Editing Thailand (section)

== History ==
{{main|History of Thailand}}
{{Cleanup rewrite|many reasons, see [[Talk:Thailand#History rewrite|talk page]]|section|date=February 2024}}

=== Prehistory and origins ===
{{main|Prehistoric Thailand}}
{{see also|History of Thailand|Tai peoples}}
There is evidence of continuous human habitation in present-day Thailand from 20,000 years ago to the present day.<ref name="LePoer 1989">{{Cite book |last=Barbara Leitch LePoer |title=Thailand: A Country Study |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |year=1989}}</ref>{{rp|4}} The earliest evidence of rice growing is dated at 2,000 BCE.<ref name="Baker 2017">{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 |title=A History of Ayutthaya |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-107-19076-4 |author-link=Chris Baker (writer) |access-date=15 December 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328150305/https://books.google.com/books?id=GHiuDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|4}} Areas comprising what is now Thailand participated in the [[Maritime Jade Road]], as ascertained by archeological research. The trading network existed for 3,000 years, between 2000 BCE to 1000 CE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tsang |first=Cheng-hwa |date=2008-01-24 |title=Recent advances in the Iron Age archaeology of Taiwan |url=http://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/JIPA/article/view/11751 |journal=Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association |volume=20 |doi=10.7152/bippa.v20i0.11751 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |issn=1835-1794}}</ref><ref>Turton, M. (2021). Notes from central Taiwan: Our brother to the south. Taiwan's relations with the Philippines date back millennia, so it's a mystery that it's not the jewel in the crown of the New Southbound Policy. Taiwan Times.</ref><ref>Everington, K. (2017). Birthplace of Austronesians is Taiwan, capital was Taitung: Scholar. Taiwan News.</ref><ref>Bellwood, P., H. Hung, H., Lizuka, Y. (2011). Taiwan Jade in the Philippines: 3,000 Years of Trade and Long-distance Interaction. Semantic Scholar.</ref> Bronze appeared {{circa|1,250}}–1,000 BCE.<ref name="Baker 2017" />{{rp|4}} The site of [[Ban Chiang]] in northeast Thailand currently ranks as the earliest known centre of copper and bronze production in Southeast Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Higham |first1=Charles |last2=Higham |first2=Thomas |last3=Ciarla |first3=Roberto |last4=Douka |first4=Katerina |last5=Kijngam |first5=Amphan |last6=Rispoli |first6=Fiorella |date=10 December 2011 |title=The Origins of the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257607857 |url-status=live |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=227–274 |doi=10.1007/s10963-011-9054-6 |s2cid=162300712 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511090306/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257607857_The_Origins_of_the_Bronze_Age_of_Southeast_Asia |archive-date=11 May 2021 |access-date=10 February 2018 |via=Researchgate.net}}</ref> Iron appeared around 500 BCE.<ref name="Baker 2017" />{{rp|5}} 

The [[Kingdom of Funan]] was the first and most powerful Southeast Asian kingdom at the time (2nd century BCE).<ref name="LePoer 1989" />{{rp|5}} The [[Mon people]] established the principalities of [[Dvaravati]] and Kingdom of [[Hariphunchai]] in the 6th century. The [[Khmer people]] established the [[Khmer empire]], centred in [[Angkor]], in the 9th century.<ref name="LePoer 1989" />{{rp|7}} [[Tambralinga]], a Malay state controlling trade through the [[Strait of Malacca|Malacca Strait]], rose in the 10th century.<ref name="LePoer 1989" />{{rp|5}} The Indochina peninsula was heavily influenced by the [[Indianized kingdom|culture and religions of India]] from the time of the Kingdom of Funan to that of the Khmer Empire.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/589625/Thailand/274233/History?anchor=ref509754 Thailand. History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402103818/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/589625/Thailand/274233/History?anchor=ref509754 |date=2 April 2012}}. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref>

The [[Thai people]] are of the [[Tai peoples|Tai ethnic group]], characterised by common linguistic roots.<ref name="Wyatt 1984">{{Cite book |last=Wyatt |first=David K. |url=https://archive.org/details/thailand00davi |title=Thailand: A Short History |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-300-03054-9 |location=New Haven |author-link=David K. Wyatt}}</ref>{{rp|2}} Chinese chronicles first mention the Tai peoples in the 6th century BCE. While there are many assumptions regarding the origin of Tai peoples, [[David K. Wyatt]], a historian of Thailand, argued that their ancestors who at present inhabit Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, India, and China came from the [[Điện Biên Phủ]] area between the 5th and the 8th century.<ref name="Wyatt 1984" />{{rp|6}} 

Thai people began migrating into present-day Thailand gradually from the 6th to 11th century, which Mon and Khmer people occupied at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=E. Jane Keyes |last2=James A. Hafner |display-authors=et al. |year=2018 |title=Thailand: History |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/Sports-and-recreation#ref274233 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624002018/https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/Sports-and-recreation#ref274233 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |access-date=4 April 2018 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> Thus Thai culture was influenced by Indian, Mon, and Khmer cultures.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keyes |first=Charles F. |title=Government policies and ethnic relations in Asia and the Pacific |publisher=MIT Press |year=1997 |isbn=9780262522458 |editor-last=Michael E. Brown |pages=197–232 |chapter=Cultural Diversity and National Identity in Thailand |editor-last2=Sumit Ganguly |editor-link2=Sumit Ganguly}}</ref>{{rp|203}} Tai people intermixed with various ethnic and cultural groups in the region, resulting in many groups of present-day Thai people.{{efn-lr|See ''{{slink|#Ethnic groups}}''.}} Genetic evidences suggested that ethnolinguistics could not accurately predict the origins of the Thais.<ref name="genetic" /><ref name="genetic2" /><ref name="genetic3" /> [[Sujit Wongthes]] argued that Thai is not a race or ethnicity but a culture group.<ref>{{cite web |title=ชนชาติไทย 'ไม่ใช่' คนไทย โดย สุจิตต์ วงษ์เทศ |url=https://www.matichon.co.th/columnists/news_4238682 |website=Matichon |date=18 October 2023 |access-date=20 February 2024 |archive-date=20 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220043823/https://www.matichon.co.th/columnists/news_4238682 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to French historian [[George Cœdès]], "The Thai first enter history of [[Farther India]] in the eleventh century with the mention of ''Syam'' slaves or prisoners of war in [[Champa]] epigraphy", and "in the twelfth century, the [[bas-relief]]s of [[Angkor Wat]]" where "a group of warriors" are described as ''Syam'',<ref name="Coedes 1968" />{{rp|190–191, 194–195}} though Cham accounts do not indicate the origins of ''Syam'' or what ethnic group they belonged to.<ref name="Smith 2019">{{Cite thesis |last=Smith |first=John |title=State, Community, and Ethnicity in Early Modern Thailand, 1351–1767 |year=2019 |degree=PhD |url=http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/151629|institution=University of Michigan |hdl=2027.42/151629 |access-date=5 April 2023 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328160310/https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/151629 |url-status=live }}</ref> The origins and ethnicity of the ''Syam'' remain unclear, with some literature suggesting that ''Syam'' refers to the [[Shan people]], the [[Bru people]], or the [[Brau people]].<ref name="Smith 2019" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Juntanamalaga |first=Preecha |date=1 June 1988 |title=Thai or Siam? |url=http://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/view/1181 |journal=Names |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=69–84 |doi=10.1179/nam.1988.36.1-2.69 |issn=1756-2279 |access-date=5 April 2023 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328150530/https://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/view/1181 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, mainland Southeast Asian sources from before the fourteenth century primarily used the word ''Syam'' as an [[ethnonym]], referring to those who belonged to a separate cultural category different from the Khmer, Cham, Bagan, or Mon. This contrasts with the Chinese sources, where ''Xian'' was used as a [[toponym]].<ref name="Smith 2019" />

