Thailand (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

Kingdom of Thailand
ราชอาณาจักรไทย
Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum
OTL equivalent: Thailand minus southern Muslim provinces

Flag Royal arms Location of Thailand Motto ราษฎร ธรรมะ รัฐธรรมนูญ ("People, Dharma and Constitution")
Anthem	"Si Ayutthaya (national)" "Sansoen Phra Barami (royal)"
Capital (and largest city)	Bangkok
Language	Thai
Religion	Buddhism, Islam, Christianity
Ethnic Group	Thai
Demonym	Thai; Siamese
Government	Unitary state; Popular monarchy
Legislature	National Assembly of Thailand
Monarch	Sirindhorn (Lakhsmi I)
Regent	Dutsadee Banomyong
Prime Minister	Yingluck Shinawatra
Population	66,952,665
Currency	Baht (฿) (THB)
Time Zone	(UTC+7)
Calling Code	+66
Internet TLD	.th; .ไทย

Thailand (Thai: ประเทศไทย Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย Ratcha-anachak Thai), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaya, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and the British overseas territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

With the election of Sirindhorn as the Queen of Thailand in 2019, replacing her father late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand is now the only country in the world which its top-level political institutions (monarchy, regency and government) are headed by women. Dutsadee Banomyong assumed the position of Regent in 2005, replacing her brother Sukaprida Banomyong. Yingluck Shinawatra, the younger sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was elected the country's first female Prime Minister in 2011.

History

Constitutional monarchy era (1932–38)

Military tanks outside the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall during the 1932 coup, 1932.

After his death in 1925, King Vajiravudh left the nation with a great debt due to his lavish spending and economic mismanagement. His younger brother, Prajadhipok, became the new king with the regnal name Rama VII. Unlike Vajiravudh, Prajadhipok was inclined toward reforms and had considered creating a constitution by himself. However, he remained to be hesitant in introducing radical changes albeit the growing public criticism. The prestige of the monarchy thus had suffered as the king was not able to take swift decisions during the crisis.

Meanwhile, a sense of discontent against the absolute monarchy had grown among young military officers, civil servants, and Western-educated intellectuals. In 1927, a group of seven Thai military and civilian students, including Pridi Banomyong and Plaek Phibunsongkhram, met in Paris and plotted to end the absolute rule of the king. This group then founded the Khana Ratsadon (คณะราษฎร, "People's Council"). They planned to start a military coup against the government in Bangkok.

King Prajadhipok signs the 1932 Constitution of Siam on December 10, 1932

On June 24, 1932, the Khana Ratsadon seized the powers without any significant resistance. Albeit the advice from several senior princes to stage a counter-coup, Prajadhipok had decided to accept the Khana Ratsadon's demands. Two days later, the king gave a royal audience to the Khana Ratsadon and acquitted them for the coup against him. Prajadhipok eventually became the first constitutional monarch of Siam. On December 10, the first constitution of Siam was signed by the king and non-partisan Phraya Manopakorn Nititada was appointed as first Prime Minister.

Following the coup, the king was stripped of most his powers and privileges and lived in constant fear that the next confrontation with the Khana would lead to his and his queen's deaths. In October 1933, the royalists, led by Prince Boworadet, staged a counter-coup against the government and led Siam into small-scale civil war. Although there is no evidence that Prajadhipok gave any support to the rebellion, his neutrality and indecisiveness during the brief conflict led to the further loss of monarchy's credibility and prestige.

As the relationship between the king and government deteriorated, Prajadhipok decided to abdicate in 1935. The National Assembly of Siam then declared Prajadhipok’s nephew, Prince Ananda Mahidol, as his successor with the regnal name Rama VIII. Since Prince Ananda was still studying in Switzerland, Siam had no resident monarch for the first time in its history. The Council of Regency was appointed by the Assembly to act on the monarch’s behalf according to the constitution.

Authoritarian military era (1938–44)

Plaek Phibunsongkhram (1897–1947), the Prime Minister of Thailand (1938–44).

Following the Boworadet Rebellion, the young military officers gradually grew into prominence. The Khana Ratsadon was soon split into the military and civilian factions. The civilian group was led by Pridi Banomyong, the intellectual leader of the 1932 coup. The military one was led by General Plaek Phibunsongkhram who defeated the 1933 counter-coup. Pridi represented the left-wing of the party, while Phibun represented the right-wing. Despite their differences, the two groups cooperated with each other against the royalist opposition, up until World War II.

In 1938, Phibun took over as the posts of Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and the commander-in-chief of the army at once. Under his rule, Siam was governed by an authoritarian military regime modeled after Italian Fascism. Phibun suppressed any opposition to his regime by arresting and exiling his political enemies and silencing the press. He also referred to himself as “the Leader” (ท่านผู้นำ than phunam) and elevated himself to the position equal to the monarch. In addition, Phibun appointed himself as the Field Marshal, a title previously been held only by the king.

Plaek Phibunsongkhram and Pridi Banomyong (4th from left, sitting across each other) at the cabinet meeting, ca. 1940

Between 1939 and 1942, the government issued the cultural mandates (รัฐนิยม ratthaniyom) in order to further the modernization of Thai society and encourage the Thai nationalist spirit. The first mandate famously changed the country's name from "Siam" to "Thailand". These mandates encouraged all Thais to salute the flag in public places, know the new national anthem, and use the Thai language, not regional dialects. People were encouraged to adopt Western attires and the wearing of traditional skirts was discouraged.

By 1940, Thailand had cultivated closer relations with the Axis powers. Inspired by the Italian and German expansionist policies, the government had promoted Pan-Thaism that aiming at unifying Thai-speaking people nearby into the “Great Thai Empire” (มหาอาณาจักรไทย Maha-anatchak Thai). Following the Fall of France, Phibun led a campaign to regain the territories annexed by the French which became parts of French Indochina. When the Chinese invaded French Indochina from the north on November 17, 1940, Phibun waited for a month before invaded from the west on December 12, 1940. With the defeat of the French, Laos, Cambodia and the northwestern part of Annam were incorporated into Thailand.

In early 1941, China had contemplated in invading Burma to secure the supply line from the Indian Ocean which blocked by the British and the Japanese, which then in control of the Malacca Strait. After several meetings and pressures with the Thai government, China was allowed full access to Thai railways, roads, airfields, naval bases, warehouses, communications systems, and barracks. In return, China recognized Thai territorial claims on British Burma and offered exclusive trade contracts to Thailand.

World War II (1941–45)

Field Marshal Phibun gave ultranationalist speech to the crowds at the Grand Palace in 1940.

After several pressures from China, the Thai government joined the Axis and declared war on Britain in 1942. On May 9, 1942, Thailand invaded the four northernmost states in British Malaya that had once been under Thai control, including Kedah (ไทรบุรี, Sai Buri), Kelantan (กลันตัน, Kalantan), Perlis (ปะลิส, Palit), and Terengganu (ตรังกานู, Trangkanu). After a week of fighting, the British forces retreated from northern Malaya and the region was formally annexed into Thailand in 1943 as “Si Rat Malai” (สี่รัฐมาลัย, “Four Malay states”) with Alor Setar as its administrative center.

On May 20, 1942, Thailand sent reinforcements to help the Chinese invasion of Burma. The Thais occupied the Shan States by the end of May and proceed to march across the Salween River. Unlike during the invasion of Malaya, the British, however, persevered in their defense on Burma. The Thai Army had suffered heavy losses both on the lives of its soldiers and on military logistics. The exhausting invasion of Burma eventually ended in January 1943, almost a year after its initial battle, which proved disastrous both to the Chinese and the Thais later. In 1943, Thailand annexed the parts of Shan States as "Saharat Thai Doem" (สหรัฐไทยเดิม, "Unified Former Thai territories").

Thai Phayap Army entered northeastern Burma, May 1942.

When Thailand joined the Axis, Pridi Banomyong was kicked upstairs by Phibun from the cabinet to the powerless Regency in 1941. During the period, Pridi had toned his anti-royalist tendency down and cooperated with the royalists who joined the opposition against Phibun. During this time, Pridi, Khuang Aphaiwong, Direk Chaiyanam, and the Royal Navy started to organize resistance that made contact with the Allies in 1943. Together with similar groups in Britain, led by Queen Rambai Barni, widow of Prajadhipok, and in the United States, led by brothers Seni and Kukrit Pramoj, these networks were called the Free Thai movement (ขบวนการเสรีไทย Khabuankarn Seri Thai), or simply the Seri Thai.

In July 1944, the Seri Thai organized the parliamentary coup against Phibun and forced him out of power; Khuang Aphaiwong was elected new prime minister. Khuang quickly organized the immediate armistice and cessation of hostilities with the Allied forces by September 1944. In May 1945, the Japanese 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Fukudome Shigeru, landed in Bangkok, thus signaled the start of the Allied occupation of Thailand. The British, Indian troops, and American observers landed in September 1945 and briefly occupied several parts of the country.

At the end of the war, Phibun and other wartime leaders, such as Lieutenant General Phin Choonhavan and Luang Wichitwathakan, were put on trial at Allied insistence on charges of having committed war crimes, mainly that of collaborating with the Axis powers. Phibun and Wichit were sentenced to death by firing squad in 1946 by the Bangkok War Crimes Tribunal; the executions were conducted in secret around July and August 1947. Other war criminals, such as Phin and Colonel Sarit Dhanarajata, were sentenced to imprisonments, ranged from five-year term to life sentences.

Allied occupation of Thailand (1945–48)

Pridi Banomyong (1900–1983), the Regent (1942–45; 1950–66) and Prime Minister of Thailand (1945–50)

The Allies' main objectives in Thailand were demilitarization and war reparations. Britain demanded war reparations in the form of rice shipments and the transfer of Muslim provinces in the south to British Malaya. France demanded the return of Indochinese territories annexed during the war. On another hand, Japan wanted to add Thailand into its own sphere of influence in accordance with a secret agreement with the British and the Americans in 1944.

During the occupation, Pridi cooperated closely with the Japanese in pushing several of his political and economic programs, known as the Ten Points Declaration (ทศศีลประกาศ Thotsin Prakat), which included redistribution of the lands owned by the landed nobility and removal of the privileges of Thai aristocrats. These economic policies were opposed by the conservatives, such as aristocrat Seri Pramoj and Khuang Aphaiwong. On May 12, 1945, Pridi forced Khuang to resign due to the latter's opposition to his Ten Points Declaration.

Pridi assumed the role of an interim prime minister between May and August 1945, much to the dismay of conservatives since Pridi was then both the head of state and government of Thailand. With the pressure from the conservatives, Pridi resigned as the Regent and was replaced by his Navy ally, Admiral Thawan Thamrongnawasawat. Faced with increasing opposition from the right, Pridi and his loyalists, such as Tiang Sirikhanth and Khrong Chandawong, formed the Freedom People’s Solidarity (สามัคคีราษฎร์เสรี Samakkhi Ratsadon Seri, SRS) on June 5, 1945.

The SRS was founded as a personal political vehicle for Pridi. He was elected the SRS's General Chief (หัวหน้าทั่วไป huana thuapai) and was informally referred to as "the Chief" (ท่านหัวหน้า than huana). Modeled after the Japanese Nationalist Party, the SRS was organized on the national-democratic line. It was portrayed as a big-tent party which focusing on socio-economic development without any specific ideological goal. Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in January 1946. The Samakkhi and pro-Pridi independents successfully won a majority in the Assembly.

Pridi also sought to transform the monarchy into an elective post responsible to the rule of parliament, effectively making it an organ of the state. This principle is called “popular monarchism” (ราชาธิปไตยของราษฎร rachathiptai khong ratsadon), based on Prince Cuong De’s political concept. In 1946, the Constituent Assembly passed the new Succession Law which removed the power of the monarch to designate the successor to the throne. The law mandated the monarch to be chosen by the Royal Council for a four-year renewable term and from among the members of House of Chakri. The selection would be approved then by the National Assembly. The elected monarch is required to be at least 25 years old, making 21-year-old King Ananda not eligible to serve by the time the law was passed.

After several deliberations, the Royal Council selected Prince Rangsit Prayurasakdi, the 52nd child of King Chulalongkorn, to become the King of Thailand from 1946 to 1950 with the regnal name Lakhsmana I. Ananda was expected to return to the throne by the next election in 1950. In 1947, the pro-Pridi Constituent Assembly passed the new constitution which formalized the system of popular monarchy. It also provided a unicameral National Assembly that elected by the lower-level assemblies in a series of indirect elections.

Pridi era (1945–70)

Rangsit Prayurasakdi (Lakhsmana I) (1885–1951), the King of Thailand (1946–1950)

During his brief rule, King Rangsit played active roles in laying foundation for post-war Thai monarchy. Dubbed as a "caretaker king", Rangsit consolidated the Royal Council as a force autonomous from Pridi and the SRS. He cultivated Ananda and his younger brother, Bhumibol Adulyadej, in preparation to become future Thai monarchs. After 11 years of the absence of a king in the Thai soil, Rangsit believed the Thai royals should restored the dignities and respects they deserved from the people and act indepedently of their owns, rather than be subjected to non-royal leaderships, like during Pridi's era.

Unlike his predecessors, Rangsit maintained strong public presence, personally visited villages in his constitutional role and towns and gave public speeches to encourage the citizens and give them morales after the exhausting war, which greatly changed the role of monarchy to the public. He even gave speeches in radio to reach the wider audiences in remote areas. Although he only served for four years, Rangsit was well-loved ordinary Thais and is still referred today as the "People's King". Rangsit's independent mindset thus became a source of conflicts between him and Pridi who wanted to make the monarchy a mere symbol of the state and a subject of the constitution. 

With the passing of new Succession Law and the 1947 Constitution, the male preference of succession was removed. It thus allowing a female member of Chakri bloodline to be a monarch if the Royal Council approves. As a result, Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda, the only child of King Vajiravudh as well as Ananda’s first cousin, was made eligible to the throne. In order to prevent possible competition between Prince Ananda and Princess Bejaratana, King Rangsit and Pridi arranged a marriage for Ananda and Bejaratana in 1947, thus uniting two royal contenders and prevent the strifes among the older members of Chakri bloodline.