Book summary: History of Thailand - A Captivating Guide to the Thai People and Their History

The Tais

For most of history, it was maintained that the Tais originated and lived in the valleys along the Yangtze River in China and that difficulties forced them to spread throughout Southeast Asia, eventually reaching Thailand.

Now, many scholars and historians believe the Tais came from Dien Bien Phu, a city in northern Vietnam now known for the battles of the First Indochina War.

The Tais, regardless of whether they originated from northern Vietnam or southern China, spread southward into Thailand and Laos, as well as to the north and west into China, Myanmar, Vietnam, and India.

This would explain why there are large populations with Tai ancestors today, not just in Thailand but also in Laos, Myanmar, China, and Vietnam.

The Tai people are believed to have begun immigrating to Thailand around 1,000 years ago, where they mostly settled in the valleys along the country’s rivers. Both before settling in what is now Thailand and after, the Tais had a political organization, known as the müang, which consisted of many small groups of villages ruled by a common hereditary chief or lord, known as a chao.

Historians believe that the strengths provided by this political system are what enabled the Tais to immigrate and expand through Southeast Asia as they did.

As the Tais immigrated southward from Vietnam and/or China, slowly populating Thailand, they came into contact with foreign empires and trading centers. The most notable of these foreign empires were the Mon-Khmer kingdoms, which had a major influence on the Tai people and, therefore, on the current Thai culture.

As the Tai soon became politically dominant (throughout the 13?th?century,) the Mon-Khmer populations displaced and assimilated into the Tai culture. Although the Mon-Khmer lost their power in Thailand, their influence is still evident and strong, both in Thailand’s past and its modern-day national identity culture.

The Tai combined their socio-political system, culture, and language with the Mons’ religion and the statecraft and ceremonies of the Khmer to form the distinct Thai culture we know today.

Sukhothai before Thai Rule

Before the city of Sukhothai became the first capital of Thailand (which was then known as Siam) and the birthplace of much of Thai culture, it was, in fact, a Khmer city. Through the study of the still-standing ruins of Sukhothai, historians have theorized that the Khmers constructed Sukhothai at some point between the 12?th?century and early 13?th?century.

This conclusion was drawn due to the similarities in design and structure with Angkor Wat and other Hindu temples built by the Khmer Empire at the time.

The city was established by a Tai chieftain named Sri Indraditya in 1238. It was named Sukhothai, which quite literally translates to the “dawn of happiness.” Following the victory over the Khmers, the Tais became known as the Thais, and the Sukhothai Kingdom was founded, with Sri Indraditya?as its king.

The word “Thai” was chosen to set the inhabitants of the Sukhothai Kingdom apart from the other Tai-speaking peoples scattered throughout Siam (Thailand), which was still under foreign rule.

It is when the third ruler of the Sukhothai Kingdom, Rama, took power that the kingdom truly grew and prospered. Due to his bravery in battle, he earned the name Ram Khamhaeng, which translates to Rama the Bold (or Rama the Great.) Under King Ram Khamhaeng (also spelled as Ramkhamhaeng), the Thais grew to be the largest population in Siam.

Ram Khamhaeng also expanded the territory and rule of the Sukhothai Kingdom into what is considered to be the modern-day Malay Peninsula, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

Although the city of Sukhothai was built as a Khmer city, Buddhism was adopted as the kingdom’s official religion during King Ram Khamhaeng’s reign.

By the end of the 13th?century, the inhabitants of Sukhothai were not only devout Buddhists, but the city also became one of the world’s largest Buddhist centers.

One of King Ram Khamhaeng’s greatest and most influential achievements during his lifetime was the creation of the Thai language.

Ram Khamhaeng invented the language’s writing system in 1283, which has remained mostly unchanged. This means that ancient writings from the 13th?century can still be read by almost any Thai person today.

The Formation of the City of Ayutthaya

Similar to the Sukhothai Kingdom, the Ayutthaya Kingdom benefited from their timing, as they immigrated to the city of Ayutthaya during the decline of the Khmer Empire. While the Tai, led by Ramathibodi I, gained power, they kept civil relations with the Sukhothai Kingdom and focused their military energies against the Khmer Empire.