=== Early Tai confederate cities: (691 BCE – 13th century CE) ===
{{see also|Initial states of Thailand|Lan Na}}
[[File:Tai Migration.svg|thumb|240px|Map showing geographic distribution of [[Kra–Dai languages|Kra–Dai linguistic family]]. Arrows represent general pattern of the migration of [[Tai peoples|Tai-speaking tribes]] along the rivers and over the lower passes.<ref name="Baker 2017" />{{rp|27}}]]
[[File:Location Lanna (under King Tilok).png|thumb|240px|[[Lan Na]] kingdom during the reign of [[Tilokaraj]] ({{tooltip|r.|reign}} 1441–1487)]]
Theoretically, [[Tai-Kadai]]-speaking people formed as early as the 12th century BCE in the middle of the [[Yangtze basin]]. Some groups later migrated south to [[Guangxi]].<ref name="Chamberlain 2016">{{cite journal |last = Chamberlain |first = James R. |year = 2016 |title = Kra-Dai and the Proto-History of South China and Vietnam |url = https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/pub_jss/article/view/158051 |journal = Journal of the Siam Society|volume = 104 |pages = 27–77 |access-date = 18 January 2024 |archive-date = 3 January 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230103043101/https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/pub_jss/article/view/158051 |url-status = live }}</ref> However, after several bloody centuries against [[China|Chinese]] influence in [[Guangxi]] between 333 BCE and the 11th century, hundreds of thousands of Tais were killed,<ref>{{citation | title = From Yue To Tai | first = Chris | last = Baker | author-link1 = Chris Baker (writer) | journal = Journal of the Siam Society | volume = 90 | issue = 1–2 | year = 2002 | pages = 1–26 | url = http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/2001/JSS_090_0b_Baker_YueToThai.pdf | access-date = 3 May 2018 | archive-date = 4 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000932/http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/2001/JSS_090_0b_Baker_YueToThai.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>{{rp|5}}<ref>{{citation
  | title = The Birth of Vietnam
  | given1 = Keith W.
  | surname1 = Taylor
  | author-link1 = Keith Taylor (historian)
  | publisher = University of California Press
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rCl_02LnNVIC&pg=PA18
  | year = 1991
  | isbn = 978-0-520-07417-0
  | access-date = 1 November 2020
  | archive-date = 7 July 2023
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230707155549/https://books.google.com/books?id=rCl_02LnNVIC&pg=PA18
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref>{{rp|193, 239–249}} thus, [[Tai people]] began to move southwestward along the rivers and over the lower passes into the mountain north of [[Southeast Asia]] and river valleys in present-day [[Assam]] of [[India]].{{sfn|Baker|Phongpaichit|2017|p= 26}}<ref>{{Citation |last = Evans |first = Grant |title = A Short History of Laos: The Land in Between |url = https://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/history/A%20Short%20History%20of%20Laos.pdf |year = 2002 |postscript = . |publisher = Allen & Unwin |isbn = 978-1-86448-997-2 |access-date = 18 January 2024 |archive-date = 29 February 2024 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240229191509/https://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/history/A%20Short%20History%20of%20Laos.pdf |url-status = live }}</ref> Some evidence indicates that the ancestors of Tai people migrated en masse southwestwards out of Yunnan only after the 1253 [[Uriyangkhadai#Invasion of Yunnan and Tibet|Mongol invasion of Dali]]; however, it is not generally accepted.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Du |first1=Yuting |last2=Chen |first2=Lufan |year=1989 |title=Did Kublai Khan's Conquest of the Dali Kingdom Give Rise to the Mass Migration of the Thai People to the South? |url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1981/JSS_077_1c_DuYutingChenLufan_KublaiKhanConquestAndThaiMigration.pdf |journal=[[Journal of the Siam Society]] |volume=77 |issue=1c |quote=The Thai people in the north as well as in the south did not in any sense "migrate en masse to the south" after [[Kublai Khan]]'s conquest of the [[Dali Kingdom]] |access-date=18 January 2024 |archive-date=9 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200909224400/http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1981/JSS_077_1c_DuYutingChenLufan_KublaiKhanConquestAndThaiMigration.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|38}}

Tais defeated [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous tribes]] and emerged as the new power in the new region. As a result, several Tai city-states were established, scattered from [[Điện Biên Phủ]] in present-day northwestern [[Vietnam]] and highland [[Southeast Asia]] to [[northeastern India]].<ref name="jumsai1967">{{cite book|last=Jumsai|first=M.L. Manich|title=History of Laos|date=1967-08-05|publisher=Chalermnit |isbn=978-974-7390-21-6}}</ref><ref name="iml">{{cite book|last=Ratanavongsa|first=Prince Phetsarath|title=The Iron Man of Laos|date=1978|publisher=Dalley Book Service, Inc.}}</ref><ref name="PittayawatPittayaporn"/> 

According to the ''Simhanavati legend'' given in several chronicles, the first Tai city-state in northern Thailand, [[Singhanavati]], was founded around the 7th century.<ref name="wieng">{{cite web|url=https://www.finearts.go.th/storage/contents/2023/09/file/VlgtCnpcC8lb56DrYVwSxhkD0KppEIHHFYgZHxZn.pdf|title=Wiang Nong Lom Cultural Heritage|year=2023|accessdate=21 January 2024|publisher=[[Fine Arts Department]] of Thailand|archivedate=21 January 2024|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121092447/https://www.finearts.go.th/storage/contents/2023/09/file/VlgtCnpcC8lb56DrYVwSxhkD0KppEIHHFYgZHxZn.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|5, 9}} However, several modern [[geology]] and [[archaeology]] studies found that its centre, Yonok Nahaphan, dates from 691 BCE–545 CE;<ref name="wieng" />{{rp|7}}<ref name="fine">{{cite web|url=https://www.finearts.go.th/fad7/view/26134-%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B7%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%81-%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%83%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B2|title=เมืองโยนก นครในตำนานล้านนา|language=th|year=2022|accessdate=18 January 2024|publisher=[[Fine Arts Department]] of Thailand|archivedate=18 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240118051652/https://www.finearts.go.th/fad7/view/26134-%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B7%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%81-%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%83%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B2}}</ref><ref name="era">{{cite web|url=https://www.silpa-mag.com/history/article_9394|title=พระเจ้าพรหมมหาราช ในตำนานล้านนา นัยสำคัญของกษัตริย์สืบสายทางธรรม VS สายเลือด|date=28 January 2022|accessdate=23 January 2024|language=th|author=พิเศษ เจียจันทร์พงษ์|website=silpa-mag.com|archivedate=23 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240123005838/https://www.silpa-mag.com/history/article_9394}}</ref><ref name="mgryo">{{cite web|url=https://mgronline.com/onlinesection/detail/9620000029196|title="รอยเลื่อนแม่จัน" กับ "โยนกเชียงแสน" ตำนานที่อาจมีอายุมากกว่า 1,800 ปี|language=th|date=24 April 2020|work=[[Manager Daily]]|archivedate=18 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240118051935/https://mgronline.com/onlinesection/detail/9620000029196}}</ref> this roughly coincides with the establishment of [[Shan people#History|Shan States]], another Tai's federated principalities in the present-day northeast [[Myanmar]].<ref>Du & Chen (1989), p. 38</ref><ref>''Hou Hanshu'' [https://ctext.org/hou-han-shu/xiao-he-xiao-shang-di-ji?searchu=%E6%92%A3%E5%9C%8B&searchmode=showall#result vol. 5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008094638/https://ctext.org/hou-han-shu/xiao-he-xiao-shang-di-ji?searchu=%E6%92%A3%E5%9C%8B&searchmode=showall#result |date=8 October 2023 }} "九年春正月, 永昌徼外蠻夷及撣國重譯奉貢."</ref><ref>Hou Hanshu [https://ctext.org/hou-han-shu/xiao-an-di-ji?searchu=%E6%92%A3%E5%9C%8B&searchmode=showall#result vol. 6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008094430/https://ctext.org/hou-han-shu/xiao-an-di-ji?searchu=%E6%92%A3%E5%9C%8B&searchmode=showall#result |date=8 October 2023 }} txt: "十二月, 永昌徼外撣國遣使貢獻."</ref><ref>Hou Hanshu [https://ctext.org/hou-han-shu/xiao-shun-xiao-chong-xiao-zhi?searchu=%E6%92%A3%E5%9C%8B&searchmode=showall#result vol. 7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008094636/https://ctext.org/hou-han-shu/xiao-shun-xiao-chong-xiao-zhi?searchu=%E6%92%A3%E5%9C%8B&searchmode=showall#result |date=8 October 2023 }} txt: "十二月, 日南徼外葉調國、撣國遣使貢獻."</ref> as well as [[Muang Sua]] ([[Luang Prabang]]) in the east.<ref name="Viravond">{{cite web |url=http://www.reninc.org/bookshelf/history_of_laos_viravong.pdf |title=HISTORY OF LAOS |author=Maha Sila Viravond |access-date=29 December 2017 |publisher=Refugee Educators' Network |archive-date=3 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403030051/http://www.reninc.org/bookshelf/history_of_laos_viravong.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Manich">{{cite web |url=http://www.reninc.org/bookshelf/history_of_laos_manich.pdf |title=HISTORY OF LAOS (including the history of Lonnathai, Chiangmai) |author=M.L. Manich |access-date=29 December 2017 |publisher=Refugee Educators' Network |archive-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008182646/http://www.reninc.org/bookshelf/history_of_laos_manich.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> 

After Singhanavati was submerged below [[Chiang Saen Lake]] due to an [[earthquake]] in 545,<ref name="fine" /><ref name="mgryo" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wood|first1=Spencer H.|last2=Wood|first2=Layle R.|last3=Ziegler|first3=Alan D.|date=2015-11-02|title=Natural degradation of earthworks, trenches, walls and moats, Northern Thailand|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00934690.2015.1103645|journal=Journal of Field Archaeology|volume=40|issue=6|pages=675–694|doi=10.1080/00934690.2015.1103645|s2cid=32414373|issn=0093-4690|access-date=18 January 2024|archive-date=18 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118052630/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00934690.2015.1103645|url-status=live}}</ref> the survivors then founded a new seat at {{ill|Wieng–Prueksha|th|เวียงปรึกษา}}. The kingdom lasted for another 93 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.finearts.go.th/kamphaengphetmuseum/view/36351-%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%B2%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B7%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%87-%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%99-3|title=ตามหาเมืองเงินยาง ตอน 3|website=finearts.go.th|accessdate=10 November 2023|language=th|archivedate=3 November 2023|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231103080945/https://www.finearts.go.th/kamphaengphetmuseum/view/36351-%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%B2%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B7%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%87-%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%99-3}}</ref>

In addition to [[Singhanavati]], another northern principality probably related to the Tai people, [[Ngoenyang]], was established as the successor of Singhanavati in 638 by {{ill|Lavachakkaraj|th|ปู่เจ้าลาวจก}}, also centred in {{ill|Wieng–Prueksha|th|เวียงปรึกษา}} (present-day [[Mae Sai District]], [[Chiang Rai province|Chiang Rai]]).<ref name="Baker 2014" />{{rp|8}} Its seat was moved to [[Chiang Mai]] in 1262 by King [[Mangrai]], which considered the foundation of the [[Lan Na]] kingdom. Mangrai unified the surrounding area and also created a network of states through political alliances to the east and north of the [[Mekong]]. His dynasty would rule the kingdom continuously for the next two centuries.<ref name="Baker 2014" />{{rp|8}} [[Lan Na]] expanded its territory southward and annexed the [[Mon people|Mon]] [[Hariphunchai]] of [[Dvaravati]] in 1292.<ref name=Coedes>{{cite book|last= Coedès|first= George|authorlink= George Coedès|editor= Walter F. Vella|others= trans.Susan Brown Cowing|title= The Indianized States of Southeast Asia|year= 1968|publisher= University of Hawaii Press|isbn= 978-0-8248-0368-1}}</ref>{{rp|208}}

In the late tenth century, Tai people began to migrate further south to the present-day upper [[central Thailand]].<ref name=ch>{{cite book|last=Thepthani|first=Phra Borihan|title=Thai National Chronicles: the history of the nation since ancient times|date=1953|accessdate=5 November 2023|language=th|archivedate=5 November 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105023428/http://www.car.chula.ac.th/rarebook/book2/clra53_0235/mobile/index.html#p=1|publisher=S. Thammasamakkhi|url=http://www.car.chula.ac.th/rarebook/book2/clra53_0235/mobile/index.html}}</ref>{{rp|46–9, 83–6}} Around the 1100s period, several cities in this area, such as Songkwae, Sawankhalok, and Chakangrao, were ruled by the Tai people, and they eventually launched several battles against the pre-existing [[Mon people|Mon]] of [[Lavo Kingdom|Lavo]], who had been falling under [[Chenla]] and [[Khmer Empire|Khmer]] influences since the 7th century, thus bringing the establishment of the Tai people's independent state, [[Sukhothai Kingdom]], in the upper [[Chao Phraya River]] valley in 1238.<ref name="Wyatt 1984" />{{rp|52–3}}

The earliest conflict between [[Tai people]] and the preexisting ethnics was recorded in the mid-4th century when the ruler of [[Singhanavati]], {{ill|Pangkharat|th|พระเจ้าพังคราช}}, forcibly lost the seat at Yonok to King Khom from Umongasela (present-day [[Fang district|Fang]]). He then fled to Vieng Si Tuang ({{lang|th|เวียงศรีทวง}}; present-day Wiang Phang Kham, [[Mae Sai district]]) but had to send tributes to Yonok annually until his son, [[Phrom]], took back Yonok and expelled King Khom from Umongasela.<ref name=krai/><ref name=prom>{{cite web|url=https://mgronline.com/onlinesection/detail/9660000032394|title=๒ มหาราชของคนไทยก่อนเกิดประเทศไทย! ๒ เมืองหลวงเป็นอำเภอและจังหวัดในปัจจุบัน!!|date=7 April 2023|accessdate=19 January 2024|language=th|work=[[Manager Daily]]|author=โรม บุนนาค|archivedate=19 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240119005234/https://mgronline.com/onlinesection/detail/9660000032394}}</ref><ref name=chiangrai>{{cite web|url=http://123.242.164.131/cpwp/?page_id=60|title=ประวัติของจังหวัดเชียงราย|trans-title=History of Chiang Rai Province|year=2024|accessdate=21 January 2024|language=th|publisher=Chiang Rai Provincial Administrative Organization|archivedate=21 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240121100907/http://123.242.164.131/cpwp/?page_id=60}}</ref> [[Phrom]] also marched the troops south to occupy [[Kamphaeng Phet province|Chakangrao]] from the enemy as well as founding the city of [[Phitsanulok|Songkwae]].<ref name=krai/> Some historians suggest that [[Lavo Kingdom|Lavo]]'s capital, [[Lopburi]], was once seized by [[Phrom]].<ref name=krai>{{cite web|url=https://www.silpa-mag.com/history/article_89008|title=เมืองลพบุรีเป็นของไทยเมื่อใด?|language=th|date=30 December 2022|author=สงบ สุริยินทร์|website=silpa-mag.com|archivedate=25 December 2023|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231225062249/https://www.silpa-mag.com/history/article_89008|accessdate=25 December 2023}}</ref> In contrast, [[Tai people]] instead established relationships with Siamese Mon via [[royal intermarriage]]s.<ref name=ch/>{{rp|46–9, 83–6}}

=== Mon and Lavo Kingdoms: (5th century CE – 13th century CE) ===
{{see also|Mon people|Thai people|Mon kingdoms|Lavo Kingdom}}
[[File:Mon political entities.png|Political entities of the Mon people around the 6th–7th centuries|thumb|240px]]
[[File:DvaravatiMapThailand.png|thumb|Map of settlements of Dvaravati culture from the 6th to 9th centuries|240px]]
As is generally known, the present-day [[Thai people]] were previously called Siamese before the country was renamed Thailand in the mid-20th century.<ref name="Phumisak 1992"/> Several genetic studies published in the 21st century suggest that the so-called Siamese people (central Thai) might have had Mon origins since their genetic profiles are more closely related to the [[Mon people]] in [[Myanmar]] than the [[Tai peoples|Tai]]s of [[southern China]],<ref name="genetic">{{cite journal |title=Reconstructing the Human Genetic History of Mainland Southeast Asia: Insights from Genome-Wide Data from Thailand and Laos |year=2021 |journal=Mol Biol Evol |volume=38 |issue=8 |pages=3459–3477 |pmid=33905512 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msab124 |first1=Wibhu |last1=Kutanan |first2=Dang |last2=Liu |first3=Jatupol |last3=Kampuansai |first4=Metawee |last4=Srikummool |first5=Suparat |last5=Srithawong |first6=Rasmi |last6=Shoocongdej |first7=Sukrit |last7=Sangkhano |first8=Sukhum |last8=Ruangchai |first9=Pittayawat |last9=Pittayaporn |first10=Leonardo |last10=Arias |first11=Mark |last11=Stoneking |pmc=8321548}}</ref> and they probably later became Tais via [[cultural diffusion]] after the arriving of Tai people from the north around the 8th–10th centuries.<ref name="PittayawatPittayaporn">[http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2014). Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627063518/http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf |date=27 June 2015 }}. ''MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities'', Special Issue No 20: 47–64.</ref><ref name="montai">{{cite web|url=https://www.silpa-mag.com/culture/article_40858|title=ค้นหาร่องรอยภาษามอญ ในภาคอีสานของไทย|date=10 December 2022|accessdate=17 January 2024|language=th|website=silpa-mag.com|author=องค์ บรรจุน|archivedate=16 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240116172232/https://www.silpa-mag.com/culture/article_40858}}</ref><ref name="shi">{{cite web|url=https://www.matichon.co.th/columnists/news_1079341|title=สุจิตต์ วงษ์เทศ : ชาวนอกอยู่ภาคใต้ คนเมืองในอยู่ภาคกลาง|date=9 August 2018|accessdate=26 January 2024|language=th|author=สุจิตต์ วงษ์เทศ|work=มติชนออนไลน์ |publisher=[[Matichon]]|archivedate=26 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240126013540/https://www.matichon.co.th/columnists/news_1079341}}</ref> 

