Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932)

Rattanakosin Kingdom[a]
อาณาจักรรัตนโกสินทร์ (Thai)
Anachak Rattanakosin

Kingdom of Siam[b]
ราชอาณาจักรสยาม (Thai)
Ratcha-anachak Sayam
1782–1932
Top: Flag
(1832–1916)
Bottom: Flag
(1917–1932)

Top: Coat of arms
(1873–1910)
Bottom: Emblem
(1911–1932)
Motto: 
  • สพฺเพสํ สงฺฆภูตานํ สามคฺคี วุฑฺฒิ สาธิกา
  • Sabbesaṃ Saṅghabhūtānaṃ Sāmaggī Vuḍḍhi Sādhikā (Pāḷi)
  • "Unity Amongst Those Uniting Brings About Success and Prosperity"
Anthem: 
  • จอมราชจงเจริญ
    Chom Rat Chong Charoen
    "Long Live the Great King"
    (1852–1871)
  • บุหลันลอยเลื่อน
    Bulan Loi Luean
    "The Floating Moon on the Sky"
    (1871–1888)
  • สรรเสริญพระบารมี
    Sansoen Phra Barami
    "Glorify His Prestige"
    (1888–1932)
CapitalBangkok
Official languagesThai (Siamese)
Spoken languages
Central Thai, Southern Thai, Northern Thai, Lao, Khmer, Malay, Various Chinese languages[2]
Religion
Demonym(s)Siamese
Government
Monarch 
• 1782–1809 (first)
Phutthayotfa Chulalok
• 1809–1824
Phutthaloetla Naphalai
• 1824–1851
Nangklao
• 1851–1868
Mongkut
• 1868–1910
Chulalongkorn
• 1910–1925
Vajiravudh
• 1925–1932 (last)
Prajadhipok
Viceroy 
• 1782–1803 (first)
Maha Sura Singhanat
• 1868–1885 (last)
Wichaichan
LegislatureNone[c]
Historical eraEarly modern era, modern period
• Establishment
6 April 1782
• Nine Armies' Wars
1785–1786
• Burney Treaty
20 June 1826
• Lao Rebellion
1826–1828
• Vietnamese–Siamese War
1841–1845
• Westernization and nationalism
1851–1932
• Bowring Treaty
18 April 1855
• Front Palace Crisis
1874–1875
• Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893
July–October 1893
• Palace Revolt
1 April 1912
• Declarations of war on Germany and Austria-Hungary
22 July 1917
• Siamese revolution
24 June 1932
Population
• Early 19th century[4][5][6][d]
1,000,000–4,000,000
• 1929[7]
11,506,207
Currency
Time zoneUTC+07:00 (ICT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy (CS (until 1889), RE (from 1889-1912), BE (from 1912))
Calling code+66
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Thonburi Kingdom
Kingdom of Chiang Mai
Kingdom of Vientiane
Kingdom of Luang Phrabang
Kingdom of Champasak
Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom
Kingdom of Siam
British Malaya
French Indochina
British Burma
Today part of
  1. ^ This historical period is more colloquially referred to as the Rattanakosin period in Thailand. The term Rattanakosin can still refer to Thailand today, since Bangkok is still its capital.
  2. ^ Beginning with the Bowring Treaty of 1855, the country was referred to as the "Kingdom of Siam" in diplomatic treaties.[1]
  3. ^ From 1925 to 1932, it had an established legislative council called Supreme Council of State of Siam, although it had no legislative powers.
  4. ^ 1800 (Lieberman), early 19th century (Baker-Phongpaichit).

The Rattanakosin Kingdom,[i] also known as the Kingdom of Siam[ii] after 1855, refers to the Siamese kingdom between 1782 and 1932.[8][9] It was founded in 1782 with the establishment of Rattanakosin (Bangkok), which replaced the city of Thonburi as the capital of Siam. This article covers the period until the Siamese revolution of 1932.

The kingdom governed based on the mandala system. This allows for high-autonomy locally with the kingdom influencing and effectively rule its area of suzerainty. At its zenith in 1805-1812, the Kingdom was composed of 25 polities, ranging from duchies and principalities to federations and kingdoms. With the furthest extent reaching the Shan States, southern Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia, northern [[Si Rat and Kawthoung. The kingdom was founded by Rama I of the Chakri dynasty. The first half of this period was characterized by the consolidation of Siamese power in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia and was punctuated by contests and wars for regional supremacy with rival powers Burma and Vietnam.[10] The second period was one of engagements with the colonial powers of Britain and France in which Siam remained the only Southeast Asian state to maintain its independence.[11]

Internally, the kingdom developed into a centralized, absolutist, nation state with borders defined by interactions with Western powers. The period was marked by the increased centralization of the monarch's powers, the abolition of labor control, the transition to an agrarian economy, the expansion of control over distant tributary states, the creation of a monolithic national identity, and the emergence of an urban middle class. However, the failure to implement democratic reforms culminated in the Siamese revolution of 1932 and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.[3]

  1. ^ Silpa-1 (6 July 2017). ""สยาม" ถูกใช้เรียกชื่อประเทศเป็นทางการสมัยรัชกาลที่ 4". ศิลปวัฒนธรรม (in Thai). Retrieved 10 August 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Lieberman, Victor (2003). Strange Parallels: Volume 1, Integration on the Mainland: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830 (Studies in Comparative World History) (Kindle ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521800860.
  3. ^ a b c Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk. A History of Thailand 4th edition. Cambridge University Press.
  4. ^ Lieberman, Victor (2003). Strange Parallels: Volume 1, Integration on the Mainland: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830 (Studies in Comparative World History) (Kindle ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 295. ISBN 978-0521800860. "Siam's population must have increased from c. 2,500,000 in 1600 to 4,000,000 in 1800."
  5. ^ Thailand, economy and politics. Kuala Lumpur; New York : Oxford University Press. 1995. ISBN 978-967-65-3097-4.
  6. ^ Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2022). A History of Thailand. Cambridge University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-009-01483-0. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Number of population in Thailand : 1911–1990 census years". web.nso.go.th. National Statistical Office. 2004. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  8. ^ Lieberman, Victor B.; Victor, Lieberman (2014). Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830. Cambridge University Press. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-511-65854-9.
  9. ^ Wyatt, David K. (2003). Thailand: A Short History. Yale University Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-300-08475-7.
  10. ^ Lieberman, Victor B.; Victor, Lieberman (2014). Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-65854-9.
  11. ^ Stricklin, William A. (7 February 2020). The Prince and I - Miss Olive. Dorrance. ISBN 978-1-64530-432-6.


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