Xiān ( Chinese : 暹 ) or Siam ( Thai : สยาม ) was a confederation of maritime-oriented port polities along the present Bay of Bangkok , including Ayodhya , Suphannabhum , and Phip Phli [ th ] , as well as Nakhon Si Thammarat (Ligor), which became Siam in the late 13th century. Previous studies suggested that the Xiān in Chinese dynasty records only referred to Sukhothai , but this presupposition has recently been rebutted.
183-469: Xiān was formed from city-states on the west Chao Phraya plain after the decline of Dvaravati in the 11th century. In 1178, the region was mentioned in the term San-lo 三濼 , as recorded in the Chinese Lingwai Daida . Xiān or Siam, which was also recorded as Suphan Buri and Nakhon Si Thammarat in the late 13th century, joined a federation with Lavo in 1351; this led to the formation of
366-562: A Harvard Law professor, as the delegate of Siam to re-negotiate treaties with European nations on his European tour of 1924–1926. France and United Kingdom consented to new treaties with Siam in 1925. Extraterritorial rights of foreigners in Siam and restriction of tariff imposition on imported goods were abolished, restoring Siam's judiciary and fiscal autonomy. Siamese royal government began to send non-royal men for European education in 1897, through Thai king's scholarship , mainly to accompany
549-1014: A 25-km demilitarized zone along the Mekong but only on the Siamese side. The major fear of the Siamese court came true when the French invaded in 1893, as the survival of Siam's sovereignty was left at the mercy of Anglo-French conflicts. As the British expressed their concerns over French advances on Siam, the Anglo-French agreement of 1896 guaranteed Siam's independence as a " buffer state " only in Siam's core territories, allowing British intervention in Southern Siam and French intervention in Eastern Siam. King Chulalongkorn embarked on his Grand European Tour in 1897, with Queen Saovabha as regent during royal absence, to promote
732-690: A French colonialist advocate, in February 1887 to assume the position of the French consul in Luang Phrabang. Unable to go further, Waiworanat ended his campaign in April 1887, taking Haw and Tai captives, among them the brothers of Đèo Văn Trị to Bangkok. The enraged Đèo Văn Trị led the Black Flag Army to seize and plunder Luang Phrabang in June 1887. Auguste Pavie rescued King Ounkham of Luang Phrabang and took him on
915-505: A canoe to Bangkok. The French took this opportunity to enter and occupy Sipsong Chuthai, which Siam had attempted to claim. After arguments between Surasak Montri and Pavie, it was agreed in 1888 that French Indochina received Sipsong Chuthai while Siam retained Houaphanh. Franco-Siamese relations deteriorated after the French seizure of Sipsong Chuthai in 1887. Auguste Pavie, who had been transferred to become French consul in Bangkok, brought
1098-855: A century since 1779, joined French Indochina in 1893. The Franco–Siamese War of 1893 or Crisis of Year 112 ( วิกฤตการณ์ ร.ศ. ๑๑๒ ) was the time when Siam came closest to being conquered by a Western imperialist power. After the demise of Somdet Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse in 1883, King Chulalongkorn was in control of the government by the mid-1880s and was able to implement reforms. After decades of domination by powerful nobility, Chulalongkorn brought many royal princes – his brothers and sons – to government roles. The princes received modernized education and formed an educated elite. The king began to send his sons for European education in 1885. Many princes were specialized in their responsible fields. Most notable ones were Prince Devawongse who specialized in foreign affairs and Prince Damrong in internal affairs. Following
1281-475: A child slave would continue to decline over age until the age of 21 when they would be freed. Both Chulalongkorn and Sri Suriwongse agreed to abolish corvée labor. However, these reforms upset Prince Wichaichan of the Front Palace who had inherited from his father Pinklao, a huge manpower in service with more than one-thirds of the kingdom's revenue accorded to him, he also had the support of Thomas George Knox
1464-585: A daughter two days before his death in November 1925, without leaving any male heirs. Prince Paribatra of Nakhon Sawan was the eldest surviving brother of Vajiravudh of the celestial Chaofa rank but he was Vajiravudh's half-brother, having a different mother. Per Vajiravudh's 1924 succession law, the Siamese throne would go to Vajiravudh's 32-year-old younger brother Prince Prajadhipok of Sukhothai. Prajadhipok had just returned from his military education in France and
1647-523: A fleet, led by Phraya Siphiphat (younger brother of Phrakhlang), to quell the rebellion. Siamese forces recaptured Alor Setar in 1839. Chaophraya Nakhon Noi the Raja of Ligor died in 1838, leaving Malay affairs to Phraya Siphiphat. The latter then divided Kedah into four states: Setul , Kubang Pasu , Perlis and Kedah proper. The former Kedah sultan reconciled with the Siamese and he was finally restored as Sultan of Kedah in 1842. The journey of Phraya Siphiphat to
1830-588: A full coronation ceremony and named the new city "Rattanakosin", which meant the "Jewel of Indra" referring to the Emerald Buddha. The Burmese continued to pose a major threat to the Siamese state of existence. In 1785, King Bodawpaya of the Burmese Konbaung dynasty sent massive armies to invade Siam in five directions during the Nine Armies' War . Decades of continuous warfare had left Siam depopulated and
2013-488: A great amount of money on his many projects and personal expenditures, totaling nine million baht accounting for about ten percent of annual state budget. Siam's expanding bureaucracy and modernization required a great amount of public spending. Participation in World War I was also expensive and the post-war economic downturn took a great toll on Siamese economy. Vajiravudh's profligacy has been cited in most historiographies as
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#17328446917462196-456: A great number of bureaucrats and cutting of salaries of the remaining officials. Even some provincial Monthon s were merged. This policy had some positive effects as Siam's state finance shifted from deficit to surplus within three years but these developments bred political resentments from the educated bureaucratic middle class, who found themselves suddenly unemployed, towards the royal government. Bangkok's ever-flourishing political newspapers,
2379-414: A hostile new neighbor. King Ang Duong of Cambodia died in 1860, followed by a civil war between his sons Norodom and Si Votha which led to Norodom to seek French assistance. French admiral Pierre-Paul de La Grandière had Norodom sign a treaty that placed Cambodia under French protection in 1863 without Siam's acknowledgement and the French crowned Norodom as King of Cambodia in 1864. Si Suriyawong
2562-424: A list where the preceding entry has the word vrau in the same sentence position (K127). The term vrau has been considered the name of an ethnolinguistic minority group, possibly ancestors of the modem Bru or Brau people . Therefore, syam may have similarly functioned at that time, perhaps as a toponym that could also be used to refer to people of the area. Siam later occurs in slave lists on inscriptions of
2745-533: A major change from the 13th century during the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries and the Ayutthaya Kingdom that succeeded it when rice growing intensified with the introduction of floating rice , a much faster-growing strain of rice from Bengal . The southern swamps meanwhile changed radically from the 18th century when King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke moved the capital of Siam to Bangkok, and
2928-699: A move, reading “ do not harm Ma-li-yü-êrh (Melayu). The maritime Xian also attacked Samudera Pasai Sultanate on Sumatra probably between 1299–1310, but failed. The troops might have been launched by the southernmost Xian of Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom with either Takua Thalang or Trang or Syburi / Kedah as the navy bases. In the The Customs of Cambodia written by Zhou Daguan , who visited Zhenla as part of an official diplomatic delegation during 1296–1297, also referred to Siam people as: In recent years people from Siam have come to live in Cambodia , and unlike
3111-495: A new concept of border demarcation and territorial proclamations. In pre-modern Southeast Asia, borders between polities were ill-defined. The traditional Siamese government only had an authority in cities, towns and agricultural areas; while mountains and forests were largely left alone as they were difficult to be reached by authorities. In the era of colonialism, border claims and mapmaking were keys to Siam's standing against colonial encroachments. British and Siamese delegates met at
3294-433: A parliament to limit royal powers in 1905. Thianwan also advocated for monogamy and women's rights against predominantly polygamic patriarchal Siamese traditional society of his time. Siamese visionaries took Meiji Japan as the model for self-motivated Asian modernization success. King Chulalongkorn was officially eulogized as "Phra Piya Maharaj" ( พระปิยมหาราช , "Great Beloved King") in 1907. Crown Prince Vajirunhis
3477-585: A pro-Siamese Cambodian noble, staged a coup in Cambodia to overthrow and kill the pro-Vietnamese Cambodian Prime Minister Tolaha Mu in 1783. Chaos and upheavals that ensued caused Yumreach Baen to take young King Ang Eng to Bangkok. King Rama I appointed Yumreach Baen as Chaophraya Aphaiphubet . Also in 1783, Nguyễn Phúc Ánh arrived in Bangkok to take refuge from the Tây Sơn rebels. In 1784, Siamese forces invaded Saigon to reinstate Nguyễn Phúc Ánh but were defeated in
3660-624: A process of canalisation and cultivation began, especially as Thailand began to export rice from 1855. The Tha Chin River is the major distributary of the Chao Phraya River. The expanse of the Chao Phraya and Tha Chin Rivers and their distributaries, starting at the point at which the distributaries diverge, together with the land amid the triangle formed by the outermost and innermost distributary, form
3843-521: A relic of the original landscape. As so much has been cleared or altered the potential for creating large protected areas to preserve original habitat no longer exists. However much wildlife does remain in the rice fields and steps may be taken to preserve these as urban and industrial development on the plains is ongoing and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand has very little control or planning over this. Particular threats come from