This is also reflected in the language since over half of the vocabulary in the central Thai language is derived from or borrowed from the [[Mon language]], as well as [[Pali]] and [[Sanskrit]].<ref name="montai" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=A history of Thailand|last=Baker|first=Christopher|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1-316-00733-4|location=Melbourne, Australia|pages=3–4}}</ref> Moreover, the [[Jinakalamali]] chronicle of Tai's [[Lan Na]] also called the southern region occupied by the Mon [[Haripuñjaya]] of [[Dvaravati]] as ''Shyam Pradesh'' ({{literal translation|the land of Siam people}}), which indicates that the ancient Siamese and the Mon people in central Thailand were probably the same ethnolinguistic group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.finearts.go.th/nakhonsithammaratlibrary/view/20174-%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%93%E0%B9%8C|title=ชินกาลมาลีปกรณ์|language=th|author=พระรัตนปัญญาเถระ|year=1958|accessdate=17 January 2024|publisher=[[Fine Arts Department]] of Thailand|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328150320/https://www.finearts.go.th/nakhonsithammaratlibrary/view/20174-%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%93%E0%B9%8C|url-status=live}}</ref>

The earliest evidence to mention the Siam people are stone inscriptions found in [[Angkor Borei]] of [[Funan]] (K.557 and K.600), dated 661 CE, the slave's name is mentioned as "Ku Sayam" meaning "Sayam female slaves" (Ku is a prefix used to refer to female slaves in the pre-Angkorian era), and the Takéo inscriptions (K.79) written in 682 during the reign of [[Bhavavarman II]] of [[Chenla]] also mention Siam Nobel: ''Sāraṇnoya Poña Sayam'', which was transcribed into English as: ''the rice field that was given to the poña (noble rank) who was called Sayam (Siam)''.<ref name="eth">{{cite web|url=https://www.silpa-mag.com/history/article_90594|title=จาก "เสียม (สยาม)" สู่ "ไถ (ไทย)": บริบทและความหมายในการรับรู้ของชาวกัมพูชา|date=March 2009|accessdate=23 December 2023|language=th|website=silpa-mag.com|archivedate=23 December 2023|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231223043505/https://www.silpa-mag.com/history/article_90594}}</ref> 

The [[Song Huiyao Jigao]] (960–1279) indicate Siamese people settled in the west [[central Thailand]] and their state was called ''Xiān guó'' ({{lang-zh|暹國}}), while the eastern plain belonged to the Mon of [[Lavo Kingdom|Lavo]] ({{lang-zh|羅渦國}}),<ref name="ngr">{{cite web|url=https://mgronline.com/daily/detail/9660000105649|work=[[Manager Daily]]|language=th|date=1 December 2023|accessdate=23 December 2023|archivedate=23 December 2023|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231223012308/https://mgronline.com/daily/detail/9660000105649|title=เส้นทางศรีวิชัย : เครือข่ายทางการค้าที่ยิ่งใหญ่ที่สุดในทะเลใต้ยุคโบราณ ตอน ราชวงศ์ไศเลนทร์ที่จัมบิ (ประมาณ พ.ศ.1395–1533) (ตอนจบ)}}</ref> who later fell under the [[Chenla]] and [[Khmer Empire|Khmer]] hegemony around the 7th–9th centuries.<ref>[http://www.napho.org/knowledge/thi/thi20.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828170533/http://www.napho.org/knowledge/thi/thi20.htm|date=28 August 2009}}</ref> Those Mon political entities, which also included [[Haripuñjaya]] in the north and several city-states in the [[northeastern Thailand|northeast]], are collectively called [[Dvaravati]]. 

However, the states of Siamese Mon and Lavo were later merged via the [[royal intermarriage]] and became [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] in the mid-14th century,<ref name="ngr" /> while the southwestern [[Isan]] principalities, centred in [[Phanom Rung Historical Park|Phanom Rung]] and [[Phimai]], later pledged allegiance to Siamese's Ayutthaya during the reign of [[Borommarachathirat II]] ({{tooltip|r.|reign}} 1424–1448).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.silpa-mag.com/history/article_34499|title=คนโคราช ไม่ใช่ "ลาว" แล้วคนโคราชเป็นใคร? มาจากไหน?|author=สุจิตต์ วงษ์เทศ|date=4 December 2023|accessdate=19 January 2024|language=th|website=silpa-mag.com|archivedate=18 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240118211306/https://www.silpa-mag.com/history/article_34499}}</ref> The remaining principal city-states in [[Isan]] region became [[Lan Xang]] around 1353 after the twin cities of [[Muang Sua]] ([[Luang Prabang]]) and ''Vieng Chan Vieng Kham'' ([[Vientiane]]) became independent following the death of the [[Sukhothai Kingdom|Sukhothai]] king [[Ram Khamhaeng]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wyatt|first=David K.|title=Thailand: A Short History|year=2003|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-08475-7}}</ref>{{rp|51}}

According to the Wat Kud Tae inscription (K.1105), dated c. 7th century, during the period that the eastern Mon entity, [[Lavo Kingdom|Lavo]], was strongly influenced by the [[Chenla]], the Siamese Mon in the west also established a [[royal intermarriage]] with [[Chenla]] as Sri Chakatham, prince of Sambhuka (ศามภูกะ, in the present-day [[Ratchaburi province]]), married to a princess of [[Isanavarman I]], and two [[Mandala (political model)|mandala]]s then became an ally.<ref name=ally>{{cite web|url=https://www.matichonweekly.com/column/article_624632|title=พระนางจามเทวี จารึกศรีวิชัย สายสัมพันธ์ขอมเจนละ-จามปา ในมุมมองของ ผศ.พงศ์เกษม สนธิไทย|language=th|date=17 November 2022|accessdate=17 January 2024|publisher=[[Matichon]]|author=เพ็ญสุภา สุขคตะ|archivedate=16 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240116235530/https://www.matichonweekly.com/column/article_624632}}</ref> After [[Chenla]] sieged [[Funan]] and moved the centre to [[Angkor]], both Siamese Mon and the Angkorian eventually marched the troops to attack [[Vijaya (Champa)|Vijaya]] of [[Champa]] in 1201 during the reign of [[Jayavarman VII]], as recorded in the Cho-Dinh inscription (C.3).<ref name=c3>{{cite web|url=https://isaw.nyu.edu/publications/inscriptions/campa/inscriptions/C0003.html|title=Corpus of the Inscriptions of Campā: C. 3 Lintel from Phan Rang|accessdate=17 January 2024|publisher=[[New York University]]|archivedate=16 January 2024|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240116233605/https://isaw.nyu.edu/publications/inscriptions/campa/inscriptions/C0003.html}}</ref>

=== Sukhothai Kingdom (1238 CE – 14th century CE) ===
{{main|Sukhothai Kingdom}}
{{multiple image
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| title             = [[Sukhothai Kingdom]]
| image1            = Southeast Asian history - 13th century.png
| caption1          = Sukhothai and neighbours, end of 13th century CE
| image2            = Phra Achana (I).jpg
| caption2          = Phra Achana, Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai Historical Park
| image3            = Sukhothai Historical Park.jpg
| caption3          = The ruins of Wat Mahathat, [[Sukhothai Historical Park]]
}}

After the decline of the Khmer Empire and [[Pagan Kingdom|Kingdom of Pagan]] in the early 13th century, various states thrived in their place. The domains of Tai people existed from the northeast of present-day India to the north of present-day Laos and to the [[Malay Peninsula]].<ref name="Wyatt 1984" />{{rp|38–9}} During the 13th century, Tai people had already settled in the core land of [[Dvaravati]] and [[Lavo Kingdom]] to [[Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom|Nakhon Si Thammarat]] in the south. There are, however, no records detailing the arrival of the Tais.<ref name="Wyatt 1984" />{{rp|50–1}}

Around 1240, [[Si Inthrathit|Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao]], a local Tai ruler, rallied the people to rebel against the Khmer. He later crowned himself the first king of [[Sukhothai Kingdom]] in 1238.<ref name="Wyatt 1984" />{{rp|52–3}} Mainstream Thai historians count Sukhothai as the first kingdom of Thai people. Sukhothai expanded furthest during the reign of [[Ram Khamhaeng]] ({{Reign|1279|1298}}). However, it was mostly a network of local lords who swore fealty to Sukhothai, not directly controlled by it.<ref name="Wyatt 1984" />{{rp|pages=55–56}} He is believed have invented [[Thai script]] and Thai ceramics were an important export in his era. Sukhothai embraced [[Theravada]] [[Buddhism]] in the reign of [[Maha Thammaracha I]] (1347–1368).

=== Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351–1767) ===
{{main|Ayutthaya Kingdom|Galeote Pereira|Burmese–Siamese War (1547–1549)|Burmese–Siamese War (1584–1593)}}
{{multiple image
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| title             = [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]]
| image2            = Southeast Asian history - Around 1540.png
| caption2          = Ayutthaya and neighbors, {{circa|1540}} CE
| image1            = Mainland Southeast Asia in 1415.jpg
| caption1          = Ayutthaya and neighbors, {{circa|1415}} CE
| image3            = Bird's Eye View of Iudiad City (Ayutthaya) c1665.jpg
| caption3          = Painting of Ayutthaya city {{circa|1665}}, by [[Johannes Vingboons]]
}}

According to the most widely accepted version of its origin, the Ayutthaya Kingdom rose from the earlier, nearby [[Lavo Kingdom]] and Suvarnabhumi with [[Uthong]] as its first king. Ayutthaya was a patchwork of self-governing principalities and tributary provinces owing allegiance to the King of Ayutthaya under the [[Mandala (political model)|mandala system]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Higham |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ifNH4uK0LAC&pg=PA355 |title=The Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-521-27525-3 |access-date=6 September 2009 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328150350/https://books.google.com/books?id=-ifNH4uK0LAC&pg=PA355#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|355}} Its initial expansion was through conquest and political marriage. 

Before the end of the 15th century, Ayutthaya invaded the Khmer Empire three times and sacked its capital [[Angkor]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=เกษตรศิริ |first=ชาญวิทย์ |title=อยุธยา: ประวัติศาสตร์และการเมือง |date=2005 |publisher=โรงพิมพ์มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์ |isbn=978-974-91572-7-5}}</ref>{{rp|26}} Ayutthaya then became a regional power in place of the Khmer. Constant interference of Sukhothai effectively made it a vassal state of Ayutthaya and it was finally incorporated into the kingdom. [[Borommatrailokkanat]] brought about bureaucratic reforms which lasted into the 20th century and created a system of social hierarchy called ''[[sakdina]]'', where male commoners were conscripted as [[corvée]] labourers for six months a year.<ref name="Wyatt 2013">{{Cite book |last=Wyatt |first=David K. |title=Thailand: A Short History |date=2013 |publisher=มูลนิธิโครงการตำราสังคมศาสตร์และมนุษยศาสตร์, มูลนิธิโตโยต้าประเทศไทย |isbn=978-616-7202-38-9 |language=th |translator-last=ละอองศรี |translator-first=กาญจนี |trans-title=ประวัติศาสตร์ไทยฉบับสังเขป}}</ref>{{rp|107}} Ayutthaya was interested in the [[Malay Peninsula]] but failed to conquer the [[Malacca Sultanate]], which was supported by the Chinese [[Ming dynasty]].<ref name="LePoer 1989" />{{rp|11, 13}}

European contact and trade started in the early-16th century, with the [[Duarte Fernandes|envoy]] of [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] duke [[Afonso de Albuquerque]] in 1511. Portugal became an ally and ceded some soldiers to King Rama Thibodi II.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayutthaya history Foreign Settlements |url=https://www.ayutthaya-history.com/Settlements_Portuguese.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706001102/https://www.ayutthaya-history.com/Settlements_Portuguese.html |archive-date=6 July 2020 |access-date=24 May 2020}}</ref> The Portuguese were followed in the 17th century by the French, Dutch, and English. Rivalry for supremacy over Chiang Mai and the Mon people pitted Ayutthaya against the Burmese Kingdom. Several wars with its ruling [[Taungoo dynasty]] starting in the 1540s in the reign of [[Tabinshwehti]] and [[Bayinnaung]] were ultimately ended with the [[Burmese–Siamese War (1568–70)|capture of the capital in 1570]].<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|146–7}} Then a brief period of vassalage to Burma until [[Naresuan]] proclaimed independence in 1584 followed.<ref name="Baker 2014">{{Cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Christopher |title=A History of Thailand |last2=Phongpaichit |first2=Pasuk |date=2014 |publisher=C.O.S Printers Pte Ltd |isbn=978-1-107-42021-2 |location=Singapore}}</ref>{{rp|11}}

Ayutthaya sought to improve relations with European powers for many successive reigns. The kingdom especially prospered during cosmopolitan [[Narai]]'s reign (1656–1688), when some European travellers regarded Ayutthaya as an Asian great power, alongside China and India.<ref name="Baker 2017" />{{rp|ix}} However, growing French influence later in his reign was met with nationalist sentiment and eventually led to the [[Siamese revolution of 1688]].<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|185–6}} Despite the revolution, overall relations remained stable, with French missionaries still actively preaching Christianity.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|186}}

After a bloody period of dynastic struggle, Ayutthaya entered what has been called the Siamese "[[golden age]]", a relatively peaceful episode in the second quarter of the 18th century where [[Thai art|art]], [[Thai literature|literature]], and learning flourished. There were seldom foreign wars, apart from conflict with the [[Nguyễn lords]] for control of [[Cambodia]] starting around 1715. The last fifty years of the kingdom witnessed bloody succession crises, where there were purges of court officials and able generals for many consecutive reigns. In 1765, a combined 40,000-strong force of Burmese armies [[Burmese–Siamese War (1759–60)|invaded it]] from the north and west.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harvey |first=G E |title=History of Burma |publisher=Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. |year=1925 |location=London}}</ref>{{rp|250}} The Burmese under the new [[Alaungpaya]] dynasty quickly rose to become a new local power by 1759. After a 14-month siege, the capital city's walls fell and the city was burned in April 1767.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ruangsilp |first=Bhawan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0xBGwFrYnaMC |title=Dutch East India Company Merchants at the Court of Ayutthaya: Dutch Perceptions of the Thai Kingdom c. 1604–1765 |publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-300-08475-7 |location=Leiden, Netherlands |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-date=28 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628192706/https://books.google.com/books?id=0xBGwFrYnaMC |url-status=live }}</ref>{{RP|218}}

=== Thonburi Kingdom (1767–1782) ===
{{main|Thonburi Kingdom}}
[[File:KingTaksin's coronation.jpg|thumb|right|[[Taksin the Great]] enthroned himself as a Thai king in 1767.]]
The capital and many of its territories lay in chaos after the war. The former capital was occupied by the [[Burma|Burmese]] garrison army and five local leaders declared themselves overlords, including the lords of Sakwangburi, [[Phitsanulok]], [[Pimai]], [[Chanthaburi]], and [[Nakhon Si Thammarat]]. [[Taksin|Chao Tak]], a capable military leader, proceeded to make himself a lord by [[right of conquest]], beginning with the legendary sack of [[Chanthaburi]]. Based at Chanthaburi, Chao Tak raised troops and resources, and sent a fleet up the [[Chao Phraya]] to take the fort of [[Thonburi]]. In the same year, Chao Tak was able to retake Ayutthaya from the Burmese only seven months after the fall of the city.<ref>จรรยา ประชิตโรมรัน. (2548). สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช. สำนักพิมพ์แห่งจุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย. หน้า 55</ref>

Chao Tak then crowned himself as [[Taksin]] and proclaimed [[Thonburi]] as temporary capital in the same year. He also quickly subdued the other warlords. His forces engaged in wars with Burma, Laos, and Cambodia, which successfully [[Burmese–Siamese War (1774–1775)|drove the Burmese out of Lan Na]] in 1775,<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|225}} [[Lao–Siamese War (1778–1779)|captured Vientiane]] in 1778<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|227–8}} and [[Siamese–Vietnamese War (1769–1773)|tried to install a pro-Thai king in Cambodia]] in the 1770s. In his final years there was a coup, supposedly caused by his "insanity", and eventually Taksin and his sons were executed by his longtime companion General [[Rama I|Chao Phraya Chakri]] (the future Rama I). He was the first king of the ruling [[Chakri dynasty]] and founder of the [[Rattanakosin Kingdom]] on 6 April 1782.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

=== Rattanakosin Kingdom and modernization (1782 –1932) ===
{{Main|Rattanakosin Kingdom}}

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 1/2
| total_width       = 270
| caption_align     = center
| align             = right
| title             = [[Rattanakosin Kingdom]]
| image1            = Siam 1900 V2.png
| caption1          = Detailed map of Siam's provinces, vassals, and monthons in 1900
| image2            = Emerald Buddha, August 2012, Bangkok (cropped).jpg
| caption2          = [[Emerald Buddha]] in [[Wat Phra Kaew]]. Considered the sacred palladium of Thailand.
| image3            = King and Tsar.jpg
| caption3          = [[Chulalongkorn]] with [[Nicholas II]] in Saint Petersburg, 1897
| caption4          = Siamese territory and dominion at its largest in 1805, resulting from the [[Burmese–Siamese War (1802–1805)]]
| image4            = Siamese Territory and Dominion in 1805.jpg
}}