Besides founding Ayutthaya, Ramathibodi I’s greatest legacy was laying many of the foundations of the legal system that was used in Siam until the 1800s.

By the time Ayutthaya conquered the Khmer Empire, they had already expanded throughout parts of Southeast Asia, with their kingdom absorbing much of the former Khmer population.

This led the Siamese Ayutthaya kings to adopt many of the Khmer’s Hindu practices, most notably the concept of the?devarāja?, or divine king, which would give the king an almost god-like level of power.

Under the belief of?devarāja?, the king could only be addressed in a special language and only be seen by the royal family. He also would have the power to sentence anyone in his kingdom to death.

Modern-day Thailand was put on the international map by King Narai of Ayutthaya, who invited travelers from all over to visit the city.

European, Chinese, Indian, and Persian traders settled within Ayutthaya, establishing trading sites and employing missionaries. Furthermore, Ayutthaya sent out their own missionaries to spread Buddhism throughout Sri Lanka, China, and some of Europe. However, in 1688, the Siamese expelled the Europeans due to the pushy, overzealous French Christian missionaries.

The Burmese Conflicts

Despite all of these Western visitors, the Europeans did not pose any real threat to the Ayutthaya Kingdom other than perhaps the overzealous missionaries. Neither did the Asian countries of China, India, and Persia.

The prosperous Ayutthaya Kingdom was, in fact, threatened by the Burmese state of Toungoo, which was rapidly rising and expanding in modern-day Myanmar.

In the late 16?th?century, Bayinnaung, the king of Toungoo, helped the dynasty rise to become the most powerful Southeast Asian state. During his reign, he expanded the empire to Laos and finally to Siam, where Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese king in 1569.

The battles devastated the city, leaving the once great Ayutthaya Kingdom in ruins. Almost all of the Ayutthaya art and records were burned, and most of the impressive feats of their early ancient architecture were completely destroyed.

The majority of the Siamese warriors and people from the Ayutthaya Kingdom were wiped out, and those who survived, such as the royal family, were deported as captives to Burma.

Though it was long ago, the impacts of the Burmese–Siamese War still plague relations between modern-day Myanmar and Thailand.

The Aftermath of the Burmese Conflicts

A former governor known as Taksin ended up emerging as the obvious leader and became the king of the remaining Ayutthaya people in 1767.

Taksin was born in 1734 in the city of Ayutthaya to a Siamese (Thai) mother and a Chinese father.

It is believed that Taksin was enrolled in government service and worked his way up to the rank of governor before the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. During the Burmese battles, Taksin was called to help lead and defend the city and its kingdom from the Burmese threat.

King Taksin strategically chose to settle in Thonburi, which is just across the Chao Phraya River from modern-day Bangkok, since it would be difficult for the remaining Burmese troops to access while still having an accessible trade location.

Upon the arrival of King Taksin and his troops, Thonburi was named the capital of Siam, and men from the surrounding provinces continued to join King Taksin’s troops, which eventually turned into a powerful army. After the arduous Burmese rule in Siam, King Taksin drove the remaining Burmese out of the country, liberating Siam once again.

Although most of Taksin’s accomplishments are military-related, the king did help to restart and rehabilitate the Thai economy. Thanks to King Narai’s foreign relations prior to the fall of the city of Ayutthaya, the country already had developed trade relations with China.

King Taksin capitalized on these existing relationships and invited craftsmen and merchants from China to settle in Thonburi. Not long after uniting the country of Siam, King Taksin restored the economy, thanks to the Chinese merchants and taxes he put in place.

Although the Thonburi Kingdom only existed while King Taksin was on the throne, a mere fifteen years, this era remains one of Thailand’s most expansive early periods. In 1769, not long after arriving and settling in Thonburi, King Taksin led his troops to conquer Korat, which is now Thailand’s largest province, and Cambodia.

By 1776, King Taksin had absorbed almost all of the tribes in Thailand and had truly united the country that had been mostly made of smaller separate factions. By the end of King Taksin’s reign, Siam and the Thonburi Kingdom had expanded to include much of modern-day Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Laos, and Cambodia.

