksin, who ushered in the Thonburi Period
(1767-1782). King Taksin made Thonburi the capital, but it was the
shortest-lived capital in Thai history. In 1782 the first king of the
present Chakri dynasty, Rama I, established his new capital on the site of a
riverside hamlet called Ban Kok (Village of the Wild Plums).
Rattanakosin Period (1782 - present)
During the Rattanakosin Period (1782 – present), two Chakri monarchs, King
Mongkut (Rama IV), who reigned between 1851 and 1868, and his son King
Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1868-1910), saved Thailand from the powerful tides
of Western colonialism through adroit diplomacy and selective
modernization.
Today, Thailand is a modern constitutional monarchy. Since 1932, Thai
kings, including the present monarch H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX),
have exercised their legislative powers through a national assembly, their
executive powers through a cabinet headed by a prime minister and their judicial
powers through the courts of law.
|