Under [[Rama I]] (1782–1809), Rattanakosin successfully defended against Burmese attacks and put an end to Burmese incursions. He also created suzerainty over large portions of Laos and Cambodia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nolan |first=Cathal J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FMJ8KP8i3v0C&pg=PA1653 |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations: S-Z by Cathal J. Nolan |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-313-32383-6 |access-date=21 November 2015 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328150813/https://books.google.com/books?id=FMJ8KP8i3v0C&pg=PA1653 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1821, Briton [[John Crawfurd]] was sent to negotiate a new trade agreement with Siam – the first sign of an issue which was to dominate 19th century Siamese politics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hwa |first=Cheng Siok |year=1971 |title=The Crawford Papers – A Collection of Official Records relating to the Mission of Dr. John Crawfurd sent to Siam by the Government of India in the year 1821 |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=324–325 |doi=10.1017/S0022463400019421|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 }}</ref> Bangkok signed the [[Burney Treaty]] in 1826, after the British victory in the [[First Anglo-Burmese War]].<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|281}} 

[[Anouvong]] of Vientiane, who mistakenly held the belief that Britain was about to launch an invasion of Bangkok, started the [[Lao rebellion (1826–28)|Lao rebellion]] in 1826, which was suppressed.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|283–5}} Vientiane was destroyed and a large number of [[Lao people]] were relocated to [[Khorat Plateau]] as a result.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|285–6}} Bangkok also waged [[Siamese–Vietnamese wars|several wars]] with [[Tây Sơn dynasty|Vietnam]], where Siam successfully regained hegemony over Cambodia.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|290–2}}

From the late 19th century, Siam tried to rule the ethnic groups in the realm as colonies.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|308}} In the reign of [[Mongkut]] (1851–1868), who recognised the potential threat Western powers posed to Siam, his court contacted the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] directly to defuse tensions.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|311}} A British mission led by Sir [[John Bowring]], Governor of [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], led to the signing of the [[Bowring Treaty]], the first of many [[Unequal treaty|unequal treaties]] with Western countries. This, however, brought trade and economic development to Siam.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2004 |title=Ode to Friendship, Celebrating Singapore – Thailand Relations: Introduction |url=http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/html/online_exhibit/odetoFriendship/html/Introduction/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303000031/http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/html/online_exhibit/odetoFriendship/html/Introduction/index.htm |archive-date=3 March 2007 |access-date=24 April 2007 |publisher=National Archives of Singapore}}</ref> The unexpected death of Mongkut from [[malaria]] led to the reign of underage King [[Chulalongkorn]], with [[Somdet Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse]] (Chuang Bunnag) acting as regent.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|327}}

Chulalongkorn ({{Reign|1868|1910}}) initiated centralisation, set up a privy council, and abolished slavery and the [[corvée]] system. The [[Front Palace crisis]] of 1874 stalled attempts at further reforms.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|331–3}} In the 1870s and 1880s, he incorporated the protectorates up north into the kingdom proper, which later expanded to the protectorates in the northeast and the south.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|334–5}} He established twelve ''krom'' in 1888, which were equivalent to present-day ministries.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|347}} The [[Franco-Siamese War|crisis of 1893]] erupted, caused by French demands for Laotian territory east of Mekong.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|350–3}} 

Thailand is the only Southeast Asian state never to have been colonised by a Western power,<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 September 2006 |title=King, country and the coup |work=The Indian Express |location=Mumbai |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/king-country-and-the-coup/13140/0 |url-status=live |access-date=3 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514225625/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/king-country-and-the-coup/13140/0 |archive-date=14 May 2011}}</ref> in part because Britain and France agreed in 1896 to make the [[Chao Phraya]] valley a [[buffer state]].<ref>[http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/docs/fullnames/pdf/1896/TS0005%20(1896)%20C-8010%201896%2015%20JAN,%20LONDON%3B%20DECLARATION%20BETWEEN%20GB%20AND%20FRANCE%20WITH%20REGARD%20TO%20THE%20KINGDOM%20OF%20SIAM%20AND%20OTHER%20MATTERS.pdf ''Declaration between Great Britain and France with regard of the Kingdom of Siam and other matters''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331025152/http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/docs/fullnames/pdf/1896/TS0005%20(1896)%20C-8010%201896%2015%20JAN,%20LONDON%3B%20DECLARATION%20BETWEEN%20GB%20AND%20FRANCE%20WITH%20REGARD%20TO%20THE%20KINGDOM%20OF%20SIAM%20AND%20OTHER%20MATTERS.pdf |date=31 March 2017}} London. 15 January 1896. Treaty Series. No. 5</ref> Not until the 20th century could Siam renegotiate every unequal treaty dating from the Bowring Treaty, including [[extraterritoriality]]. The advent of the ''monthon'' system marked the creation of the modern Thai nation-state.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|362–3}} In 1905, there were unsuccessful rebellions in the ancient [[Patani (historical region)|Patani]] area, Ubon Ratchathani, and Phrae in opposition to an attempt to blunt the power of local lords.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|371–3}}

The [[Palace Revolt of 1912]] was a failed attempt by Western-educated military officers to overthrow the Siamese monarchy.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|397}} [[Vajiravudh]] ({{Reign|1910|1925}}) responded by propaganda for the entirety of his reign,<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|402}} which promoted the [[Thaification|idea of the Thai nation]].<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|404}} In 1917, Siam [[Siam in World War I|joined the First World War]] on the side of [[Allies of World War I|the Allies]].<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|407}} In the aftermath, Siam had a seat at the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]] and gained freedom of taxation and the revocation of extraterritoriality.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|408}}

=== Constitutional monarchy, World War II and Cold War (1932–1975) ===
{{Main|Thailand in World War II|History of Thailand (1932–1973)}}
[[File:Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram.jpg|thumb|200px|Field Marshal [[Plaek Phibunsongkhram]], the longest serving Prime Minister of Thailand]]

A [[Siamese revolution of 1932|bloodless revolution]] took place in 1932, in which [[Prajadhipok]] was forced to grant the country's first constitution, thereby ending centuries of feudal and [[absolute monarchy]]. The combined results of economic hardships brought on by the [[Great Depression]], sharply falling rice prices, and a significant reduction in public spending caused discontent among aristocrats.<ref name="LePoer 1989" />{{rp|25}} 

In 1933, [[Boworadet rebellion|a counter-revolutionary rebellion]] took place to reinstate absolute monarchy, but failed.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|446–8}} Prajadhipok's conflict with the government eventually led to abdication. The government selected [[Ananda Mahidol]], who was studying in Switzerland, to be the new king.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|448–9}}

Later that decade, the army wing of Khana Ratsadon came to dominate Siamese politics. [[Plaek Phibunsongkhram]] who became premier in 1938, started political oppression and took an openly anti-royalist stance.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|457}} His government adopted nationalism and [[Westernisation]], [[Sinophobia|anti-Chinese]] and anti-French policies.<ref name="LePoer 1989" />{{rp|28}}

In 1939, there was a decree changing the name of the country from "Siam" to "Thailand". In 1941, Thailand was in [[Franco–Thai War|a brief conflict]] with [[Vichy France]], resulting in Thailand gaining some Lao and Cambodian territories.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|462}}

On 8 December 1941, [[Japanese invasion of Thailand|the Empire of Japan launched an invasion of Thailand]], and fighting broke out shortly before Phibun ordered an [[armistice]]. Japan was granted free passage, and on 21 December Thailand and Japan signed a military alliance with a secret protocol, wherein the Japanese government agreed to help Thailand regain [[Territorial losses of Thailand|lost territories]].<ref>Werner Gruhl, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ow5Wlmu9MPQC&pg=PA112 Imperial Japan's World War Two, 1931–1945] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328150816/https://books.google.com/books?id=ow5Wlmu9MPQC&pg=PA112#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=28 March 2024 }}'', Transaction Publishers, 2007 {{ISBN|978-0-7658-0352-8}}</ref> 

The Thai government then declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|465}} The United Kingdom, whose colony [[British Malaya|Malaya]] was under immediate threat from Thai forces, responded in kind, but the United States refused to declare war and ignored Thailand's declaration.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fine |first1=Herbert A. |title=The Liquidation of World War II in Thailand |journal=Pacific Historical Review |date=1965 |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=65–82 |doi=10.2307/3636740 |jstor=3636740 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3636740 |issn=0030-8684}}</ref>{{rp|66}} The [[Free Thai Movement]] was launched both in Thailand and abroad to oppose the government and Japanese occupation.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|465–6}} After the war ended in 1945, Thailand signed formal agreements to end the state of war with [[Allies of World War II|the Allies]].