Although Taksin’s reign was short-lived, and he was, in the end, dethroned and executed, he is regarded as a hero in Thai history. During his fifteen-year reign, he rid the country of the Burmese threat, which had destroyed the Ayutthaya Kingdom and caused so much suffering to the people of Siam.

He also united the country of Siam and expanded its borders to include much of today’s modern Thailand.

These, along with many of his other accomplishments, are why he is referred to today as “King Taksin the Great.” On December 28th?, the date he was crowned as the king of Siam in 1767, is celebrated in Thailand as King Taksin Day.

The Beginning of the Chakri Dynasty

Following the arrival of King Taksin and his people in Thonburi, Chao Phraya Chakri joined and moved his way up in King Taksin’s troops until achieving the high leadership position of military commander of the northern provinces. During the Thonburi period, he led Thai troops in Laos, Cambodia, and the Malay states and was regarded as one of Taksin’s most exemplary generals.

He was crowned as the new king on April 6th?of that year and became known as Rama I, Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok. He would be the first of his family to rule, and his descendants would continue to reign the country now known as Thailand, with Rama X of the Chakri dynasty recognized as the king of Thailand today.

One of Rama I’s first moves as king was to move the capital of the country from Thonburi to Bangkok, which, of course, is still the capital of Thailand today.

Bangkok was mostly undeveloped at the time and was, in comparison with Thonburi or Ayutthaya, still a small village. King Rama I had new infrastructures built, with palaces and Buddhist temples constructed in a very similar elaborate style as the Ayutthaya designs. Through establishing these somewhat grandiose temples, Rama I was able to restrengthen the Buddhist religion throughout the country.

During his reign, he requested to have many of the essential Buddhist texts translated to Thai, which helped to establish the sangha, which refers to the monastic order in Buddhism.

The Modernization of Thailand and the Reign of the Great Rama V

Although King Mongkut was succeeded by his son Chulalongkorn, who would come to be known as Rama V, Chulalongkorn was barely sixteen at the time of his father’s death in 1868 and not prepared to run the Kingdom of Siam.

Chulalongkorn spent the subsequent five years following King Rama IV’s death traveling to neighboring European-colonized countries and observing political and judicial proceedings in preparations to fully take the throne.

An accurate way of describing Chulalongkorn’s ruling style would be “like father like son.” In comparison to the kings of the Ayutthaya Kingdom or even the early Chakri dynasty, who didn’t allow people of the lower class to see them or look at their face and ruled with god-like power, Rama V (Chulalongkorn) acted more similarly to a modern politician.

Rama V went out in public dressed casually, and he would allow his face to be printed and reproduced on products such as coins and stamps, which no previous king had allowed before.

Although Rama IV had taken great strides to modernize the Kingdom of Siam, it is Rama V who is remembered for defying the outdated traditions and modernizing the country.

He pushed for primary education and enforced military conscription, which together created the foundation of what it meant to be a citizen in the Kingdom of Siam. This, along with the abolition of slavery and state labor, were all accomplished within the first few years of his reign.

In 1892, all of these actions led to the separation of the government into twelve ministries, three of which were defense, education, and justice, which is not too dissimilar to the political structures we see today.

Finally, as another sign of modernization, Siam began constructing railways, which were finished in 1897 (and extended during the subsequent years), connecting Bangkok and Ayutthaya and, in 1903, to connect to the British Malaysian railroads.?

King Rama V is remembered as one of Thailand’s greatest, most successful, and most notable kings.

The Thai Revolution of 1932

Although a good majority of the Thai population was dissatisfied with the absolute monarchy by the beginning of the 1930s, the Thai revolution of 1932 was actually started by a group of young Thai students who had studied abroad. In fact, they actually began plotting the revolution while living and studying in Europe.

The revolutionary movement, known as Khana Ratsadon, or the People’s Party, was led by Pridi Phanomyong and Plaek Khittasangkha, better known as Phibun to Western audiences.

While there are many factors that led to the Thai revolution of 1932, or as it was called then the Siamese Revolution of 1932, many historians and participants agree that the revolution unfolded as it did due to King Rama V’s policies to send students to receive foreign educations.

As Thai students continued to attend foreign schools and connect with one another while abroad, they discussed politics and came to realize that the absolute monarchy in their home country was not only unsatisfying but was also growing to become intolerable.

Although the students were mostly sent to these countries to get a better understanding of Western practices that could help modernize the Kingdom of Siam, many, though not all, of the students would bring home revolutionary democratic political ideas. Rather than bringing home techniques to help advance the absolute monarchy’s political system, many of the students came to the conclusion that the monarchy would have to be entirely replaced by democracy, as they believed this would be the only way to truly modernize the country.?

Another factor that added to the population’s distaste for the nation’s monarchist government was the shady way decisions were made. Although the government wasn’t doing anything necessarily worse than in a democratic political system, the royal family would deliberately keep many actions and decisions secret from the population, who wouldn’t find out about even the most extreme changes until they were already put into action.

On June 24th?, 1932, with the Khana Ratsadon, or People’s Party, leading as the heart of the movement, a fairly small group of students, military officials, non-royal employed and unemployed government officials, and civilians took to the streets to stage a coup d’état.

Catching the monarchical government completely off guard, the Bangkok district, which contained the government buildings, ministries, and palaces, were flooded with people, tanks, and armored cars. The revolutionary group captured, arrested, and imprisoned surprised government officials, many of whom were still in their pajamas.

Although the revolution is often looked at in a positive way, especially at the time by non-Thai scholars who didn’t yet know how history would play out, the People’s Party’s coup was not well taken by much of the country.

Many civilians, especially those outside of Bangkok who felt a similar discontent with the government, had nothing to do with the revolution at all and felt the rebellion was just a movement that represented the wants of a small group of students, military and government officials, and Bangkok civilians.

To them, this revolution was not what the Kingdom of Siam’s population as a whole wanted. Considering the fact that the revolution lacked the country’s support, the initial success of the People’s Party’s movement was short-lived.

The Constitutional Monarchy and Military Dictatorships (1932–1945)

Phibunsongkhram (Phibun) was already considered to be an impressive military leader following the Thai revolution of 1932, but it took resisting the royalist rebellion of 1933 for him to come into public prominence.

Led by Lieutenant Colonel Phibun, as well as other well-trained military officers, the military would continue to strengthen and gain power. Between the years of 1933 and 1938, the military grew and gained experience, even though it was only fighting internally within its own nation. In fact, the new and improved military run by the People’s Party would not actually have the chance to face an external force or threat of any kind until 1941.

Pridi Phanomyong returned to his home country in 1934, after just over a year of exile abroad. Upon returning to Siam, he founded the nation’s second university, the aforementioned University of Moral and Political Science, also known as Thammasat University.

By opening the university, Pridi was able to deliver on one of his core beliefs and promises at the beginning of his campaign, which was that higher education should be accessible to all who wanted it, not only those of the royal family. The same year he returned, he was elected as the minister of the interior, which would give him responsibility for appointing the governors of the provinces of Thailand, internal security, local administration, citizenship, and other facets of internal affairs.

Not long after becoming the minister of the interior, he was appointed as the minister of foreign affairs. During his time holding this position, Pridi attempted to renegotiate all of the unfair treaties between Thailand and foreign, mostly European, countries.

He would help to put an end to the remaining foreign countries’ extraterritorial rights in Siam and limit the import taxes that Western countries had put in place to take advantage of Siam.

The Beginning of the Military Dictatorship in Thailand

Much like King Rama VI or King Rama VII, who also studied abroad, Phibun was inspired by Western governments and ideologies. Unlike the previous kings who seemed to take most of their inspiration from their time studying in Britain, Phibun was enamored and impressed with the Italian military fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini, which was occurring while Phibun had been in Europe.

He realized the potential and power of nationalism and saw the effects of government-issued propaganda. On top of working to strengthen the nation’s troops, he attempted to popularize military and nationalistic values based on those he had come to appreciate in Italy.

Though Pridi Phanomyong marked the beginning of many new privileges for the citizens of Siam, at the same time, the government was shifting toward a fascist regime that not only slowed the promised democratic changes down but also took away some of the civilians’ rights and equalities.

The 1937 election in Thailand would elect around half of the seats in the National Assembly. Pridi Phanomyong would be elected as the minister of finance, but more importantly, Phibun would be chosen as the new prime minister of Siam, becoming the country’s first elected prime minister.

He would assume the position in December of 1938 and began imposing his ultranationalistic beliefs on the population almost immediately. Although he was democratically elected, upon assuming the position of prime minister, the government, under his guidance, began tilting toward complete military fascism. Phibun essentially became the unofficial dictator of Siam.

While the democratic Pridi Phanomyong was acting as the country’s minister of finance, working on revamping the taxation system to remove unfair taxes not based upon earnings, Phibun was using taxes to reduce Chinese economic power.

The Chinese, who had arrived in Thailand centuries before for economic opportunities, had quite successful and prosperous businesses, which Phibun denounced, claiming they were trying to take opportunities away from the native Thais.

He offered Thai-owned businesses subsidies and pushed civilians to support them rather than Chinese ones. All of these actions would lead officials with opposing views, especially those of Chinese heritage, to compare the Phibunsongkhram movement against the Chinese to what was occurring to the Jewish population in Germany around the same time

Although the Thais had established a uniquely rich culture of their own, Phibun felt it had too many close ties with Chinese culture, which had helped to shape it. In 1939, Phibun issued a new national anthem, which, similar to any national anthem, pushes patriotism and ultranationalism. The anthem’s lyrics detail the Thai civilians’ responsibility and willingness to fight for their nation.

Although the song quite fairly speaks of Thai independence, an understanding of the anti-Chinese events surrounding the inception of the song gives another meaning to lyrics such as “every inch of Thailand belongs to the Thais.”

Democratic Rule Post Phibunsongkhram’s First Military Dictatorship

In 1944, Phibunsongkhram (Phibun) was forced to resign as the prime minister of Thailand, and he was replaced on July 31?st?by Khuang Aphaiwong. Khuang Aphaiwong was the son of a Thai governor, and like many children of government officials, he had gone on to study in the West.

Though Khuang Aphaiwong was technically the prime minister, many of the decisions made by the government toward the end of and subsequent to World War II were actually made by Pridi Phanomyong, who was working behind the scenes.

In September of 1945, Seni Pramoj assumed the position of prime minister of Thailand. This would be Seni Pramoj’s first stint as prime minister, a position he would hold four separate times over the course of the next few decades, for a combined total of only just about a year.

Seni Pramoj was one of many living great-grandsons of King Rama II, and as with almost all of the younger generations of royal family members, he received a foreign education in the West.

Seni attended Trent College, which is an English boarding school, and like King Rama VI, he went on to study at the prestigious Oxford University.

Although Seni was of royal blood, he was never truly opposed to the People’s Party’s coup in 1932, likely due to his education abroad. That being said, he was not necessarily fond of the members of the People’s Party or how they ran the country.

Although every leader since 1932 had technically been democratically elected, it wasn’t until 1946 that the country held its first popular election.

This would mean that when Pridi Phanomyong was elected as prime minister in March of 1946, he was the first-ever prime minister elected fully by the people.

Pridi Phanomyong, who had been essentially running the government from behind the scenes since 1944, had finally earned his position as prime minister and intended to make the radical reforms he felt were necessary to restore Thailand, which had been rocked by both World War II and Phibun’s abusive military dictatorship, which stripped the citizens of many of their liberties.

Though Pridi Phanomyong made initial progress at the start of his reign, making it seem like Thailand would finally be able to recover from the damages they had experienced over the past few decades, the peace was short-lived.

On June 9th?, 1946, twenty-year-old King Ananda Mahidol (King Rama VIII), who had only returned to his home country six months prior, was found dead. The young king was found in his bed in the royal palace, with the cause of death a gunshot wound. King Ananda Mahidol’s death left just about everyone in confusion.

Whether Pridi Phanomyong was truly involved in the death of King Ananda Mahidol does not matter. In the end, the population lost trust in Pridi and his government, and the controversies surrounding his possible assassination attempt would weaken his government to the point of no return.

It would not be until the end of the 20th?century, when people were allowed to speak of the events surrounding King Ananda’s death, that Pridi would be cleared of the suspicions clouding his name and recognized as an important revolutionary figure in Thailand’s history.

Years later, many scholars have made the case that it is actually more likely that Phibunsongkhram (Phibun) and his allies were responsible for the young king’s death, especially considering how much the king’s death worked in the military wing’s favor. However, it is impossible to know what actually happened, as there are numerous theories regarding the young king’s death.

General Sarit Thanarat and his Successors’ Military Dictatorships

Although Sarit Thanarat was even more fascist and extreme than his predecessor Phibun, he was respected by the population. The day after he assumed his position as prime minister, or rather dictator, Sarit Thanarat suspended the constitution, which would be officially replaced on January 28?th?, 1959. During Sarit Thanarat’s term, he sought to clean Thailand up from crime and corruption and improve the country’s economic practices and policies.?

Sarit Thanarat only held this position of power until his death in 1963, during which time he would greatly reform the nation and help shape it into the country it is today. Almost immediately after overthrowing the previous government, Sarit Thanarat took Thailand’s social issues into his own hands.

He launched campaigns against corruption in the national police force, worked to lessen organized crime, and put an end to the drug consumption and trade, specifically of opium, in Thailand.

In his short reign, he also completely transformed Thailand’s education system, which, up to that point, had been seriously lacking in comparison to Western countries, which explains why most Thai intellectuals and royal family members would attend schools in Europe rather than Thailand.

Sarit Thanarat would completely restructure the nation’s economic policies, which were in serious need of an overhaul.

Aided by the money Thailand was still receiving from the United States following Phibun’s anti-communist practices, Thailand was able to grow its own products and take advantage of its own resources.

Sarit Thanarat spent much of his time in office focusing on growing Thailand’s domestic product and their foreign investments.

Although the money the country was receiving from the United States was intended for the military, with much of it going toward that branch of government, Sarit Thanarat also used the money to construct new highways, establish rural economic development, build more schools, and make electricity more accessible.

The Struggle for Democracy in Modern Thailand (1973–2020)

The 1973 Thai Popular Uprising

By the beginning of the 1970s, Thailand had endured twenty-five years of interrupted, strict military dictatorship rule under Phibunsongkhram (Phibun), Sarit Thanarat, Thanom Kittikachorn, and Praphas Charusathian. Similar to the years that led up to the Thai revolution of 1932, which overthrew the absolute monarchy, discontentment was growing amongst the population, who were tired of autocratic rule.

In 1972, students from different universities in Thailand formed the National Student Center of Thailand (NSCT), with Thirayuth Boonmee, an engineering student, as the face of the movement.

Throughout 1972 and 1973, the NSCT would organize dozens of nonviolent protests, which were intended to call out the Thai government’s corruption, the American military occupation, and the mistreatment of civilians.

Following a truly successful campaign against corrupt Japanese businesses, the student movement gained over 100,000 members and the confidence necessary to tackle the task of overthrowing their own government. The military rule did not prevent the students from protesting so long as it was nonviolent, and the king of Thailand actually encouraged them.

By the fall of 1973, the movement had gathered nearly half a million supporters. Throughout the months preceding the October revolution, the National Student Center of Thailand secretly created a new constitution and attempted to gather signatures from government officials and public figures who opposed the military rule. However, throughout the end of September and the beginning of October, the police began arresting protestors and became overall more aggressive against the supporters of the movement. All of this tension culminated on October 14?th?, 1973.

On October 14th?, 1973, the student-led protesters flooded the streets and surrounded the royal palace, seeking to speak with the king to request he disband the military rule.

To attempt to disperse the large group of protestors, the police released tear gas and became even more aggressive toward the group than they ever had before. This violence was met by rioting from the students, which the police responded to by bringing in armored cars, tanks, helicopters, and military troops.

Machine guns were fired from every angle, with the crowd chaotically dispersing, trying to find cover. Many of the surrounding buildings were occupied by government officials, though, and other shelters, such as police booths, had been set on fire by the rioters.

Finally, after more than half a day of protesting and rioting, the king stepped in to prevent further bloodshed and declared that Thanom Kittikachorn and Praphas Charusathian had resigned and fled the country. Only after the protest came to an end would the full gravity of the brutal fighting be known.

