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Wat Arun. The Tai or Thai ethnic group migrated into mainland Southeast Asia over a period of centuries. The word Siam (Thai: สยาม RTGS: Sayam) may have originated from Pali (suvaṇṇabhūmi, "land of gold"), Sanskrit श्याम (śyāma, "dark"), or Mon ရာမည (rhmañña, "stranger"), with likely the same root as Shan and Ahom.
Vajiravudh's profligacy has been cited in most historiographies as the root of Siam's subsequent financial crisis [74] but Siam's fragile economy itself also played the part. Siam did not undergo industrialization due to lack of technological progress and remained an export-oriented agrarian economy.
Thailand [i] was known by outsiders prior to 1939 as Siam. [ii] According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means 'free man' in the Thai language, "differentiating the Thai from the natives encompassed in Thai society as serfs".
The lèse-majesté law is part of Thailand's criminal-law code and has been described as the "world's harshest lèse majesté law" [21] and "possibly the strictest criminal-defamation law anywhere". [22] Political scientist Giles Ungpakorn noted that "the lèse-majesté laws are not really designed to protect the institution of the monarchy. In ...
It ended Siam's centuries-long absolute monarchy rule under the Chakri dynasty and resulted in a bloodless transition of Siam into a constitutional monarchy, the introduction of democracy and the first constitution, and the creation of the National Assembly. Dissatisfaction caused by the economic crisis, the lack of a competent government, and ...
Wats became centers of Thai education and culture, while during this period the Chinese first began to settle in Thailand and soon began to establish control over the country's economic life. [126] The Chinese were not obliged to register for corvée duty, so they were free to move about the kingdom at will and engage in commerce.
Thailand's effort to persuade its neighbours to re-engage with Myanmar's ostracised ruling generals has received a lukewarm response, with concern that it could undermine the official peace effort ...
Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage ...