Thailand, Thai Prathet Thai [=land of the free], constitutional monarchy (198,455 sq mi/514,000 sq km; 1990 population 56,303,273; 2004 estimated population 64,865,523), Southeast Asia (cap.) Bangkok.
Geography
Occupying a central position on the Southeast Asia peninsula, Thailand is bordered by Myanmar (Burma) on the W and NW, by Laos on the N and E (the Mekong River forms much of the border), by Cambodia on the SE, and by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia on the S. A S extension into the Malay Peninsula gives Thailand a long coastline on the Gulf of Thailand and on the Andaman Sea. The heart of the country, the fertile and thickly populated central plain, is virtually one vast rice paddy, entirely flat and rarely more than a few feet above sea level. It is watered by the Chao Phraya and lesser rivers and is elaborately veined by a system of canals (called klongs) for irrigation and drainage. Bangkok and Ayutthaya, the old capital, are in this basin. The N is mountainous, with peaks rising to c.8,500 ft/2,590 m; mountains stretch S along the border with Myanmar on the W. Forests in the N yield teak, although overcutting has severely decreased Thailand’s forest reserves. Although the population in the N is relatively sparse, rice is intensively cultivated in the river valleys, and the country's second largest city, Chiang Mai, is in this area. Most of NE and E Thailand is occupied by the Korat (Khorat) plateau, which is cut off from the rest of the country by highlands and the Phetchabun Mountains; the plateau is underlain by horizontal sandstone and shale, experiences erratic rainfall, and has indifferent soil, making it a generally poor region, where livestock raising is dominant. Chief towns are Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Udon Thani, and Ubon Ratchathani. Peninsular Thailand in the S (which includes Phuket and other offshore islsands) is largely mountainous, covered with jungles, and the principal source of the rubber and tin that make Thailand a major world producer of both. Chief towns of the peninsula are Hat Yai and Songkhla, the second largest port of the country. Thailand has a tropical and monsoonal climate that consists of a rainy season (SW monsoon; May-October); a cool, dry season (NE monsoon; October-February); and a hot, dry season (March-May).
Population
Local trade is chiefly in the hands of the large Chinese minority, and as a consequence there is tension between the Thai and the Chinese. Other substantial minorities include the Muslim Malays, concentrated in the S peninsula; the hill tribes of the N; the Khmers, or Cambodians, who are found in the SE and on the Cambodian border; and the Vietnamese, chiefly recent refugees who live along the Mekong River. While the ethnic minorities generally speak their own languages, Thai (linguistically related to Chinese) is the official tongue; English predominates among the Western languages. Theravada Buddhism is the state religion; more than 93% of the people are Buddhists.
Economy
The economy is heavily agricultural, with rice by far the leading crop and the major factor in a normally favorable trade balance; Thailand is the world’s leading exporter of rice (1990). Other commercial crops include rubber, corn, kenaf, jute, tapioca, cotton, tobacco, kapok, and sugarcane. Teak, now largely from forests in Myanmar, supplies much of the world market. Marine and freshwater fisheries are important; fish provide most of the protein in the Thai diet, and some of the deep-sea catches (mackerel, shark, shrimp, crab) are exported. It is the world’s largest exporter of farmed fish (especially shrimp). Tin, by far the most valuable mineral, is a major export item; tungsten, lead, zinc, and antimony are also mined for export; and iron ore, gold, precious and semiprecious stones (especially saphires and rubies), salt, lignite, petroleum, asphaltic sand, and glass sand are exploited on a smaller scale. Coal and natural gas reserves are additional resources. Thailand has substantial hydroelectric potential, which is being developed; projects have been constructed on the Ping, Mekong, Phong, and Songkhram rivers. Industry is growing rapidly and is centered chiefly in the processing of agricultural products: rice milling is by far the most important, followed by sugar producing; textile spinning and weaving; and the processing of rubber, tobacco, and forest products. During the 1980s and 1990s, electronics have become important, causing a substantial rise in the per capita GDP. Lumbering is concentrated in the N. A major tin smelter is on Phuket island. The country also has a small steel mill, an oil refinery, and vehicle and machine assembly plants. Small factories, many of which are in the Bangkok area, produce building materials, glass, pharmaceuticals, and various consumer goods. Handicraft production remains important and has a ready market in the tourist trade. Tourism is the leading source of foreign exchange; Bangkok is a key point on round-the-world air routes. It is the political, commercial, cultural, and transportation center of the country, with the only port that can accommodate oceangoing vessels. The country has twenty-six airports with scheduled air service. Thailand’s railroads originate in Bangkok and extend to Chiangmai; the Korat plateau; and to Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia. In 1993, the Eastern and Oriental Express began daily deluxe service between Bangkok and Singapore. A corresponding network of paved highways has been constructed. Thailand’s inland waterways—a complex, interconnected system of rivers, streams, and canals—have been important arteries since ancient times; barges and boats still carry well over half the cargo moved in the central plain.
History to the 16th Century
Like other countries of Southeast Asia, Thailand in prehistoric times was peopled through successive migrations from central Asia into territory already inhabited by the Negrito peoples. Although a few Thai groups (ethnically related to the Shan of Burma and the Lao of Laos) migrated to the N hill country of Thailand, the main body of Thais remained in Yünnan, China, where by A.D. 650 they had organized the independent kingdom of Nanchao. By 1000, however, the Chinese had overrun Nanchao and made it a tributary state. With the destruction of the kingdom of Nanchao by the Mongols under Kublai Khan in 1253, the slow infiltration of Thailand from the N turned into a mass migration. By that time the Khmer empire was well established in the Chao Phraya valley and on the Korat plateau. The Thais captured the Khmer town of Sukhothai, in N central Thailand, and a new Thai nation, with its capital at Sukhothai, soon developed. During this period (c.1260–1350), King Rama Kamheng, whose forty-year reign began c.1275, borrowed from the Khmers of Cambodia the alphabet which the Thais still use. After the death of Rama Kamheng, Sukhothai declined and was absorbed by Rama Tibodi, prince of Utong, who established, c.1350, a new capital at Ayutthaya.
History - 16th Century to 1932
The 16th century saw the beginnings of warfare with the Burmese; in 1568 the Burmese captured Ayutthaya and dominated the country until c.1583, when King Naresuan (1555–1605) drove them from Siam (now Thailand). Siam’s relations with the West commenced after 1511, when Portugese traders and missionaries began to arrive; adroit diplomacy, developed during this time, enabled Siam to remain independent of European colonization, the only country in Southeast Asia able to do so. In the early 17th century, Siam became, so far as Europe was concerned, the most consequential kingdom in Southeast Asia. In 1688, a foreign-inspired coup d’etat attempt caused Siam to be closed to most foreigners for over a century. In 1767 the Burmese, after several attempts, finally destroyed Ayutthaya. General Phya Tak, or Taksin, however, quickly rallied the Thai forces, and within a decade he drove (c.1777) the Burmese from the country and established his capital at Thon Buri. His successor, General Chakkri (reigned 1782–1809), later known as Rama I, moved the capital from Thon Buri across the river to Bangkok and founded the Chakkri dynasty, thereafter the ruling house of Siam. In the 19th century the authority of Bangkok was at last established over N Siam, and relations with the West were resumed; Siam signed commercial treaties with Great Britain (1826) and the U.S. (1833). The independence of the kingdom was threatened when European powers pursued colonial interests in the region, but by opening their posts to European trade, by bringing in Western advisers, by strengthening the central administration, and by playing off British against French interests, the Siamese managed to stay free. Even so, the establishment of Siam’s boundaries meant the surrender of its claims to Laos (1893) and parts of Cambodia (1907) and of its suzerainty over Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Terengganu (1909), on the Malay Peninsula.
History - 1932 to 1954
Siam became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, when a bloodless coup d’etat forced the king to grant a constitution. The two young leaders of the coup, Pibul Songgram and Pridi Phanomyang, both educated in Europe and influenced by Western ideas, came to dominate Thai politics in the ensuing years. In 1934 the first general elections were held; a year later the king abdicated, and a council of regency chose a new monarch, King Ananda (reigned 1935–46). Pibul Songgram, a militarist, became premier in 1938. He changed the country’s name to Thailand and instituted a program of expansion. Taking advantage of the French defeat (1940) in World War II, he renewed Thai claims in Cambodia and Laos. Japanese “mediation” resulted (1941) in territorial concessions to Thailand. In December 1941, Pibul, despite the objections of Pridi Phanomyang, permitted the Japanese to enter Thailand, and in 1942 the government, under Japanese pressure, declared war on Great Britain and the U.S. In 1943, Japan granted Thailand territory in N Malaya and in the Shan states of Burma, but after the war Thailand was forced to return these territories as well as those acquired in 1941. Pridi Phanomyang became premier in the postwar government, while Pibul was briefly jailed as a war criminal. Pridi restored the name Siam as a repudiation of Pibul’s policies. Inflation, corruption in government, and the mysterious death (1946) of King Ananda all contributed to the overthrow (1947) of Pridi’s government by Pibul.