The violence of October 14?th?, 1973, killed at least seventy-seven people and wounded hundreds. It is estimated at least 800 people were seriously injured

Thailand’s Black (or Bloody) May

During the 1992 general election in Thailand, Narong Wongwan from the Justice Unity Party was elected as the new prime minister. However, he never truly assumed the post since he was involved in a scandal not long after being elected.

The position of prime minister was instead given to General Suchinda Kraprayoon, who was one of the primary members of the junta that overthrew the Chatichai Choonhavan government.

The population was not pleased with this change, seeing as they had not chosen General Suchinda Kraprayoon and also due to his promises that he wouldn’t assume the leadership position.

Unlike the previous revolutions, the democratic movement was not led by students but by a Thai politician and ex-army general. The population’s unrest would culminate in May of 1992, which would come to be known as Thailand’s Bloody May or Black May.

Chamlong Srimuang led over 200,000 protestors to demonstrate in Bangkok, where they were met with resistance and violence from the pro-Suchinda Kraprayoon military.

Although the battle only lasted for three days, between May 17?th?and May 20?th?, 1992, it is regarded as one of the bleakest periods in Thailand’s modern history.

Similar to Thailand’s popular uprising of 1973, the violence of Bloody May only came to an end when King Bhumibol (Rama IX) intervened. King Bhumibol summoned both the democratic Chamlong Srimuang and the right-wing Suchinda Kraprayoon and delivered a famous discourse to the two men.

In the translated words of King Bhumibol: “The nation belongs to everyone, not one or two specific people. Those who confront each other will all be the losers

The Thaksin Era

Chuan Leekpai was succeeded by Thaksin Shinawatra, who was the founder of the Thai Rak Thai (“Thais Love Thais”) Party. Thaksin Shinawatra had originally trained to be a police officer and even earned a scholarship to study criminal justice in the United States to advance his career.

Over the years subsequent to earning his degrees, Thaksin Shinawatra rose in the ranks of the police force and spent much of his spare time focusing on computer technology, which he was extremely gifted in.

Toward the end of the 1980s, Thaksin Shinawatra would leave the force and begin investing time and money into his technological businesses, joined by his wife, Potjaman.

The road was not easy for the pair, but by the end of the decade, Thaksin Shinawatra’s dedication paid off, as he would found a mobile phone operator and a telecommunications company, which would, by the 1990s, make him one of the wealthiest people in Thailand.

In 1998, he founded the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party, which would be elected as the governing party in the 2001 election. Thaksin Shinawatra would officially succeed Chuan Leekpai as prime minister in February of that year.

In many ways, Thaksin became the politician that much of the population had been waiting for, seeing as he understood the economy, believed in democracy, and aligned politically with the views of the more conservative population in northern and northeastern Thailand. With his impressive business record, he was also supported by Thailand’s elite business owners.

When?Thaksin and his party assumed office at the beginning of 2001, he almost immediately set out on delivering the promises that he had made during his campaign.

Thaksin increased his popularity with the rural population, as he commenced rural development and set forth agrarian debt relief. During his time as prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra set up a more affordable and accessible healthcare system to help the lower-income population in Thailand and invested and reformed the education system.

Thaksin was largely respected due to his swift actions throughout his entire time in office. This was not just limited to delivering on his campaign promises but also in his response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Despite all of Thaksin’s positive reforms made throughout his time as prime minister, his private business practices made him somewhat of a controversial leader.

Before he was elected as prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai Party funded campaigns and advertising with private funds, much of which came from his own financial resources.

Although he would be reelected in the subsequent election, and although he was extremely popular and highly praised, Thaksin’s time in office was marked by the incredible scrutiny relating to his potential fraud, corruption, and cronyism.

An election was held in 2005, and for the first time in Thailand’s history, Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai Party won by an absolute majority, which would give the party a majority of the seats in parliament and give Thaksin ultimately more control than his democratic predecessors had.

However, before a year had passed, Thaksin would become increasingly controversial. He would sell his self-founded telecommunications company in early 2006, but he was secretive about the taxes involved in the selling process.

To add fuel to the fire, in his later years, Thaksin Shinawatra was addressing foreign insurgencies with military force rather than political solutions.

Overall, the population became dissatisfied with their once beloved leader, as it seemed he was attempting to manipulate the royal family, the parliament, and the population.

Toward the end of 2005, the population’s resentment was growing, which they demonstrated through rallies staged in the nation’s capital. The resistance movement, which was run by the urban middle class, became known officially as the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and unofficially as the Yellow Shirts since, as the name would suggest, they wore yellow shirts at their rallies.

While his party did win by a majority, the election had been boycotted, and the results were ruled invalid. Thaksin Shinawatra would be exiled from the country, and his finances would continue to be investigated. In 2008, Thaksin was prosecuted and served time on the grounds of corruption.

Considering the fact that the newly elected People Power Party was completely pro-Thaksin, political unrest continued to grow. The Yellow Shirts (People’s Alliance for Democracy, or PAD), which was an ever-growing democratic, Thaksin resistance group, continued to stage protests following Samak Sundaravej’s election as prime minister.

In September of 2008, Samak Sundaravej, who was forced to resign due to illegally accepting payments for TV cooking show appearances, was succeeded by Somchai Wongsawat, who was actually Thaksin’s brother-in-law.

The?election of Thaksin’s brother-in-law, Somchai Wongsawat, unsurprisingly caused significant political unrest in the country, especially those in the Yellow Shirts (PAD) movement.

To oppose the growing anti-Thaksin Yellow Shirts movement, those who had remained supporters of Thaksin formed a rival movement called the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), which, somewhat similar to their opposition, became known as the Red Shirts due to the color of their uniform.

In 2008, the anti-Thaksin PAD flooded the Bangkok airports with protestors, which grew to become violent quite quickly. Only a few months later, on December 2nd?, 2008, Somchai Wongsawat was forcibly removed from office and replaced by the Democrat Party’s leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The Red Shirts’ protesting would culminate at the beginning of 2010 following Thaksin’s guilty charges of corruption during his time as prime minister.

Although the first month of protesting was mostly nonviolent, by mid-April, the government became more aggressive toward the Red Shirts’ occupation of the city’s shopping district.

As a result, the second month of protesting became increasingly more violent until May, when the military finally used force to remove the protestors. This would end in a bloody battle on May 19th?, with shopping centers being set on fire, hundreds of protestors being arrested and/or injured, and almost 100 people being killed.

The End of Democracy and the Beginning of a New Military Dictatorship

Yingluck Shinawatra’s interim successor, Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, was in office for around two weeks before the government was overthrown once again by another military coup in 2014, this time led by the highest-ranking member of the Thai military, General Prayuth Chan-ocha (or Prayut Chan-o-cha).

In May of 2014, General Prayuth Chan-ocha assumed the position as the nation’s prime minister, a position he still holds today at the beginning of 2021. General Prayuth Chan-ocha would immediately invoke military law, and although it was certainly not the first time the population of Thailand had endured an authoritarian military dictatorship, the shift of power was incredibly difficult, as the nation had become quite used to democracy.?

In the year following the 2014 coup, Prayuth Chan-ocha stripped the population of many of their democratic rights under martial law. He quickly imposed a curfew, limited public gatherings, banned media that spoke out against his government, and took away the right to protest for both the Red Shirt and Yellow Shirt movements.

On October 13?th?, 2016, King Bhumibol (King Rama IX), the monarch who had brought the spotlight and influence back to Thailand’s royal family, passed away at eighty-eight years old.

He was succeeded by his son Vajiralongkorn, who would become known as King Rama X, the country’s tenth king in an unbroken familial chain of monarchs known as the Chakri dynasty. King Vajiralongkorn is associated with many controversies; their full extent is unknown, as after ascending the throne, Prayuth Chan-ocha enacted strict lèse-majesté laws, which prevents anyone from speaking ill of the king within or outside of the country.

In response to foreign pressure, Prayuth Chan-ocha promised the country would hold an election in 2017, and although this would be delayed, Thailand would have its first election since being placed under martial rule in 2019. Prayuth Chan-ocha was reelected as prime minister, and his government still remains in power as of January 2021.