[[File:ATrelations0018a-1.jpg|thumb|200px|King [[Bhumibol Adulyadej]] addresses a [[joint session of the United States Congress]], 1960.]]

In June 1946, young King Ananda was found dead under mysterious circumstances. His younger brother [[Bhumibol Adulyadej]] ascended to the throne. Thailand joined the [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization]] (SEATO) to become an active ally of the United States in 1954.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|493}} Field Marshal [[Sarit Thanarat]] launched a coup in 1957, which removed Khana Ratsadon from politics. His rule (premiership 1959–1963) was autocratic; he built his legitimacy around the god-like status of the monarch and by channelling the government's loyalty to the king.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|511}} His government improved the country's infrastructure and education.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|514}} After the United States joined the [[Vietnam War]] in 1961, there was a secret agreement wherein the U.S. promised to protect Thailand.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|523}}

The period brought about increasing [[modernisation]] and [[Westernisation]] of Thai society. Rapid [[urbanisation]] occurred when the rural populace sought work in growing cities. Rural farmers gained [[class consciousness]] and were sympathetic to the [[Communist Party of Thailand]].<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|528}} Economic development and education enabled the rise of a middle class in Bangkok and other cities.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|534}} In October 1971, there was a [[1973 Thai popular uprising|large demonstration]] against the dictatorship of [[Thanom Kittikachorn]] (premiership 1963–1973), which led to civilian casualties.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|541–3}} Bhumibol installed [[Sanya Dharmasakti]] (premiership 1973–1975) to replace him, marking the first time that the king had intervened in Thai politics directly since 1932.<ref name="Britannica" /> The aftermath of the event marked a short-lived parliamentary democracy,<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |title=The 1973 revolution and its aftermath |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/The-postwar-crisis-and-the-return-of-Phibunsongkhram#ref52685 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411132934/https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/The-postwar-crisis-and-the-return-of-Phibunsongkhram#ref52685 |archive-date=11 April 2019 |access-date=23 August 2019 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> often called the "era when democracy blossomed" (ยุคประชาธิปไตยเบ่งบาน).{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

=== Contemporary history ===
{{main|History of Thailand (1973–2001)|History of Thailand (2001–present)}}
{{see also|South Thailand insurgency}}
Constant unrest and instability, as well as fear of a communist takeover after the [[fall of Saigon]], made some ultra-right groups brand leftist students as communists.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|548}} This culminated in the [[6 October 1976 massacre|Thammasat University massacre]] in October 1976.<ref name="Wyatt 2013" />{{rp|548–9}} A coup d'état on that day brought Thailand a new ultra-right government, which cracked down on media outlets, officials, and intellectuals, and fuelled the [[Communist insurgency in Thailand|communist insurgency]]. Another coup the following year installed a more moderate government, which offered amnesty to communist fighters in 1978.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 December 1982 |title=Thailand ..Communists Surrender En Masse |work=Ottawa Citizen |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2r4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ee8FAAAAIBAJ&dq=thai%20communists&pg=1189%2C1418196 |access-date=8 August 2023 |archive-date=1 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401005725/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2r4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ee8FAAAAIBAJ&dq=thai%20communists&pg=1189%2C1418196 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Fuelled by [[Indochina refugee crisis]], [[Vietnamese border raids in Thailand|Vietnamese border raids]] and economic hardships, [[Prem Tinsulanonda]] became the Prime Minister from 1980 to 1988. The communists abandoned the insurgency by 1983. Prem's premiership was dubbed "[[semi-democracy]]" because the Parliament was composed of all elected House and all appointed Senate. The 1980s also saw increasing intervention in politics by the monarch, who rendered two coups in [[1981 Thai military rebellion|1981]] and [[1985 Thai coup d'état attempt|1985]] attempts against Prem failed. In 1988 Thailand had its first elected prime minister since 1976.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Partial democracy and the search for a new political order |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/The-postwar-crisis-and-the-return-of-Phibunsongkhram#ref52686 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323005841/https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand/The-postwar-crisis-and-the-return-of-Phibunsongkhram#ref52686 |archive-date=23 March 2018 |access-date=11 March 2018 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

[[Suchinda Kraprayoon]], who was [[National Peace Keeping Council|the coup leader in 1991]] and said he would not seek to become prime minister,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asw |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Asw-11.htm |access-date=8 August 2023 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210000526/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Asw-11.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> was nominated as one by the majority coalition government after the [[March 1992 Thai general election|1992 general election]]. This caused a popular demonstration in Bangkok, which ended with [[Black May (1992)|a bloody military crackdown]]. Bhumibol intervened in the event and signed an amnesty law, Suchinda then resigned.<ref>{{Cite report |date=October 1992 |title=Thailand: The massacre in Bangkok |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/asa390101992en.pdf |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=8 August 2023 |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810080801/https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/asa390101992en.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[1997 Asian financial crisis]] originated in Thailand and ended the country's 40 years of uninterrupted economic growth.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Warr |first=Peter |title=Thailand Beyond the Crisis |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge Curzon |isbn=978-1-134-54151-5}}</ref>{{rp|3}} [[Chuan Leekpai]]'s government took an [[IMF]] loan with unpopular provisions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thailand Letter of Intent, November 25, 1997 |url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/112597.htm |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=imf.org |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102162353/https://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/112597.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami]] hit the country, mostly in the south, claiming around 5,400 lives in [[Phuket]], [[Phang Nga]], [[Ranong]], [[Krabi]], [[Trang province|Trang]], and [[Satun]], with thousands still missing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-26 |title=Concerns arise over warning systems as Boxing Day marks 19 years since 2004 tsunami |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40034141 |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=nationthailand |language=en-US}}</ref>

The populist [[Thai Rak Thai party]], led by prime minister [[Thaksin Shinawatra]], governed from 2001 until 2006. His policies were successful in reducing rural poverty<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thailand Economic Monitor, November 2005 |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTHAILAND/Resources/Economic-Monitor/2005nov-econ-full-report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902021039/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTHAILAND/Resources/Economic-Monitor/2005nov-econ-full-report.pdf |archive-date=2 September 2009 |access-date=19 February 2010}}</ref> and initiated [[universal healthcare]] in the country.<ref>Na Ranong, Viroj, Na Ranong, Anchana, Universal Health Care Coverage: Impacts of the 30-Baht Health Care Scheme on the Rural Poor in Thailand, TDRI Quarterly Review, September 2006</ref> However, Thaksin was viewed as a corrupt populist who was destroying the middle class in order to favour himself and the rural poor. He also faced criticism over his response to a [[South Thailand insurgency]] which escalated starting from 2004. Additionally, his recommendations to the rural poor directly conflicted with King Bhumibol's recommendations, drawing the ire of royalists, a powerful faction in Thailand. In response, the royalists made up a story about how Thaskin and his "advisors gathered in Finland to plot the overthrow of the monarchy". 

Meanwhile, massive protests against Thaksin led by the [[People's Alliance for Democracy]] (PAD) started in his second term as prime minister. Eventually, the monarchy and the military agree to oust the leader. In this case, the military first sought permission from the king to oust Thaksin, the permission was denied. But then, the king rejected Thaksin's choice to lead the army, allowing a military leader to be put into power who wanted the coup.<sup>1</sup> Then, the army dissolved Thaksin's party with [[2006 Thai coup d'état|a coup d'état in 2006]] and banned over a hundred of its executives from politics. After the coup, a military government was installed which lasted a year.'''<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Phongpaichit |first=Pasuk |date=December 2008 |title=Thailand: Fighting Over Democracy. |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=43 |issue=50 |pages=18–21 }}</ref>'''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Connors |first=Michael K. |date=28 November 2008 |title=Thailand-Four elections and a coup |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10357710802480717 |url-status=live |journal=Australian Journal of International Affairs |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=478, 483–484 |doi=10.1080/10357710802480717 |issn=1035-7718 |s2cid=154415628 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811000243/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10357710802480717 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref>
[[File:2010 09 19 red shirt protest bkk 09.JPG|thumb|right|[[United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship]], Red Shirts, [[2010 Thai political protests|protest]] in 2010]]
Coming back to democracy was a process that took very active participation of the people. The people frequently stormed government buildings and the military threatened yet another coup.'''<ref name=":2" />''' Finally, in 2007, a civilian government led by the Thaksin-allied [[People's Power Party (Thailand)|People's Power Party]] (PPP) was [[2007 Thai general election|elected]]. [[2008 Thai political crisis|Another protest led by PAD]] ended with the dissolution of PPP, and the [[Democrat Party (Thailand)|Democrat Party]] led a coalition government in its place. The pro-Thaksin [[United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship]] (UDD) protested both [[2009 Thai political unrest|in 2009]] and [[2010 Thai political protests|in 2010]], the latter of which ended with [[2010 Thai military crackdown|a violent military crackdown]] causing more than 70 civilian deaths.<ref>Erawan EMS Center, [http://www.ems.bangkok.go.th/report/totaldead7-6-53.pdf รายชื่อผู้เสียชีวิตจากสถานการณ์การชุมนุมของกลุมนปช.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306172538/http://www.ems.bangkok.go.th/report/totaldead7-6-53.pdf |date=6 March 2012 }}</ref>