History - 1954 to 1971
Pridi fled the country and in 1954 appeared in Peking as the professed leader of the Communist “Free Thai” movement. Under Pibul’s military dictatorship, the name Thailand was again adopted; Thailand signed (1950) a technical and economic aid agreement with the U.S. and sent troops in support of the UN action in Korea. Thailand has received huge military grants from the U.S. and was the seat (since 1954) of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). The country, apprehensive over its proximity to Communist China, remained consistently pro-Western in international outlook. Bhumibol Adulyadej was crowned king in 1950. In 1957 a military coup finally overthrew Pibul Songgram, and in 1958 the constitution was suspended and martial law was declared. A new constitution was finally promulgated in 1968. The country’s economy in the 1960s continued to boom; spurred by a favorable export market and considerable U.S. aid, it expanded at a rate of 7.5% per year. Thailand strongly supported the U.S. policy in South Vietnam, providing bases for U.S. troops and airfields for strikes against the North Vietnamese; thousands of Thai troops were sent in support of South Vietnam. The nation’s foreign policy was closely geared to the U.S. presence in Southeast Asia and its economy became increasingly dependent upon U.S. military spending and subsidies. Economic reversals came in 1970 when the international demand for rice dropped substantially (due in part to improved farming techniques in other countries) and the prices of tin and rubber fell; Thailand for the first time since 1933 suffered a trade deficit. In addition, the security of the country appeared threatened by the spread of the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos and by growing insurgencies, chiefly Communist led, in three separate areas within Thailand itself.
History - 1971 to 1975
The increasing economic and security problems prompted a coup in November 1971, by Premier Thanom Kittikachorn and three military aides, in which they abolished the constitution and the parliament and imposed military rule. Guerrilla raids against both Thai government forces and U.S. air bases continued. Economic conditions improved throughout 1972 as large numbers of U.S. military personnel were transferred from South Vietnam to bases in Thailand; by June of that year there were more U.S. forces in Thailand than in South Vietnam. In October 1973, the military regime of Thanom was toppled after a week of student demonstrations and violence in Bangkok. King Bhumibol Adulyadej appointed Sanya Thammasak as Thanom’s successor, giving Thailand its first civilian premier in twenty years. The new premier promised to complete a constitution and to hold general elections. A new constitution was promulgated in October 1974. Over the next few years the civilian government made little headway in establishing its authority. In 1976, the military took control of the government once again; it has since held power almost continuously. From the late 1970s, Thailand’s political concerns were dominated by the pressures resulting from warfare in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and serious unrest in Myanmar (Burma), and it experienced a massive influx of refugees from these countries.
History -1975 to Present
From 1975 onward, Thailand has provided the base for Hmong refugees immigrating to the U.S. under its resettlement program (most have come from the Ban Vinai refugee camp adjoining the Laos border). The Khmer Rouge used Thailand as a staging area after they were driven out of Cambodia by the Vietnamese and internal fighting within the Cambodian government in 1997 sent a new flow of refugees into Thailand. In 1992 there were signs of popular opposition to continued military rule and, after anti-government demonstrators were killed, a new, somewhat more democratic government was formed. Despite its unsteady political climate, Thailand continues to have one of the stronger economies in Southeast Asia. It is a founding member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which works to foster economic cooperation among the nations of the region. Institutions of higher learning include five universities in Bangkok, one in Chiangmai, and some eighteen technical colleges throughout the country. Thailand has seventy-six provinces (changwat) that are further subdivided into districts (amphoe) and communes (tambon).
Government
King Phumiphon Adunyadet still reigns. The head of government, elected on February 6, 2005, is Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
