Thailand

Thai people used to compare the shape of Thailand to the head of an elephant - a symbol of goodness and friendship. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the current territory of the country was inhabited by the Mones, but the proper history of Thailand begins with the migration of Thai people from southwestern China in the X-XII century. In the thirteenth century in the Upper Menam basin the state of Sukhotai was established. In the fourteenth century, King Rama Thibodi I founded Ajutthaja in the Menamu Valley, the capital of the kingdom, which covered almost the entire territory of present-day Thailand and a significant part of present-day Cambodia. Neighboring countries began to call the state Siam - over time, this name officially adopted. Internal conflicts and the war with Burma led to weakness in the 16th century, while intensifying contacts with the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English and French. General Chao Phya Chakri proclaimed himself king (Rama I) and founded a new dynasty (Chakri) in 1782. Attempts to expand the borders were hampered by the colonial influence of the French and British in neighboring countries. After ą, negotiations and unequal treaties with Great Britain, France and the USA - Thailand, while maintaining independence, is becoming a semi-colonial country.

A bloodless coup d'état, carried out in 1932 by civil politicians and army representatives, transformed the country into a constitutional monarchy. In 1940, the government concluded a non-aggression pact with Japan, and a year later an alliance of troops. After World War II, a civil government was formed associated with the Allies Seni Pramoja, which in 1946 brought settlement with Great Britain and France. The army returned to power in 1947, only to surrender it in 1974, when the National Assembly adopted a constitution establishing parliamentary democracy in Thailand, and a new constitution adopted in 1997 strengthened the democratization of the country.