After [[2011 Thai general election|the general election of 2011]], the [[Populism|populist]] [[Pheu Thai Party]] won a majority. [[Yingluck Shinawatra]], Thaksin's younger sister, became prime minister. The [[People's Democratic Reform Committee]] organised [[2013–2014 Thai political crisis|another anti-Shinawatra protest]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=PDRC leaders jailed for terrorism, insurrection over street rallies|work=Bangkok Post |date=24 February 2021 |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2073863/pdrc-leaders-jailed-for-terrorism-insurrection-over-street-rallies |access-date=2024-01-03 |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103121428/https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2073863/pdrc-leaders-jailed-for-terrorism-insurrection-over-street-rallies |url-status=live }}</ref> after the ruling party proposed an amnesty bill which would benefit Thaksin.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 November 2013 |title=Protests as Thailand senators debate amnesty bill |work=The Guardian |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/11/thailand-protests-amnesty-bill |url-status=live |access-date=10 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203121817/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/11/thailand-protests-amnesty-bill |archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref> Yingluck dissolved parliament and [[2014 Thai general election|a general election]] was scheduled, but was invalidated by the [[Constitutional Court of Thailand|Constitutional Court]]. The [[2013–2014 Thai political crisis|crisis]] ended with [[2014 Thai coup d'état|another coup d'état in 2014]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prasirtsuk |first1=Kitti |title=Thailand in 2014: Another Coup, a Different Coup? |journal=Asian Survey |date=2015 |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=200–206 |doi=10.1525/as.2015.55.1.200 |jstor=10.1525/as.2015.55.1.200 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/as.2015.55.1.200 |access-date=3 June 2024 |issn=0004-4687}}</ref>

The ensuing [[National Council for Peace and Order]], a military junta led by General [[Prayut Chan-o-cha]], led the country until 2019. Civil and political rights were restricted, and the country saw a surge in ''[[Lèse-majesté in Thailand|lèse-majesté]]'' cases. Political opponents and dissenters were sent to "attitude adjustment" camps;<ref name="Beech 2019">{{Cite news |last=Beech |first=Hannah |date=8 February 2019 |title=Thailand's King Rejects His Sister's Candidacy for Prime Minister |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/world/asia/thailand-prime-minister-princess.html |url-status=live |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213075249/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/world/asia/thailand-prime-minister-princess.html |archive-date=13 February 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> this was described by academics as showing the rise of fascism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=James |date=1 September 2021 |title=Thailand's new right, social cleansing and the continuing military–monarchy entente |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2057891120980835 |url-status=live |journal=Asian Journal of Comparative Politics |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=253–273 |doi=10.1177/2057891120980835 |issn=2057-8911 |s2cid=234182253 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118123729/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2057891120980835 |archive-date=18 November 2021 |access-date=18 November 2021}}</ref> Bhumibol, the longest-reigning Thai king, died in 2016, and his son [[Vajiralongkorn]] ascended to the throne. The referendum and adoption of Thailand's current constitution happened under the junta's rule.{{efn-lr|The [[2016 Thai constitutional referendum]] was held on 7 August 2016. Its ratification was held on 6 April 2017.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/06/522878983/thai-king-signs-military-backed-constitution Thai King Signs Military-Backed Constitution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410100145/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/06/522878983/thai-king-signs-military-backed-constitution |date=10 April 2019 }}, [[NPR]], 6 April 2017</ref>}} The junta also bound future governments to a 20-year national strategy 'road map' it laid down, effectively locking the country into [[Guided democracy|military-guided democracy]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Montesano |first=Michael J. |year=2019 |title=The Place of the Provinces in Thailand's Twenty-Year National Strategy: Toward Community Democracy in a Commercial Nation? |url=https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/ISEAS_Perspective_2019_60.pdf |url-status=live |journal=ISEAS Perspective |volume=2019 |issue=60 |pages=1–11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913092250/https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/ISEAS_Perspective_2019_60.pdf |archive-date=13 September 2020 |access-date=23 August 2020}}</ref> 

In 2019, the junta agreed to schedule [[2019 Thai general election|a general election in March]].<ref name="Beech 2019" /> Prayut continued his premiership with the support of [[Palang Pracharath Party]]-coalition in the House and junta-appointed Senate, amid allegations of election fraud.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 March 2019 |title=Thailand election results delayed as allegations of cheating grow |publisher=ABC News|location=Australia |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-25/thailand-election-results-delayed-concerns-over-irregularities/10937910 |url-status=live |access-date=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326035848/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-25/thailand-election-results-delayed-concerns-over-irregularities/10937910 |archive-date=26 March 2019}}</ref> The [[2020–2021 Thai protests|2020–21 pro-democracy protests]] were triggered by increasing [[royal prerogative]], democratic and economic regression from the [[Royal Thai Armed Forces]] supported by the monarchy in the wake of the [[2014 Thai coup d'état|coup d'état in 2014]], dissolution of the pro-democracy [[Future Forward Party]], distrust in the [[2019 Thai general election|2019 general election]] and the current political system, forced disappearance and deaths of political activists including [[Wanchalearm Satsaksit]], and political corruption scandals,<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 August 2020 |title=Thai protesters stage biggest anti-government demonstration in years |publisher=France 24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200816-thai-protesters-stage-biggest-anti-government-demonstration-in-years |url-status=live |access-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923205757/https://www.france24.com/en/20200816-thai-protesters-stage-biggest-anti-government-demonstration-in-years |archive-date=23 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=27 August 2020 |title=Thailand: youthful protesters break the kingdom's biggest political taboo |work=Financial Times|location=London |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e2e921b6-ff7d-4432-b272-959bc4f9ecc5 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/e2e921b6-ff7d-4432-b272-959bc4f9ecc5 |archive-date=10 December 2022}}</ref> which brought forward unprecedented demands to reform the monarchy<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 August 2020 |title=[Full statement] The demonstration at Thammasat proposes monarchy reform |work=Prachatai English |url=https://prachatai.com/english/node/8709 |url-status=live |access-date=23 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820123613/https://prachatai.com/english/node/8709 |archive-date=20 August 2020}}</ref> and the highest sense of [[republicanism]] in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cunningham |first=Philip J |title=An unexpectedly successful protest |work=Bangkok Post |date=23 September 2020 |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1990175/an-unexpectedly-successful-protest |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108024423/https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1990175/an-unexpectedly-successful-protest |archive-date=8 November 2020}}</ref>

In May 2023, Thailand's reformist opposition, the progressive [[Move Forward Party]] (MFP) and the populist [[Pheu Thai Party]], won the [[2023 Thai general election|general election]], meaning the royalist-military parties that supported Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha lost power.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rasheed |first=Zaheena |title='Impressive victory': Thai opposition crushes military parties|publisher=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/14/thailand-election-results-what-we-know-so-far |access-date=1 September 2023 |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825090233/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/14/thailand-election-results-what-we-know-so-far |url-status=live }}</ref> On 22 August 2023, [[Srettha Thavisin]] of the populist Pheu Thai party, became Thailand's new prime minister, while the Pheu Thai party's billionaire figurehead Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand after years in self-imposed exile.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Srettha Thavisin elected Thailand PM as Thaksin returns from exile|publisher=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/22/srettha-thavisin-elected-thailand-pm-as-thaksin-returns-from-exile |access-date=1 September 2023 |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901094625/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/22/srettha-thavisin-elected-thailand-pm-as-thaksin-returns-from-exile |url-status=live }}</ref> Thavisin was later dismissed from his prime ministerial role on 14 August 2024 by the [[Constitutional Court of Thailand|Constitutional Court]] for his "gross ethics violations".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wongcha-um |first1=Panu |last2=Setboonsarng |first2=Chayut |date=August 14, 2024 |title=Thai court dismisses PM Srettha over cabinet appointment |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/judgment-day-thai-pm-srettha-court-rules-dismissal-case-2024-08-13/ |url-access=limited |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref>