ThaiLand Country

Thailand officially the Kingdom of Thailand and formerly known as Siam, is a unitary state at the center of the Southeast Asian Indochinese peninsula composed of 76 provinces. At 513,120 km2 and over 68 million people, Thailand is the world's 50th largest country by total area and the 21st-most-populous country. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, a special administrative area. Thailand is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. Even though constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy form of government was established in 1932, the most recent coup d'état in 2014 made Thailand currently a de facto military dictatorship.

HISTORY OF THAILAND

There is evidence of continued human habitation in present-day Thailand dated 20,000 years. Earliest evidence of rice growing was dated 2,000 BCE. Bronze appeared during 1,250–1,000 BCE. Iron appeared around 500 BCE. Kingdom of Funan was the first and most powerful South East Asian kingdom at the time (2nd century BCE). Mon people established principalities of Dvaravati and kingdom of Hariphunchaiin the 6th century. Khmer people established Khmer empire centered in Angkor in the 9th century. Tambralinga, a Malay state controlling trade through Malacca Strait, rose in the 10th century. Indochina peninsula was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, starting with the Kingdom of Funan to the Khmer Empire.

Most scholars now believe that the Tai people came from northern Vietnam around the Dien Bien Phu area. Tai people settled along river valleys, where they formed small settlements and engaged in subsistence rice agriculture. Women could have high social status and inherit property. Tai people started inhabiting in present-day Thailand in the 11th century, where Mon and Khmer kingdoms were situated at the time.

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-reliefs of Angkor Wat" where "a group of warriors" are described as Syam.

After the decline of the Khmer Empire in the 13th century, various states thrived there, established by the various Tai peoples, Mons, Khmers, Chams and Ethnic Malays, as seen through the numerous archaeological sites and artefacts that are scattered throughout the Siamese landscape. Prior to the 12th century however, the first Thai or Siamese state is traditionally considered to be the Buddhist Sukhothai Kingdom, which was founded in 1238.

Following the decline and fall of the Khmer empire in the 13th–15th century, the Buddhist Tai kingdoms of Sukhothai, Lanna, and Lan Xang (now Laos) were on the rise. However, a century later, the power of Sukhothai was overshadowed by the new Kingdom of Ayutthaya, established in the mid-14th century in the lower Chao Phraya River or Menam area.

According to the most widely accepted version of its origin, Ayutthaya Kingdom rose from the earlier, nearby Lavo Kingdom and Suvarnabhumi. Uthong was its first king. Its initial expansion is through conquest and political marriage. Before the end of the 15th century, Ayutthaya invaded Khmer Empire twice and sacked its capital Angkor. Ayutthaya then became a regional great power in place of Khmer Empire. Borommatrailokkanat brought about bureaucratic reforms which lasted into the 20th century and create a system of social hierarchy called Sakdina. Ayutthaya was interested in Malay peninsula but failed to conquer Malacca Sultanate which was supported by Chinese Ming Dynasty.

European contact and trade started in the early 16th century, with the envoy of Portuguese duke Afonso de Albuquerquein 1511, followed by the French, Dutch, and English. Ayutthaya then at war with Burmese Taungoo Dynasty. Multiple wars starting in 1540s were ultimately ended with capture of the capital in 1570. Then was a period of brief vassalage to Burma until Naresuan proclaimed independence in 1584.

Ayutthaya was an important trade center which was known to trade with China, India, Persia, and Arab lands. The kingdom especially prospered during cosmopolitan Narai's reign (1656–88). Some European travelers regarded Ayutthaya as Asian great powers alongside China and India.[24]:ix However, growing French influence later in his reign was met with nationalist sentiment and led to eventual revolution of 1688. Trade with the West declined and the kingdom became poorer.

After that, there was a period of relative peace but its influence gradually waned, partly because of bloody struggles each succession, until the capital Ayutthaya was utterly destroyed in 1767 by Burmese new Alaungpaya dynasty.

Anarchy followed destruction of the former capital, with its territories split into five different factions, each controlled by a warlord. Taksin rose the power and proclaim Thonburi as temporary capital in the same year. He also quickly subdue the other warlords. His forces engaged in wars with Burma, Laos, and Cambodia, which successfully drove the Burmese out of Lan Na in 1775, captured Vientiane in 1778 and tried to instate a pro-Thonburi king in Cambodia in the 1770s. In his final years there was a coup which was caused by his supposedly "insanity" and eventually Taksin and his sons was executed by longtime companion General Chao Phraya Chakri (future Rama I). He was the first king of the ruling Chakri Dynasty and founder of Bangkok (Rattanakosin Kingdom) on April 6, 1782.

Language

The official language of Thailand is Thai, a Tai–Kadai language closely related to Lao, Shan in Myanmar, and numerous smaller languages spoken in an arc from Hainan and Yunnan south to the Chinese border. It is the principal language of education and government and spoken throughout the country. The standard is based on the dialect of the central Thai people, and it is written in the Thai alphabet, an abugida script that evolved from the Khmer alphabet. Sixty-two languages were recognised by the Royal Thai Government in the 2011 Country Report to the UN Committee responsible for the International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which employed an ethnolinguistic approach and is available from the Department of Rights and Liberties Promotion of the Thai Ministry of Justice Southern Thai is spoken in the southern provinces, and Northern Thai is spoken in the provinces that were formerly part of the independent kingdom of Lan Na. For the purposes of the national census, which does not recognise all 62 languages recognised by the Royal Thai Government in the 2011 Country Report, four dialects of Thai exist; these partly coincide with regional designations.

The largest of Thailand's minority languages is the Lao dialect of Isan spoken in the northeastern provinces. Although sometimes considered a Thai dialect, it is a Lao dialect, and the region where it is traditionally spoken was historically part of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang.[ In the far south, Kelantan-Pattani Malay is the primary language of Malay Muslims. Varieties of Chinese are also spoken by the large Thai Chinese population, with the Teochew dialect best-represented.

Numerous tribal languages are also spoken, including many Austroasiatic languages such as Mon, Khmer, Viet, Mlabri and Orang Asli; Austronesian languages such as Cham and Moken; Sino-Tibetan languages like Lawa, Akha, and Karen; and other Tai languages such as Tai Yo, Phu Thai, and Saek. Hmong is a member of the Hmong–Mien languages, which is now regarded as a language family of its own.

English is a mandatory school subject, but the number of fluent speakers remains low, especially outside cities.

Religion

Thailand's prevalent religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is an integral part of Thai identity and culture. Active participation in Buddhism is among the highest in the world. According to the 2000 census, 94.6% and 93.58% in 2010 of the country's population self-identified as Buddhists of the Theravada tradition. Muslims constitute the second largest religious group in Thailand, comprising 4.9% of the population.

Islam is concentrated mostly in the country's southernmost provinces: Pattani, Yala, Satun, Narathiwat, and part of Songkhla Chumphon, which are predominantly Malay, most of whom are Sunni Muslims. Christians represent 0.9% (2000) and 1.17% (2015) of the population, with the remaining population consisting of Hindus and Sikhs, who live mostly in the country's cities. There is also a small but historically significant Jewish community in Thailand dating back to the 17th century.

According to the 2015 census, 67,328,562 Thailand residents belonged to the following religious groups:

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ThaiLand Country

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