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#17328446917464026-438: Is at a single location that covers less than 10 km (4 sq mi). The endangered dwarf loach , another species bred in large numbers for the aquarium trade, has been extirpated from most of its range in Chao Phraya. The critically endangered Siamese tigerfish has been entirely exirpated from Chao Phraya and Mae Klong, but small populations remain in the Mekong basin. Many other species that either are prominent in
4209-473: Is recorded that an imperial order was issued again to summon and persuade the king of Xian in 1294. Due to such a persistent persuasion, the king of Xian named Gan-mu-ding (Kamrateng, กมรเต็ง ) from Pi-ch'a-pu-li city ( Phip Phli [ th ] ; present Phetchaburi ) personally appeared at the Chinese court to present the tribute with a golden plate in 1295. The tribute was sent from Xian again
4392-642: Is the chief river in the kingdom of Siam." Herbert Warington Smyth , who served as Director of the Department of Mines in Siam from 1891 to 1896, refers to it in his book first published in 1898 as "the Mae Nam Chao Phraya". In the English-language media in Thailand, the name Chao Phraya River is often translated as river of kings . On the basins of Chao Phraya River rose the earliest civilizations in
4575-476: The Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 in exchange for British loan of four million pounds to Siam for construction of Southern Siamese railway and for British surrender of most extraterritorial jurisdiction in Siam. These lost territories were on the fringes of the Siamese sphere of influence, which Siam had only exerted some degree of control, the concept of the " lost territories " was not created until after
4758-590: The Ayutthaya period. Several shortcut canals were constructed to bypass large loops in the river, shortening the trip from the capital city to the sea. The course of the river has since changed to follow many of these canals. Provinces along the Chao Phraya include, from north to south, Nakhon Sawan Province , Uthai Thani Province , Chai Nat Province , Sing Buri Province , Ang Thong Province , Ayutthaya Province , Pathum Thani Province , Nonthaburi Province , Bangkok , and Samut Prakan Province . These cities are among
4941-500: The Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 14th century, which itself was precursor of modern Thailand (known formerly as Siam), the river became very significant after the establishment of Rattanakosin (Bangkok) in 1782 on its east bank, the location of Bangkok on the east bank of Chao Phraya River ensured protection to Siamese kingdom from the Burmese invasions coming from the West. The Chao Phraya begins at
5124-523: The Ayutthaya Kingdom with the federal seat at Ayutthaya . Phip Phli [ th ] was demoted to a frontier city following the federative formation and was then governed by Suphan Buri, which was completely annexed into the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1438, whereas Nakhon Si Thammarat maintained its vassal status throughout the Ayutthaya and Thonburi eras with short periods of independence and
5307-636: The Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút by the Tây Sơn. In 1789, Aphaiphubet took control of Cambodia and became the Regent. Later that same year Nguyễn Phúc Ánh took Saigon and established himself in Southern Vietnam. In 1794, King Rama I allowed Ang Eng to return to Cambodia to rule as king and carved the northwestern part of Cambodia including Battambang and Siemreap for Aphaiphubet to govern as governor under direct Siamese rule. King Ang Eng of Cambodia died in 1796 and
5490-804: The Chakri dynasty and made his younger brother Chao Phraya Surasi the Wangna or Prince Sura Singhanat of the Front Palace . In 1783, the Bangkok city walls were constructed with part of the bricks taken from the Ayutthaya ruins. Lao and Cambodian laborers were assigned to dig the city moat. The Grand Palace and the Wat Phra Kaew were completed in 1784 and the Emerald Buddha was transferred from Wat Arun to be placed in Wat Phra Kaew. In 1785, King Rama I performed
5673-505: The Champa and Khmer kingdoms , dated in the 11th and 12th centuries. From about the same period there is also a well-known bas relief panel of Angkor Wat showing mercenaries of the Khmer army, who are identified as syam-kuk , perhaps "of the land of Siam." One cannot be certain what ethnolinguistic group these mercenaries belonged to, but many scholars have thought them to be Siam people . At about
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5856-721: The Chao Phraya River , forcing its way up to Bangkok to threaten the Siamese royal palace as gunfire was exchanged between French gunboats and the Siamese Chulachomklao Fort during the Paknam Incident . Prince Devawongse the Minister of Foreign Affairs went to 'congratulate' the French invaders but Pavie presented an ultimatum, urging Siam to cede lands east of the Mekong, to pay an indemnity of three million francs and to punish Phra Yot Mueang Khwang. As Siam hesitated,
6039-472: The Dade Nanhai-zhi 大德南海志 mentions that Sù gū dǐ (速孤底, Sukhothai ) rely on Xian : "Xian controlled Sù gū dǐ , which is located upstream." ( 暹国管 上水速孤底 ). This makes Tatsuro assume that Sukhothai was controlled by Xian . However, a Thai academic, Keatkhamjorn Meekanon, proposes that Sukhothai may have had to use Xian to export. Xian additionally sent tribute to China in April and July 1314, 1319, and
6222-584: The Dvaravati period, found in the area together with the existing Dvaravati evidence—were probably the Buddism Mon . The migration of the Tai-speaking people from the north to the Chao Phraya River basin happened around the 9th century. It was speculated that the trade interaction between the polities as well as the intermarriage caused a language assimilation among the people in this area. According to
6405-605: The Front Palace Crisis or the Wangna Crisis. Chulalongkorn, in his "swimming to the crocodile" move, asked Si Suriyawong for intervention to placate the situation. Si Suriyawong, however, suggested hard terms on Wichaichan who then fled to take refuge inside the British consulate five days later in January 1875. Siam was on the brink of civil war and foreign intervention with Wichaichan resisting any compromises for he believed
6588-629: The Holy Man's Rebellion in 1901–1902. Sultan Abdul Kadir, the last raja of Pattani, sought British support from Singapore and planned an insurgency but was caught beforehand as seven Pattani Malay sultanates were integrated into Siam in 1902. The Shan immigrants in Phrae arose in the Shan Rebellion of Phrae in 1902, declaring for Lanna traditions to be upheld and for the killing of Central Siamese officials. Chaophraya Surasak Montri however managed to put down
6771-500: The IUCN ), but Cryptophaea saukra is critically endangered and Caliphaea angka is endangered . There are few areas of wetland protected as national parks, but these are mostly very small. The Chao Phraya basin is home to around 280 species of fish, including about 30 endemics . By far the most diverse family is Cyprinidae with 108 species. The mainstream of the Chao Phraya River has about 190 native fish species. In general,
6954-532: The Kalahom responded by having Norodom sign another opposing treaty that recognized Siamese suzerainty over Cambodia and had it published in The Straits Times in 1864, much to the embarrassment of Gabriel Aubaret of the French consul. The French sought to annul the opposing treaty as Aubaret brought a gunboat to Bangkok. A Franco-Siamese compromise draft over Cambodian issues was signed in 1865 but ratification
7137-807: The Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục Volume 9. In another Vietnamese chronicle, Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư , Xiān is also mentioned during the Lý dynasty and Trần dynasty periods, as follows: Xian or Siam people are described as maritime-oriented groups as said in the Chinese Daoyi Zhilüe : Its people are aggressive. Whenever they see another country in a state of disorder, they immediately dispatch as many as one hundred ships full of sago to invade it. Recently more than seventy ships invaded Dān mǎ xī ( 單馬錫 , identified as far as Tumasik, or Singapore ), and Xī lǐ ( 昔里 ) When someone dies, mercury will be injected into
7320-605: The Kra Isthmus as before 500 C.E., as well as the degradation of paper, which is more favored as a recording material in the Buddhist -dominated area. Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand , with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand . On many old European maps,
7503-602: The Lingwai Daida , written in 1178, is believed to have been an early Chinese attempt to transcribe the name of the country or the people of the upper and central Menam , which Khmer inscriptions had called Syam and which the Chinese were soon to call Xiān and Xiānluó . In the Shū yù zhōu zī lù [ zh ] 殊域周咨錄 , written in 1583, states that when the Sui dynasty dynasty send an embassy to Chi Tu probably between 605 and 618,
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7686-575: The Palace Revolt of 1912 or Rebellion of Year 130 ( กบฏ ร.ศ. ๑๓๐ ) in January 1912 in an attempt to overthrow the absolute monarchy. However, the plot leaked and the conspirators were apprehended in April 1912. Understanding the context of liberal trends, Vajiravudh spared the conspirators from death sentences but gave prison terms only to top leaders of this abortive plot. Siamese government associated this rebellion with Chinese republican movement. The paramilitary movement largely disappeared by 1927, but
7869-573: The Ping River (with its principal confluent, the Wang River ), and the Tha Chin River . Each of these tributaries (and the Chao Phraya itself) is augmented by minor tributaries referred to as khwae . All of the tributaries, including the lesser khwae, form an extensive tree-like pattern, with branches flowing through nearly every province in central and northern Thailand . None of the tributaries of
8052-456: The Siamese revolution of 1932 by Thai military nationalists. Through his long reign, Chulalongkorn implemented government, fiscal and social reforms and shed Siamese tributary periphery, transforming Siam from traditional mandala network polity into more-compact modern nation-state with centralized bureaucracy and clearly-defined boundaries, bordering British Burma in the west, French Indochina in
8235-529: The South China Sea since the beginning of the 1st millennium, the historical records about them were rarely found, and most of the existing evidence is local legends. The ancient entities mentioned in the Chinese records potentially located in the region are the five cities of Tun Sun and its northern neighbor Chin Lin . This is most likely owing to the change in maritime trade routes, which no longer need to cross
8418-429: The Sukhothai Kingdom in 1238. This first Siamese kingdom was succeeded by Ayutthaya , Thonburi , and Rattanakosin . His works were eventually translated and edited in 1924 by Cœdès , who made this theory proliferated through his influential writings, such as The Indianized States of Southeast Asia . However, the equation that Xian was long-believed Sukhothai was contested in 1989 by Tatsuro Yamamoto, who proposes that
8601-639: The Tenasserim Hills in 1866 to explore and define Anglo-Siamese borders between Siam and British Burma from the Salween River to the Andaman Sea, thus becoming the modern Myanmar-Thailand border when the treaty was signed in 1868. When King Mongkut ascended the throne in 1851, he appointed his younger brother Pinklao as Vice-King or Second King of the Front Palace , giving Pinklao immense powers. Vice-King Pinklao predeceased King Mongkut in 1866. After
8784-596: The Tha Dindaeng Campaign in 1786–1787. After these victories over Burmese invaders, Siam staged offensives on the Tenasserim Coast , which was the former territory of Ayutthaya. King Rama I marched Siamese armies to lay siege on Tavoy in 1788 but did not succeed. In 1792, the Burmese governors of Tavoy and Mergui defected to Siam. Siam came to temporarily occupy the Tenasserim Coast. However, as
8967-682: The confluence of the Ping and Nan rivers at Nakhon Sawan (also called Pak Nam Pho) in Nakhon Sawan province . After this, it flows south for 372 kilometres (231 mi) from the central plains to Bangkok and the Gulf of Thailand . In Chai Nat , the river then splits into the main course and the Tha Chin River , which then flows parallel to the main river and exits in the Gulf of Thailand about 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Bangkok in Samut Sakhon . In
9150-520: The mandala system . The multicultural Siamese empire had hosted a number of tributary states including Lanna Chiangmai , the Lao Kingdoms of Luang Phrabang and Champasak , minor Lao-Lanna chiefdoms and Muslim Malay sultanates of the south. In facing colonial encroachment, however, territories and sovereignty had to be clearly defined. The British acquired Upper Burma and the French acquired Tonkin in 1886. This development escalated imperialist designs on Siam and led to increased Western presence in
9333-463: The water quality of major rivers flowing into the upper Gulf of Thailand has seriously deteriorated, and the lower Chao Phraya contains bacteria and nutrient pollution from phosphates , phosphorus , and nitrogen . Nutrient pollution causes algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle, harming water quality, food resources for aquatic animals, and marine habitats. It also decreases the oxygen that fish need to survive. PCD rated water quality at
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#17328446917469516-523: The "Raja of Ligor" invaded and captured Kedah . Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin took refuge in British-held Penang . A son of Nakhon Noi was installed as the governor of Kedah. The Kedah sultanate ceased to exist for a time being. Since the 15th century, the Siamese royal court had retained a monopoly on foreign trades through the Phra Khlang Sinkha ( พระคลังสินค้า ) or Royal Warehouse. Foreign merchants had to present their ships and goods at Phra Khlang Sinkha for tariffs to be levied and goods to be purchased by
9699-451: The 'Jews of the East'. Chinese immigrants became ready targets of Siamese economic nationalism. In 1913, Vajiravudh introduced surname system and defined Thai nationality by blood in response to Chinese citizenship claims. Vajiravudh founded Chulalongkorn University , the first modern Siamese university, in honor of his father, in 1916. Vajiravudh also instituted compulsory modern education in Central Thai language nation-wide, including
9882-435: The 11th century in the late Dvaravati period, which was potentially declined due to the Menam Valley and the upper Malay peninsula conquered of Tambralinga 's king Sujita who also seized Lavo in the mid-9th century. the 9-year civil wars in the Angkor in the early 11th century, which led to the devastation of Lavo , as well as the Pagan invasion of Menam Valley around the mid-11th century. All of these are probably
10065-425: The 7th century. It is probably a toponym referring to some location in the lower Chao Phraya Basin . In surviving inscriptions of this period, syam occurs four times to designate female slaves ("ku syam", Inscriptions K557 (dated 611 CE), K127 (683 CE), K154 (685 CE), and K904 (713 CE)) and once to identify a landlord-official ("pon syam"), who donates rice fields to a temple (K79 639 CE). In one case syam occurs in
10248-402: The British consul. On one night in December 1874, a fire broke out in the king's royal palace, in which the Front Palace police forces were to enter to help put down fires but they were denied entry by the king's guards for fear that the Front Palace had set up the fire scene to enter the king's quarters. King Chulalongkorn then had his guards surround the Front Palace. This incident was known as
10431-582: The British government in London (rather than East India Company), arrived at Bangkok in 1855. The Bowring Treaty was signed in April 1855, in which tariffs were reduced and standardized to three percent and the Phasi Pak Ruea (measurement duties) was abolished. The treaty granted extraterritoriality to the British in Siam, who would be subject to a British consular authority and British law instead of traditional Siamese inquisition, as Westerners sought to dissociate themselves from Siamese Nakhonban methods of judiciary tortures . The treaty also stipulated
10614-454: The British to trade freely in Siam. The treaty also recognized Siamese claims over Kedah. However, some trade restrictions including the Phasi Pak Ruea ( ภาษีปากเรือ ) or measurement duties were still intact. Siam also concluded the similar " Roberts Treaty " with the United States in 1833. Tunku Kudin, a nephew of the former Kedah sultan, reclaimed Kedah by force in 1831 and rose up against Siam. Pattani, Kelantan and Terengganu joined on
10797-400: The British would give him full support. After many unsuccessful negotiations, Si Suriyawong suggested that the British invited a respectable figure to deal with this situation. Andrew Clarke the governor of the Straits Settlements, who had earlier maintained friendly relations with Chulalongkorn, arrived in Bangkok from Singapore in February 1875 to act as mediator. Clarke was sympathetic to
10980-475: The Burmese in Lanna allowed Siam to expand domination north towards the northernmost Tai princedoms: Keng Tung and Chianghung . Kawila of Chiang Mai sent forces to raid Keng Tung in 1802 and subjugated Mong Yawng , Mueang Luang Phukha, and Chiang Hung in 1805. In 1805, the Prince of Nan invaded the Tai Lue confederacy of Sipsongpanna and Chiang Hung surrendered. Prince Sura Singhanat died in 1803. King Rama I appointed his own son Prince Itsarasunthon as
11163-518: The Chao Phraya delta . The many distributaries of the Chao Phraya delta are interconnected by canals that serve both for irrigation and for transportation. The lowland areas of the Chao Phraya watershed in central Thailand have been designated as the Chao Phraya freshwater swamp forests , a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion , an area about 400 km (249 mi) north to south and 180 km (112 mi) wide. The original swamp forests have almost entirely been removed as
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#173284469174611346-448: The Chao Phraya extend beyond the nation's borders. The Nan and the Yom River flow nearly parallel from Phitsanulok to Chumsaeng in the north of Nakhon Sawan Province. The Wang River enters the Ping River near Sam Ngao district in Tak Province . When measured from the most commonly accepted source, which is the confluence of the Ping and Nan River in Nakhon Sawan, the river measures 372 km (231 mi). However, when measured from
11529-400: The Chao Phraya is a major transportation artery for a network of river buses, cross-river ferries, and water taxis ("longtails"). More than 15 boat lines operate on the rivers and canals of the city, including commuter lines . The principal tributaries of the Chao Phraya River are the Pa Sak River , the Sakae Krang River , the Nan River (along with its principal confluent the Yom River ),
11712-435: The Chinese The Customs of Cambodia by Zhou Daguan in 1296–1297, who records that Xiān is on the southwest of Chenla . In the Jinakalamali , a local Pali chronicle of the northern Thai principality of Lan Na ( Chiang Mai ) mentions siam-desa and siam-rattha refer to the "area (desa) or state (rattha) of Siam," which one passage further identifies as the Sukhothai region. Xiān city-states were formed around
11895-411: The Chinese records, the early Xian or Siam probably consisted of at least two main polities, including Phip Phli [ th ] , which sent emissaries to the Yuan dynasty during the late 13th century to the early 14th century, and Su-men-bang ( Suphannabhum ), which later joined Lavo in the Ayutthaya Kingdom formation. Ligor became Siam proper after the preceding Tambralinga fall due to
12078-482: The Chinese tax collector system. Both the British and the Americans sent their delegates ( Brooke and Balestier ) to Bangkok in 1850 to propose treaty amendments but were strongly rejected. Only with the Bowring Treaty of 1855 that these goals were achieved, liberalizing the Siamese economy and ushering a new period of Thai history. King Rama III reportedly said on his deathbed in 1851: " ... there will be no more wars with Vietnam and Burma. We will have them only with
12261-546: The Colonial Party in Paris pressed for more Siamese concessions during the negotiations, in which Prince Devawongse was the Siamese representative. In 1904, Siam had to cede Mluprey , Champasak and Sainyabuli on the right (west) bank to France in return for French abandonment of Chanthaburi but the French proceeded to hold Trat instead. The Anglo-French Entente Cordiale in 1904 confirmed mutual recognition of Siamese independence by both powers. In 1907, French and Siamese delegates met to demarcate Franco-Siamese borders and it
12444-422: The European model, by the suggestion of Prince Devawongse, King Chulalongkorn began to form modern ministries in 1888 to the replace centuries-old disorganized Chatusadom central governance. In April 1892, the first modern Siamese cabinet was formed, consisting mostly of royal princes. Prince Damrong became Mahatthai Minister of Interior in 1892. Damrong introduced a modern bureaucracy and, in 1893, announced
12627-457: The French imposed a naval blockade on Bangkok. The Siamese court hoped to find British support against French aggression but the British were unresponsive so Siam resolved to comply unconditionally to French demands in July 1893. French gunboats left Bangkok in August 1893 but proceeded to occupy Chanthaburi on Siam's eastern coast to assure their compliance. The treaty was signed in October 1893. Laos , which had been under Siamese rule for about
12810-410: The French steamship SS Empire and also sending flying air force squadron to France in June 1918. Siam had already established its own air force and had been training Siamese aviators since 1913. Siamese forces arrived in Europe at Marseilles in July 1918 just in time for the Allied occupation of Rhineland with the Siamese forces themselves participating in during 1918–1919. Siamese forces joined
12993-476: The Front Palace and heir presumptive without Chulalongkorn's consent. His regency was the time when the power of the Bunnags reached an apex. The young king Chulalongkorn, who had been educated by Anna Leonowens and who was then powerless under the sway of the Bunnag regent, spent his early reign learning and observing. Chulalongkorn visited Singapore and Dutch Java in 1871 and British India in 1872 where he learned about Western colonial administrations, becoming
13176-494: The Haws into the mountains. The Yellow Flag Army was defeated in 1875 by Chinese authorities and disintegrated into petty groups of bandits but had a resurgence and made their permanent settlement at the Plain of Jars. In pre-modern Southeast Asia, traditional polities were not defined by territorial borders but rather a network and a hierarchy of alliances and tributary obligations defined by
13359-553: The Islam religion. Vajiravudh initially declared neutrality for Siam during early stages of World War I in 1914, even though the king was pro-Allies due to his British educational background. Vajiravudh soon realized that staying in neutrality would deprive Siam of its due concessions. Vajiravudh eventually led Siam to declare war on Central Powers in July 1917, following the American entry into
13542-701: The Kedahan side against Siam. King Rama III sent forces under Nakhon Noi and a navy fleet under Chaophraya Phrakhlang to put down the Malay insurgency. The Raja of Ligor recaptured Kedah in 1832. In 1838, Tunku Muhammad Sa'ad, another nephew of the Kedah sultan, in concert with Wan Muhammad Ali (called Wan Mali in Thai sources) an Andaman Sea adventurer, again retook Alor Setar from the Siamese. Kedahan forces invaded Southern Siam, attacking Trang , Pattani and Songkhla . King Rama III sent
13725-706: The Lao Kings of Luang Phrabang . Siamese people called the Chinese who came from the northern highlands as Haw ( ฮ่อ ) – hence the name Haw Wars . Haw insurgents coalesced into Banner Armies, most notably the Black Flag Army and the Yellow Flag. In 1875, the Yellow Flag Army attacked Muang Phuan , occupied the Plain of Jars and attacked Nongkhai . King Chulalongkorn sent Siamese armies who managed to temporarily drive
13908-785: The Lao armies to capture Nakhon Ratchasima and Saraburi , while his son King Raxabut Nyô of Champasak invaded Southern Isan . Phraya Palat and his wife Lady Mo led the Siamese captives to rise against their Lao overseers in the Battle of Samrit Fields . King Rama III sent Prince Sakdiphonlasep of the Front Palace to defeat Anouvong at Nong Bua Lamphu and Phraya Ratchasuphawadi (later Chaophraya Bodindecha ) to capture Raxabut Nyô. Anouvong and his family fled to Nghệ An Province of Vietnam under protection of Emperor Ming Mạng . Ming Mạng sent Anouvong back to Vientiane to negotiate with Siam. However, Anouvong retook control of Vientiane only to be pushed back by Phraya Ratchasuphawadi in 1828. Anouvong
14091-511: The Muslim Malay South, in primary level for all genders through his Primary Education Act of 1921. Integration of former tributary polities continued. In Northern Siam , Khruba Siwichai , a popular Lanna monk, led a passive resistance in the 1910s against integration of Lanna monastic order into Central Siamese State Buddhism. Trainlines from Bangkok reached Pattani in 1919 and Chiang Mai in 1922. With creation of Monthon Pattani in 1905,
14274-720: The Pattani Malays of Muslim South were exempted from military conscription and most taxes. However, nationalistic education reforms affected Islamic Malay education in Pattani. Combined with dissatisfaction over the capitation tax, the rural Pattani Malays planned the Namsai uprising of 1922 but were again intercepted beforehand. Siamese government responded with Six Principles for Governance of Pattani Province in June 1923, proposed by Yommaraj Pan Sukhum, which pressed careful handling of Muslim South region through lenient tax measures and respect of
14457-548: The Royal Warehouse. Foreigners could not directly and privately trade important profitable government-restricted goods with the native Siamese. In 1821, the Governor-General of British India , in the mission to establish trade contacts with Siam, sent John Crawfurd to Bangkok. Crawfurd arrived in Bangkok in 1822, delivering both the British concern of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin and also for demands of trade concessions; however
14640-667: The Shan Rebellion in 1902. In April 1905, King Chulalongkorn outright abolished slavery. Also in 1905, Chulalongkorn replaced the traditional corvée labor system with a modern universal conscription system through the Military Conscription Act of August 1905 with recruits serving for a limited time. The first modern Siamese law, the Penal Code, was promulgated in 1908. Compilation of modern Siamese law would take nearly four decades, only to be finished in 1935. The influence of
14823-509: The Siamese court managed to muster only a total of 70,000 men against the 144,000 men of Burmese invaders. The Burmese, however, were over-stretched and unable to converge. Prince Sura Singhanat led his army to defeat the main army of King Bodawpaya in the Battle of Latya in Kanchanaburi in 1786. In the north, the Burmese laid siege on Lanna Lampang . Kawila , the ruler of Lampang, managed to hold
15006-472: The Siamese government that contravention of Siam's sovereignty by Western powers was due to the fact that Siamese law and its legal system, dated to Ayutthaya times, were antiquated and not yet modernized. King Chulalongkorn appointed the Legislative Council in 1897, composing of Western legal specialists, to create a modern Siamese law based on the civil law system . Monthons continued to form, ending
15189-480: The Siamese tax system would lead to fiscal reforms in 1873. Siam managed to balance itself between European governments and their own colonial administrations. King Mongkut sent Siamese missions to London in 1857 and to Paris in 1861. These missions were the first Siamese missions to Europe after the last one in 1688 during the Ayutthaya period. The Bunnag family dominated the kingdom's foreign affairs. France acquired Cochinchina in 1862. The French were proven to be
15372-595: The Siamese were still able to repel the Burmese from Thalang. The Burmese invasion of Phuket in 1809–1810 was the last Burmese incursion into Siamese territories in Thai history. Siam remained vigilant of prospective Burmese invasions through the 1810s. Only when Burma ceded Tenasserim to the British in the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826 in the aftermath of the First Anglo-Burmese War that Burmese threats effectively ended. When Siamese forces took Vientiane in 1779 during
15555-478: The Supreme Council opted to introduce cuts in spending, including the military budget. The king foresaw that these policies might create discontent, especially in the army, and he therefore convened a special meeting of officials to explain why the cuts were necessary. In his address he stated the following, "I myself know nothing at all about finances, and all I can do is listen to the opinions of others and choose
15738-599: The Thonburi period, all three Lao kingdoms of Luang Phrabang , Vientiane and Champasak came under Siamese domination. Lao Princes Nanthasen , Inthavong and Anouvong were taken as hostages to Bangkok. In 1782, King Rama I installed Nanthasen as King of Vientiane. However, Nanthasen was dethroned in 1795 due to his alleged diplomatic overtures with the Tây Sơn dynasty in favor of Inthavong. When King Inthavong died in 1804, Anouvong succeeded as King of Vientiane. Yumreach Baen,
15921-680: The United Kingdom when he learned of his unexpected succession to the royal throne in 1925. Prajadhipok was unprepared and openly stated his lack of experiences in government, requesting assistances from senior figures. This led to the creation of Abhiradhamontri Sabha ( อภิรัฐมนตรีสภา ) or the Supreme Council of State , consisting of five senior royal princes including Prince Paribatra who had been in control of military and Prince Damrong who resumed his roles in government. This Council of State assisted Prajadhipok in government but also sidelined
16104-458: The Vietnamese to retreat and the Siamese took over Cambodia. The war resumed in 1845 when Emperor Thiệu Trị sent Nguyễn Tri Phương to successfully take Phnom Penh and lay siege on Siamese-held Oudong. After months of siege, Siam and Vietnam negotiated for peace with Prince Ang Duong , who would recognize both Siamese and Vietnamese suzerainty, installed as the new King of Cambodia in 1848. After
16287-659: The West". King Mongkut , who had been a Buddhist monk for 27 years, ascended the throne in 1851 with support from the Bunnag family . King Mongkut made his younger brother Pinklao the Vice-King or Second King of the Front Palace. Mongkut also granted the exceptionally high rank of Somdet Chaophraya to the Bunnag brothers – Chaophraya Phrakhlang (Dit Bunnag) and Phraya Siphiphat (Dat Bunnag) , who became Somdet Chaophraya Prayurawong and Somdet Chaophraya Phichaiyat, respectively, cementing
16470-434: The West, the area was protected from attack by the river to the west and by a series of canals to the north, east and south. The east bank was surrounded by low marshlands inhabited by the Chinese, whom King Rama I ordered to move to Sampheng . The official foundation date of Bangkok is 21 April 1782 when the city pillar was consecrated in a ceremony. King Rama I underwent an abbreviated form of coronation in 1782. He founded
16653-454: The absolute order, including the king himself, gaining readerships from all classes of society including women. Vajiravudh personally participated in these political discussions under pseudonym Asavabhahu . His reign was also an affluent period of modern Thai literature , in which the king translated many Western works and explored novel abstract ideas through creation of modern vocabularies using Pali and Sanskrit lexicons. The king himself
16836-437: The age of 20 in 1873, the regency ended as Si Suriyawong was rewarded with the highest rank of Somdet Chaophraya , becoming Somdet Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse. Under the ineffective Chinese tax collector system, King Chulalongkorn found the government treasury to be in debt. He initiated his reforms with the establishment of Ho Ratsadakorn Phiphat ( หอรัษฎากรพิพัฒน์ ) or Auditory Office in June 1873 to centralize and reorganize
17019-977: The aquarium trade or important food fish are native to the Chao Phraya basin, such as the climbing perch , blue panchax , Asian bumblebee catfish , giant snakehead , striped snakehead , walking catfish , banded loach , several Yasuhikotakia loaches, tinfoil barb , Siamese algae eater , silver barb , pearl danio , rainbow shark , Hampala barb , black sharkminnow , Leptobarbus rubripinna , long pectoral-fin minnow , bonylip barb , Jullien's golden carp , blackline rasbora , scissortail rasbora , Tor tambroides , finescale tigerfish , marble goby , Chinese algae eater , giant featherback , clown featherback , giant gourami , several Trichopodus gouramis, iridescent shark , several Pangasius , Belodontichthys truncatus , several Phalacronotus sheatfish, several Wallago catfish, largescale archerfish , smallscale archerfish , and wrestling halfbeak . The Thai Pollution Control Department (PCD) reports that
17202-615: The aquatic fauna of Chao Phraya and Mae Klong show clear similarities, and they are sometimes combined in a single ecoregion with 328 fish species. Despite their similarities, there are also differences between the aquatic fauna of Chao Phraya and Mae Klong; the latter (but not the former) is home to a few taxa otherwise only known in major Burmese rivers: the Irrawaddy , Salween , and Tenasserim . The aquatic fauna in Chao Phraya–Mae Klong also show clear similarities with that of
17385-466: The best... If I have made a mistake, I really deserve to be excused by the people of Siam." No previous monarch of Siam had ever spoken in such terms. Many interpreted the speech not as Prajadhipok apparently intended, namely as a frank appeal for understanding and cooperation. They saw it as a sign of his weakness and evidence that a system which perpetuated the rule of fallible autocrats should be abolished. Serious political disturbances were threatened in
17568-509: The body to preserve. The people, both men and women, dress in the same way as the Lavo (tire hair in a bun, wrap it with a cotton turban, and wear a long shirt) and use shell coins as currency. At the end of the 13th century, an emerging Xian seems to have started a southward advance to the cost of the Malay peninsular . The well-known Chinese imperial admonition issued in the year 1295 well reflects such
17751-506: The causes of the decline of the initial states in this area. The region, as well as Junk Ceylon ( Phuket ) and Tambralinga , were once raid by the Mau Shans from Shan States in his Indo-China raid campaign between 1220 and 1230. Prince Damrong , who constructed a unilinear system of Thai history that was previously generally acknowledged in school textbooks, proposed in 1914 that the history of Thais in Siam proper began with establishing
17934-515: The conflicts. Eventually, Tuan Besar was made the ruler of Pattani in 1842, becoming Sultan Phaya Long Muhammad of Pattani. His descendants would continue to rule Pattani until 1902. After the First Opium War , the British Empire emerged as the most powerful maritime power in the region and was eager for more favorable trade agreements. By the 1840s, Siam had re-imposed trade tariffs through
18117-419: The conversion of rice paddies to large-scale production of prawns by pumping in seawater, and the use of pesticides to eliminate the introduced snail, Pomacea canaliculata , which damages rice plants. There are populations of threatened birds, including colonies of breeding water birds such as the world's largest populations of the near-threatened Asian openbill ( Anastomus oscitans ), and other birds such as
18300-407: The court was preparing for the invasions of Lower Burma, King Bodawpaya sent his son Thado Minsaw to reclaim Tenasserim. The Siamese were soundly defeated by the Burmese in the Battle of Tavoy in 1793 and ceded the Tenasserim Coast to Burma for perpetuity, becoming modern Tanintharyi Division . Lord Kawila was finally able to re-establish Chiang Mai as the centre of Lanna in 1797. King Bodawpaya
18483-432: The critically endangered giant barb (wild populations have been extirpated from Chao Phraya, but remain elsewhere), critically endangered giant pangasius , and endangered giant freshwater stingray . The critically endangered red-tailed black shark , a small colourful cyprinid that is endemic to Chao Phraya, is commonly seen in the aquarium trade where it is bred in large numbers, but the only remaining wild population
18666-450: The demise of his peers, Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse emerged as the most powerful nobleman. King Mongkut took a trip to observe a solar eclipse at Prachuap Khiri Khan but contracted malaria and died in October 1868. His 15-year-old son Chulalongkorn was confirmed to succeed the throne under the regency of Sri Suriwongse. The latter unprecedentedly made Wichaichan , son of Pinklao, Vice-King of
18849-528: The designated heir died prematurely in 1895. Chulalongkorn then made his other son Vajiravudh , who had been staying at Ascot, Berkshire , the new Crown Prince. Vajiravudh went to train at Sandhurst Military in 1896 and studied history and law at Oxford in 1900, only returning to Siam in 1903. King Chulalongkorn made a promise that his son and successor Vajiravudh would consent to a constitution. Chulalongkorn embarked on another European tour in 1907 to seek cure for his illness, with Crown Prince Vajiravudh as
19032-473: The divide roughly corresponds to a long section of the political border of the country today. Southern portions of the divide's boundary correspond less to the nation's political border, because isolation in this area was prevented by the ease of transportation along the lowlands surrounding the Gulf of Thailand, allowing a unified Thai civilisation to extend beyond the watershed without issue. The slightly higher northern plains have been farmed for centuries and saw
19215-451: The east and British Malaya to the south. A group of Siamese princes, ambassadors and officials working as diplomats in Europe, led by Prince Prisdang , laid a petition to King Chulalongkorn in January 1885, urging the king to endorse Western-style constitutional monarchy in the event known as Incident of Year 103 ( เหตุการณ์ ร.ศ. ๑๐๓ ). Chulalongkorn responded to this petition, saying that
19398-506: The essence of Siamese nation, from British God, King, and Country . King Vajiravudh invented Thai elite nationalism that emphasized Siamese unified national identity under traditional social hierarchy. Seow Hutseng (蕭佛成), head of Siamese branch of Kuomintang , edited Chinosayam Warasap ("Sino–Siamese magazine") publications to propagate republican revolutionary ideas among the Chinese in Siam, who had numbered to 8.3 million people. The king adopted anti-Chinese stance and referred to them as
19581-585: The establishment of Ayutthaya , which was said to be formed by the merging of Lavo and Siam's Suphan Buri . The new polity was recorded by the Chinese as Xiānluó hú 暹羅斛 and was later shortened to Xiānluó 暹羅 . This confederation performed 41 tributary missions to the Chinese court during the Hongwu era, 33 in the name of Xiānluó hú and as Xiānluó for the remaining. During the 1334–1336 Trần dynasty invasion of Ai Lao [ zh ] , Xiān and other countries paid tribute to Đại Việt , as mentioned in
19764-648: The establishment of a British consulate in Bangkok. The Bowring Treaty was followed by similar ' unequal treaties ' with other Western nations including the United States ( Townsend Harris , May 1856), France ( Charles de Montigny , August 1856), Denmark (1858), Portugal (1858), the Netherlands (1860) and Prussia ( Eulenberg , 1861), all of which Prince Wongsa Dhiraj Snid , Mongkut's younger half-brother, and Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse (called ' Kalahom ' in Western sources) were
19947-489: The establishment of the Monthon system that replaced the traditional tributary network of semi-independent rulers with numerous levels of territory-based administrative units with a centrally-appointed commissioner in charge. Amidst these reforms, however, the French sent gunboats to threaten Bangkok in 1893, prompting Siam to cede all of Laos east of the Mekong to French Indochina. The treaty terms of October 1893 also established
20130-450: The existing benefits of the old nobility and put the king in political conflict with Si Suriyawong, who represented the conservative faction. Chulalongkorn exerted his legislative powers through the Council of State that passed many laws concerning tax reforms. Also in 1874, King Chulalongkorn made his first gradual step towards the abolition of slavery by decreeing that the redemption price of
20313-486: The failure to implement democratic reforms culminated in the Siamese revolution of 1932 and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. Chakri ruled under the name Ramathibodi, but was generally known as King Rama I , he moved the royal seat from Thonburi on the west bank of Chao Phraya River to the east bank, to the village of Bang Makok , meaning "place of olive plums ". This was done due to its better strategic position in defenses against Burmese invasions from
20496-669: The fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, the Northern Malay states that used to pay bunga mas tributes to Siam were freed temporarily from Siamese domination. In 1786, after expelling Burmese invaders from Southern Siam , Prince Sura Singhanat declared that the Northern Malay sultanates should resume tributary obligations as it had during the Ayutthaya period. Kedah and Terengganu resolved to send tributes but Pattani refused. The Siamese prince then sent armies to sack Pattani in 1786, bringing Pattani into Siamese rule. The Malay states of Pattani, Kedah and Terengganu (including Kelantan , which
20679-554: The few functioning absolute monarchies in Asia. The British-educated new king Vajiravudh was an Edwardian gentleman. Vajiravudh created Suea Pa or Wild Tiger Corps in May 1911 as paramilitary force under his direct control. This alienated Vajiravudh from a group of mid-ranking military personnel who were offended by corporeal punishment of a military officer on Vajiravudh's orders some years prior. This group of junior military officers conspired
20862-463: The first Siamese monarch to travel aboard. Chulalongkorn formed the Young Siam Society, composing of liberal Westernizing young princes and noblemen who aimed at state financial reforms and the abolition of government-regulated manpower control for the development of the economy, people and the kingdom, and also to consolidate royal power through centralization. When King Chulalongkorn reached
21045-480: The fish species known from the Chao Phraya–Mae Klong, only about 50 are absent from the Mekong. There has been extensive habitat destruction (pollution, dams , and drainage for irrigation ) in the Chao Phraya basin and overfishing also presents a problem. Within mainland Southeast Asia , the only freshwater region with similar high levels of threat is the lower Mekong. It has been estimated that only around 30 native fish species still are able to reproduce in
21228-626: The fleet. However, the Siamese forces were defeated in the naval Battle of Vàm Nao and retreated. The Siamese defeat confirmed Vietnamese domination over Cambodia. Ming Mạng annexed Cambodia into Trấn Tây Province with Trương Minh Giảng as the governor. After the death of Ang Chan II, Minh Mạng also installed Ang Mey as puppet queen regnant of Cambodia. In 1840, the Cambodians arose in general rebellion against Vietnamese domination. Bodindecha marched Siamese armies to attack Pursat and Kampong Svay in 1841. The new Vietnamese Emperor Thiệu Trị ordered
21411-409: The following year. In 1297, emissaries from Xian , Luó hú (羅斛, Lavo ), and Jambi ( Srivijaya ) were recorded. In 1299, both Xian and Sù gǔ chí (速古漦, Sukhothai ) sent tribute to China. These last two records indicate that Xian is not Sukhothai and the polities in the Chao Phraya River basin at that time consisted of at least 3 polities, including Lavo , Sukhothai , and Xian . In 1304,
21594-582: The frontier in 1885. Chaomuen Waiworanat (later Chaophraya Surasak Montri ) took a commanding position at Muang Xon to pacify Houaphanh and then proceed to Muang Thaeng in Sipsong Chuthai. However, Siamese forces faced resistance from Đèo Văn Trị , son of Đèo Văn Sinh the White Tai ruler of Muang Lay , who was closely allied with the Black Flags. These events coincided with the arrival of Auguste Pavie ,
21777-465: The government through connections with the king. Vajiravudh was a relatively liberal monarch as he allowed the public press to have opinions on him. During his reign, newspapers and magazines, in Siamese, English and Chinese languages, proliferated to discuss political ideologies of the time. Vajiravudh's reign was the age of popular press and saw the advent of Thai political journalism. Newspapers were direct and contemptuous towards government against
21960-715: The gunboat Lutin to Bangkok in March 1893 and pressed the Siamese government to relinquish all Lao lands on the left (east) bank of the Mekong River . When Siam did not comply, the French advanced their forces into Laos, resulting in the killing of French officer Grosgurin at the hands of Phra Yot Mueang Khwang ( พระยอดเมืองขวาง ) the Siamese governor of Khammouan in June 1893. The French parliament in Paris, dominated by colonialist sentiments, ordered strong military retaliation on Siam. Two more French gunboats, Inconstant and Comète , entered
22143-419: The image of his kingdom as civilized and Westernized not a candidate for colonization. Meanwhile, French exertion of authority over its 'French Asian subjects' in Siam, namely the Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese, led to protracted unsettled negotiations and continuing French occupation of Chanthaburi. After 1893, several Siamese reforms accelerated. Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns , the king's Belgian advisor, convinced
22326-532: The industry that rendered the traditional corvée system less useful and thus social changes were needed. The Bowring Treaty of 1855 marks the beginning of 'modern' Siam in most histories. However, these commercial concessions took a drastic effect on government revenues, which was sacrificed in the name of national security and trade liberalization. The government relied on the corrupt and ineffective Chinese tax collector system to generate and levy numerous new tax farms that would compensate revenue loss. The disarray of
22509-406: The king's active roles. Royal princes returned to the government, reminiscing of the days of King Chulalongkorn, after the days of King Vajiravudh favoring his personal choices as Vajiravudh's personnel were gradually replaced by members of the royal family in the cabinet of the new reign. As the conservative princely faction retook power, the immediate concern of the royal government was to address
22692-584: The king's cause and his intervention was fruitful. Wichaichan was forced to accept humiliating terms of giving up his Vice-King position but retaining the Front Palace Office, a reduction of his manpower to 200 men and his virtual grounding inside the Front Palace. The aftermath of this crisis was a political triumph for Chulalongkorn and the waning of the Bunnag powers as Sri Suriwongse retired to his estate in Ratchaburi . In April 1875, Chulalongkorn created
22875-435: The kingdom developed into a centralized, absolutist , nation state with borders defined by interactions with Western powers. The period was marked by the increased centralization of the monarch's powers, the abolition of labor control, the transition to an agrarian economy, the expansion of control over distant tributary states, the creation of a monolithic national identity, and the emergence of an urban middle class. However,
23058-579: The kingdom needed reforms first. Chulalongkorn created modern Siamese absolute monarchy , in which the king, as an enlightened monarch , with a Europeanized kingship, exerted unlimited royal powers through a centralized bureaucracy. His reign also saw the emergence of commoner liberal figures, who had been imprisoned for their ideologies, including K.S.R. Kulap who coined the Siamese term Prachathippatai (Sanskrit prajā "people" and Pali ādhipateyya "sovereignty") for "democracy" in 1894 and Thianwan who radically proposed for representative government and
23241-507: The kingdom was already renamed to Xian , as the quote below. 暹古名赤土，羅斛古名婆羅剎也。暹國土瘠不宜耕種，羅斛土田平衍而多稼。 The ancient name of Xiān is Chì Tǔ , and the ancient name of Luó Hú is Póluó Shā . The land in Xiān is barren and unsuitable for farming, but the fields of Luó Hú are flat and full of crops. According to the Daoyi Zhilüe , Luó hú ( Lavo ) annexed Xiān in 1349; this was consistent with
23424-492: The kingdom, destabilizing the baht currency. Vajiravudh was unmarried for most of his reign until 1920 when he betrothed himself to a candidate and took three consorts during 1921–1922. In 1924, King Vajiravudh enacted modern Siamese royal succession law , giving precedence to the lineages of Vajiravudh's true brothers who shared the same mother Queen Saovabha, followed by the princes who were born to Chulalongkorn's two other main queens. Vajiravudh's fifth consort gave birth to
23607-604: The last one in 1323. As described in Daoyi Zhilüe (1351), the export items of Xian included sappanwood , tin, chaulmoorgra , ivory, and kingfisher feathers. Xian appearing in Chinese dynastic history is found in the biography of Chen-yi-zhong in the Sung-shi . It reads, “In the 19th year of the Zhi-yuan 至元 era (1282–83) the Great Army attacked Champa and [Chen] Yi-zhong fled to Xian , where he died eventually.” Chen-yi-zhong
23790-540: The locals, they engage in silk production . The mulberry trees they grow and the silkworms they raise all come from Siam. (They have no ramie , either, only hemp .) They themselves weave the silk into clothes made of a black, patterned satiny silk. Siamese women do know how to stitch and darn, so when local people have torn or damaged clothing they ask them to do the mending. The term Siam , whose origin remains disputed, first occurs as syam in Old Khmer inscriptions of
23973-569: The longest source, which is the origin point of the Nan River in the Luang Prabang Range , the river measures 1,112 km (691 mi). The expanse of the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries, i.e., the Chao Phraya river system, together with the land upon which falling rain drains into these bodies of water, form the Chao Phraya watershed . The Chao Phraya watershed is the largest watershed in Thailand, covering approximately 35 percent of
24156-641: The losses in the 1247–70 wars in Sri Lanka , the 1268–69 invasion of the Javanese Singhasari , and the 1270 plague. It was revived by the Siam people from Phip Phli [ th ] and evolved to the Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom . Although archaeological studies specify that the region was once a vibrant trading spot controlling long-distance maritime trade between the Indian Ocean and
24339-573: The low alluvial plain which begins below the Chao Phraya Dam , there are many small canals ( khlong ) which split off from the main river. The khlongs are used for the irrigation of the region's rice paddies. The rough coordinates of the river are 13 N, 100 E. This area has a wet monsoon climate, with over 1,400 millimetres (55 in) of rainfall per year. Temperatures range from 24 to 33 °C (75 to 91 °F) in Bangkok. The lower Chao Phraya underwent several human-made modifications during
24522-634: The main negotiators. King Mongkut also declared freedom of religion to his subjects in 1858. The Bowring Treaty had a great socioeconomic impact on Siam, the Siamese economy was neoliberalized; it began to transform from a self-subsistence to export-oriented economy and was incorporated into the world economy. The liberation of rice export, which had been previously restricted, led to rapid growth of rice plantations and production in Central Siam as rice arose to become Siam's top export commodity. The increased scale of production led to demands for manpower in
24705-440: The mainstream of the Chao Phraya River. The catfish Platytropius siamensis is endemic to Chao Phraya and Bang Pakong , but has not been recorded since the 1970s and is considered extinct . Recent records of the near-endemic cyprinid Balantiocheilos ambusticauda are also lacking and it is possibly extinct. Three of the largest freshwater fish in the world are native to the river, but these are all seriously threatened:
24888-594: The middle Mekong (the lower Mekong fauna more closely resembles that of the eastern Malay Peninsula ). It is believed that the upper Mekong was connected to Chao Phraya (rather than present-day lower Mekong) until the Quaternary , which explains the similarities in their river faunas. This included the Nan River basin, a tributary of the Chao Phraya, which is home to a number of taxa (for example, Ambastaia nigrolineata and Sectoria ) otherwise only known from Mekong. Of
25071-418: The modern Ministry of Finance that took over control of all revenues. However, the conservative faction won the day as King Chulalongkorn chose to stall further reforms for a decade to prevent political conflicts. The king realized that his old regent still held substantial powers and that he needed more political consolidation for reforms. Only after the death of Sri Suriwongse in 1883 that King Chulalongkorn
25254-627: The most historically significant and densely populated settlements of Thailand due to their access to the waterway. Major bridges cross the Chao Phraya in Bangkok: the Rama VI railroad bridge; Phra Pin-klao near the Grand Palace ; Rama VIII , a single tower asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge; Rama IX , a semi-symmetric cable-stayed bridge; and Mega Bridge , on the Industrial Ring Road. In Bangkok,
25437-513: The mouth of Chao Phraya at Bangkok's Bang Khun Thian District as "very poor", worse than in 2014, and their findings indicated large amounts of wastewater were discharged into the river from households, industry, and agriculture. In addition, 4,000 metric tons of plastic flows down the river into the Gulf of Thailand every year. To counter this, Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) signed an agreement with The Ocean Cleanup organization to deploy an Interceptor Original, one of
25620-400: The mouthpieces of the middle class, expressed fiery opinions towards absolutist Siamese royal regime. This compelled Prajadhipok's government to enact another law to restrict press freedom in 1927, decreeing that those who committed lèse-majesté would be condemned as enemies of the nation. Academic teachings of economic principles were also banned. In 1932, with the country deep in depression,
25803-554: The much-hunted Schomburgk's deer . Today we can only guess at the original habitat and wildlife by comparing it with neighbouring countries. It is believed that the area would have consisted of freshwater swamps inland and salty mangroves on the coast and the river estuaries. The swamp would have been covered in Phragmites marsh grasses. Today there is a small area of this remaining in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park ,
25986-611: The nation's land, and draining an area of 157,924 square kilometres (60,975 sq mi). The watershed is divided into the following basins: To the west, the central plain of Thailand is drained by the Mae Klong and the east by the Bang Pakong River . They are not part of the Chao Praya system. The landscape of the river basins is a very wide, flat, well-watered plain continuously refreshed with soil and sediment brought down by
26169-466: The negotiations soured. Siam sent troops to aid the British in Tenasserim in the First Anglo-Burmese War . However, a dispute prompted King Rama III to withdraw the Siamese armies from Burma. In 1825, the British sent another mission led by Henry Burney to Bangkok. The Anglo-Siamese Burney Treaty was signed in 1826, in which centuries-old royal Siamese monopoly over Western trades ended, this allowed
26352-409: The northern Siamese hinterlands. Siam responded to imperialist threats with centralization and internal restructuring that integrated tributary states into Siam proper, ending their autonomies. Lanna lords had benefitted from their traditional ownership of the vast northern teak forests and their sometimes-conflicting forestry patents granted to British loggers might provoke British intervention. Lanna
26535-413: The ongoing state fiscal problems, inherited from Vajiravudh's reign, through austerities and retrenchments. The royal government actively and aggressively cut down government expenditures from 10.8 to 6.8 million baht during the 1926–1927 fiscal year through reduction of the size of the bureaucracy. Many government positions were merged and those unnecessary ones were dissolved, accompanied by dismissals of
26718-519: The organization's solar-powered, automated systems, in the river. Since 19 February 2024, an interceptor of the latest third generation has been deployed for testing purposes. 13°32′25″N 100°35′23″E / 13.54028°N 100.58972°E / 13.54028; 100.58972 Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782%E2%80%931932) The Rattanakosin Kingdom , later known as the Kingdom of Siam ,
26901-419: The persistence of Lanna rulers, whose traditional privileges and powers were compromised by the reforms. King Chulalongkorn sent another Siamese expedition to subjugate the Haws at the Plain of Jars in 1884–1885 but the campaign was disastrous. The Siamese court then took a more serious approach on the Chinese insurgents. Freshly-modernized Siamese regiments were sent to suppress the Haws and to take control of
27084-511: The plain has been converted to rice paddies, other agriculture, and urban areas like Bangkok. Much of the wildlife that once inhabited these plains has disappeared, including a large number of fish in the river systems, birds such as vultures, the Oriental darter ( Anhinga melanogaster ), white-eyed river martin ( Pseudochelidon sirintarae ), the sarus crane ( Grus antigone ) and animals such as tigers , Asian elephants , Javan rhinoceroses , and
27267-620: The powers of the old local lords. Integration of Lanna began in 1893 and it became a fully-fledged Monthon , Monthon Phayap, in 1899. The remaining Lao towns in Khorat Plateau west of the Mekong were organized into four Monthons . The Provincial Administration Act of 1897 defined the structure of the Monthon system. However, the centralization policies were not without resistance. Numerous tribal leaders in Isan who claimed supernatural powers arose during
27450-400: The present Suphanburi Province as some tributary missions sent to the Chinese in the Hongwu era were done under the name of King of Su-men-bang 蘇門邦 of Xiānluó hú , in which the term Su-men-bang has been identified with Suphanburi . In 1295, an envoy led by Xian's king Gan-mu-ding from Pi-ch'a-pu-li , which identified with Phetchaburi , visit the Chinese court. These correspond with
27633-415: The regent during his absence. King Chulalongkorn died in October 1910. His son Vajiravudh ascended as new king Rama VI as the first Siamese king to be educated abroad. Western colonialist threats were technically over and Siam faced new challenges – movements towards constitutional monarchy and democracy. The Xinhai Revolution in 1911 overthrew the Chinese imperial Qing dynasty and left Siam as one of
27816-621: The river is named the Mae Nam (แม่น้ำ), the Thai word for "river" (literally, "motherly water"). Irish surveyor and cartographer James McCarthy , F.R.G.S. , who served as Director-General of the Siamese Government Surveys prior to establishment of the Royal Thai Survey Department , wrote in his account, " Mae Nam is a generic term, mae signifying "mother" and Nam "water," and the epithet Chao P'ia signifies that it
27999-448: The rivers. The lower central plain from the delta north to Ang Thong Province is a flat, low area with an average of two metres above sea level. Further north and into the plains of the Ping and the Nan the elevation is over 20 m. Then the mountains that are the natural boundary of the Chao Praya watershed form a divide , which has, to some degree, historically isolated Thailand from other Southeast Asian civilisations. In northern Thailand
28182-408: The roles and powers of the Bunnag family in Siamese foreign affairs during the mid-19th century. Chuang Bunnag, Prayurawong's son, became Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse . King Mongkut and Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse realized that, due to the geopolitical situation, Siam could stand no more against British demands for concessions. Sir John Bowring the Governor of Hong Kong , who was the representative of
28365-499: The root of Siam's subsequent financial crisis but Siam's fragile economy itself also played the part. Siam did not undergo industrialization due to lack of technological progress and remained an export-oriented agrarian economy. Fluctuating global rice commodity price, Siam's main export, in the 1920s, was combined with crop failures during 1919–1921 to worsen the situation. After 1919, Siam's trade balance and state budget were in great deficit, with great amount of silver flowing out of
28548-399: The royal princes in their studies and to produce native officials to work in modernized Siamese government. This led to the formation of the Siamese educated middle class, consisting of the former lower nobility class and the assimilated Chinese immigrants. These new middle class people were exposed to modern education and the Western ideas of civilization and progress. King Vajiravudh spent
28731-446: The same time (from AD 1120 onwards) in Pagan to the west syam occurs over twenty times in Old Mon and Burmese inscriptions. One syam reference is to Saṁbyaṅ an Old Mon title for a high government official, but the term mainly occurs in lists of temple slaves, both male and female. Some Syaṁ are identified by occupation, such as dancers, weavers, or carpenters. The people in the early Xian proper—based on inscriptions dated to
28914-411: The siege for four months until relief forces from Bangkok came to rescue Lampang. In the south, Lady Chan and Lady Mook were able to fend off Burmese attacks on Thalang ( Phuket ) in 1786. After the unfruitful campaign, King Bodawpaya sent his son Uparaja Thado Minsaw to invade Kanchanaburi concentrating only in one direction. King Rama I and his brother Prince Sura Singhanat defeated the Burmese in
29097-409: The south east Asia, most notably the ancient Mon kingdom and the civilization of Dvaravati from the 7th century to the 11th century, the river played a crucial role in the Lavo kingdom that existed on its left bank in the Upper Chao Phraya valley, Chao Phraya maintained its role in the kingdoms that succeeded the Lavo kingdom, forming the bases of the Ayodhaya kingdom, that was later incorporated into
29280-416: The south in 1839 coincided with the Kelantanese Civil War . Sultan Muhammad II of Kelantan had conflicts with his rival contender Tuan Besar and requested for military aid from Phraya Siphiphat. Siphiphat, however, posted himself as the negotiator and forced a peace agreement upon the warring Kelantanese factions. Tuan Besar rebelled again in 1840. Siam resolved to move Tuan Besar to somewhere else to placate
29463-403: The succeeding Prince of the Front Palace in 1806. King Rama I died in 1809 and Prince Itsarasunthon ascended the throne to become King Rama II . King Bodawpaya then took the opportunity to initiate the Burmese invasion of Thalang on the Andaman Coast. Meanwhile, the court in Bangkok sent armies to relieve Thalang but faced logistic difficulties and Thalang fell to the Burmese in 1810. However,
29646-471: The taxation system to attain a more stringent revenue collection. Chulalongkorn underwent his second coronation in October 1873 to signify the assumption of the authorities but Si Suriyawong continued to hold de facto power. The king also appointed the Council of State in May 1874, composing of mid-ranking nobles from the Young Siam faction, and the 'Privy Council' in August 1874, composed exclusively of royal princes. Chulalongkorn's fiscal reforms conflicted with
29829-487: The term "Xian 暹 " found in Dade Nanhai-zhi during the era of the Yuan Dynasty (1297–1307) was probably another polity politically superior to Sukhothai . Several modern studies also declined the theory that Sukhothai was the first independent Siam polity. Xiān was first mentioned in Chinese record Yuán Shǐ 元史 in 1278 when Yuan dynasty sent He Zi-zhi 何子志 , a commander with 10,000 households, as an emissary to Xian but they were detained by Champa . Xiān
30012-750: The victory parade at Paris in July 1919. Siam's entry into the Allies side secured Siam a place in Versailles Peace Conference in 1919, becoming a founding member of the League of Nations in 1920. Through its proud participation in the World War I, Siam pushed for abrogation of the 'unequal treaties' with Western powers, previously made during the mid-nineteenth century that granted extraterritorial jurisdiction and low tariff imposition onto Westerners. These concessions had been compromising Siam's national sovereignty. American–Siamese Treaty of 1920 and Japan–Siam Treaty of 1924 served as prototypes for other renewed treaties with Western nations. King Vajiravudh commissioned Phraya Kanlayana Maitri Francis Bowes Sayre ,
30195-474: The war. Vajiravudh dispatched Siamese Expeditionary Forces of 1,284 volunteer men, under command of Phraya Phichaicharnrit , to join the Western front of World War I . To go to war, Siam required a modern flag. The elephant flag was difficult to print so Vajiravudh adopted the tricolor flag in September 1917 with its colors reflecting the state trinity. For the first time, Siam, as a nation, participated in military conflict of world stage by sending its army on
30378-440: The wintering black kite ( Milvus migrans ). Endemic mammals that remain are the limestone rat ( Niviventer hinpoon ), Neill's long-tailed giant rat ( Leopoldamys neilli ), and the near-endemic Thailand roundleaf bat ( Hipposideros halophyllus ). The Chao Phraya basin is home to about half a dozen endemic dragonflies and damselflies . The conservation status of most of these in unclear (they are rated as data deficient by
30561-428: Was a defeated minister of the Southern Sung Dynasty who tried unsuccessfully to find a haven in Champa , which was eventually invaded by the Yuan army. Chen ’s subsequent flight to Xian might suggest that Xian was a commercially flourishing port in the post- Srivijayan Southeast Asian trade order, where the Southern Sung Dynasty minister could find a settlement of compatriots. Another term San-lo 三濼 in
30744-536: Was able to assume his full powers and implement his reforms. When Prince Wichaichan died in 1885, Chulalongkorn abolished the centuries-old Office of Front Palace altogether in 1886 and appointed his own son Vajirunhis as a Western-style Crown Prince and heir apparent instead. After the defeat of the Taiping Rebellion in China in 1864, the remaining Chinese dissident forces entered Northern Vietnam in 1868, pillaging and occupying Tai princedoms of Sipsong Chuthai and Houaphanh that would normally send tributes to
30927-609: Was an author and theatrical actor. Vajiravudh experimented democracy with a mock-democracy miniature town called Dusit Thani , founded in July 1918, as a city with a constitution, mock election and model parliament and as a theatrical play. It was the time of press freedom compared to later periods of Thai history. After the Siam Electric tramline worker strike in 1922, the first labor struggle in Thai history, Vajiravudh decided to curb press freedom and restore order through his Publication Act of January 1923, making editors liable to lèse-majesté criminal offense. Vajiravudh's reign
31110-413: Was decided that France returned Trat and Dansai to Siam in exchange for northwestern Cambodia including Battambang and Siemreap, which were ceded to French Indochina and the French also agreed to curtail exertion of jurisdiction over French Asian subjects in Siam. Lastly, Siam decided to relinquish the Northern Malay sultanates including Kedah , Kelantan , Terengganu and Perlis to British Malaya in
31293-407: Was delayed in Paris due to the prospect that France would accept Siamese claims over 'Siamese Laos'. Siam sent another mission to Paris to settle disputes. The treaty was finally ratified in Paris in July 1867, in which Siam officially ceded Cambodia but retained northwestern Cambodia including Battambang and Siem Reap, which would also later be ceded in 1907. Western imperialism introduced Siam to
31476-419: Was demoted to Rattanakosin 's province in 1782. As described in the Chinese Daoyi Zhilüe , Xiān was surrounded by height mountains and deep valleys and was not located in the infertile land, which made the polities have to depend upon the neighbor Luó hú ( Lavo ) for the rice supply. It supports the people with commerce. Several studies propose that Xiān might refer to the Suphannabhum Kingdom centered in
31659-694: Was dominated by senior princes from his father's reign. With resignation of Prince Damrong from government in 1915 due to friction with the new king, Siamese administration took an overturn. Chaophraya Yommaraj Pan Sukhum replaced Prince Damrong as the king's most competent administrator. By 1915, the royal cabinet shifted from being dominated by senior princes to being filled with the king's inner circles. Peripheral Monthon provinces were rearranged and reorganized into larger Phak s or regions, each with Uparat or viceroy as superintendents. The king's favoritism allowed ordinary men of non-royal backgrounds, who were allowed more education and opportunities, to rise up
31842-401: Was eager to regain Burmese control over Lanna. The Burmese invaded Chiang Mai in 1797 and 1802, in both occasions Kawila defended the city and Prince Sura Singhanat marched north to relieve Chiang Mai. The Siamese and Lanna forces then proceeded to capture Chiang Saen , the stronghold of Burmese authority in Lanna, in 1804, eliminating Burmese influence in that region. Siamese victories over
32025-474: Was eventually captured and sent to Bangkok where he was imprisoned and died in 1829. Anouvong's rebellion worsened Siamese-Vietnamese relations. Lê Văn Duyệt died in 1832 and his posthumous punishments by Ming Mạng spurred the Lê Văn Khôi rebellion at Saigon in 1833. King Rama III took the opportunity to eliminate Vietnamese influence in the region. He assigned Chaophraya Bodindecha to lead armies on invading Cambodia and Saigon, while Chaophraya Phrakhlang led
32208-471: Was founded by Rama I of the Chakri dynasty . The first half of this period was characterized by the consolidation of Siamese power in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia and was punctuated by contests and wars for regional supremacy with rival powers Burma and Vietnam . The second period was one of engagements with the colonial powers of Britain and France in which Siam remained the only Southeast Asian state to maintain its independence. Internally
32391-420: Was on the list of the entities that Kublai Khan prepared to conquer, together with Lavo and several kingdoms on the Malay peninsular , Sumatra , South India , and Ceylon after his final conquest of China in 1279. Ten years later, the first tribute sent to China by Xian was mentioned in 1292. The Chinese court dispatched emissaries to persuade Xian to submit the following year, but Xian refused. It
32574-466: Was relatively liberal and creative yet restrictive to any realistic profound changes. Still, King Vajiravudh was committed to absolute monarchy and denied Western liberal ideologies on the grounds that Siam had its own unique traditional principles based on Buddhism. In his speech to the Wild Tiger Corps, King Vajiravudh instituted the sacred inseparable trinity of Chat (Nation), Satsana (Buddhist Religion), and Phra Maha Kasat (Monarchy), which were
32757-450: Was revived and evolved into the Volunteer Defense Corps , alternatively called the Village Scouts. ( Thai : ลูกเสือบ้าน ) The junior branch of Suea Pa or the Tiger Corps survived in modern Thailand as National Scout Organization . Unlike his father Chulalongkorn, who filled the cabinet with senior royal princes, Vajiravudh preferred his personal favorites, who were mostly princes of younger generation. Initially, Vajiravudh's government
32940-543: Was succeeded by his son Ang Chan II who became pro-Vietnamese. While the pro-Siamese Prince Ang Sngoun, younger brother of Ang Chan II, decided to rebel against his brother in 1811. The Siamese forces marched from Battambang to Oudong . The panicked King Ang Chan II fled to take refuge at Saigon under the protection of Vietnam. Siamese forces sacked Oudong and returned. Lê Văn Duyệt brought Ang Chan II back to Phnom Penh to rule under Vietnamese influence. King Anouvong of Vientiane rebelled against Siam in 1827. He led
33123-417: Was the Siamese kingdom between 1782 and 1932 It was founded in 1782 with the establishment of Rattanakosin ( Bangkok ), which replaced the city of Thonburi as the capital of Siam. This article covers the period until the Siamese revolution of 1932 . The maximum zone of influence of Rattanakosin included the vassal states of Cambodia , Laos , Shan States , and the northern Malay states . The kingdom
33306-414: Was the first target of reforms as it stood at the frontline of a possible British incursion. Anglo-Siamese Treaty of Chiangmai in 1883 urged Bangkok to tighten its control over Lanna. King Chulalongkorn sent a royal commissioner to Chiang Mai in 1883 to initiate reforms. Central-Siamese-style governance and stringent taxation were imposed. Reforms were promising at first but gradually dwindled away due to
33489-446: Was then part of Terengganu) came under Siamese suzerainty as tributary states . Pattani rebelled in 1789–1791 and 1808. Siam ended up dividing Pattani into seven distinct townships to rule. Kelantan was separated from Terengganu in 1814. In 1821, Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II (known in Thai sources as Tuanku Pangeran) of Kedah was found forging an alliance with Burma – Siam's longtime rival. Siamese forces under Phraya Nakhon Noi
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