Introduction: Thailand was called Siam in ancient times, and it has also had unlimited scenery in history. Especially in the modern Western colonial era, it is indeed surprising that Thailand has maintained sovereign independence between the East India Company and French India sandwiched between British India and Burma. Even more bizarrely, after the outbreak of World War II, Thailand used its superb diplomacy (or chameleon's) to the extreme: first concluded an alliance with Japan to ensure that it would not be annexed and declared war on Britain, France and the United States; Immediately after Japan's defeat and surrender, it was declared null and void to declare war on the Allies. As a result, Thailand has become a country in modern history that has freed Asia from colonial rule and war.
Historically Siam (the old city of Thailand) and the Central Plains Dynasty
It's also interesting to talk about Siam, who don't follow the so-called loyalty and will immediately turn against them whenever a new strong person appears. Siam became a vassal state of the Central Plains Dynasty from the yuan dynasty onwards (it had just gained independence from the Angkor dynasty in Cambodia at that time); By the time of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He had seven voyages to the West, and Siam naturally then paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty; When the Qing Dynasty unified the Central Plains, Siamese Xiao Gui Cao was incorporated into the clan system of the Qing Dynasty. Although there was a change of regime in Siam in the middle, it basically continued to pay tribute to the Central Plains Dynasty on the mainland.
This continued for hundreds of years until the outbreak of the Opium War. At this time, Siam clearly saw the weakness and corruption of the Qing Dynasty and decided not to learn from the so-called advanced culture of the Qing Dynasty and to westernize it. King Rama IV at the time, who felt threatened by Anglo-French colonialism, was committed to national reform. As shown in the figure below: Rama IV transformed from Qing Dynasty costume to Western modern costume as the king of a country, leading the westernization reform of the country.
Beginning with Rama V Chulalongkorn, a purely Western model was used to carry out drastic reforms in the country
Rama V's Western model carried out a reform movement, known in history as the "Chulalongkorn Reforms". On the basis of abolishing slavery and carrying out field reforms, the content of further in-depth reforms in the judiciary, finances, and education was carried out. This collapse and disintegration of the natural economy initially established the foundation of a modern state.
This reform has some similarities with Japan's Meiji Restoration: First, it was felt painfully in the face of the invasion of the great powers. Then there were top-down reforms. Second, the time of reform is basically only a few years apart. Third, the reforms were thorough and successful, and they all got rid of the backward state and embarked on the development path of the modernized country. In the end, of course, Siam did not become as powerful as Japan.
The price Siam paid for maintaining its independence surrounded by British and French colonists
The British and French colonists were not Buddhists and would not sit idly by while Siam calmly reformed and became powerful. At that time, in the west of Siam, the British had completed the colonization of India and Burma. To the south, the British approached Siam by controlling Malaya. France gradually seized suzerainty over Annam, Tokyo, JiaotouChina, Laos, and Khmer from the Qing dynasty and Siam. Siam was already caught in the arms of Britain and France.
Siam was forced to sign unequal treaties with Britain and France: the Anglo-Siamese Treaty, the Franco-Siamese Treaty. Both Britain and France granted privileges in Siam in terms of consular jurisdiction, customs duties on goods, business for citizens, and freedom of navigation on warships. See the content of the treaty familiar with it? It was basically a copy of the Treaty of Nanking, and Siam was already at risk of falling into semi-colonization.
Rama V took advantage of the fact that both Britain and France wanted to annex Siam, making Siam a "buffer zone" for the British and French spheres of influence to temporarily maintain independence. And his Westernization reforms were carried out in this context. At that time, the Territory controlled by Britain and France had not yet been fully digested, so Rama V used this opportunity to give up his interests to England on the one hand in exchange for British support against France; On the other hand, we should pay close attention to the reform of modernizing the country into a rich country and a strong army. Of course, the Franco-Prussian War in Europe also bought time for Rama V, during which time France did not launch an aggressive offensive against Siam. Because of the defeat of France, King William I of Prussia ascended the throne in Paris, France. France was badly injured.
When the reforms achieved some results, France also eased up. France intensified its oppression and encroachment on Siam, and Rama V could not bear it and declared war on France in 1893. The consequences of the war were brutal, and the growing Siam was still no match for France. Siam was forced to cede large areas of territory in the northwest and east to Britain and France, thus maintaining Siam's temporary independence. As shown in the following figure:
Rama V's land-for-peace approach continued until world war I, when parts of the southern and eastern territories were ceded to Britain and France in the 20th century. After the First World War, although Britain and France were victorious countries, they were also seriously injured. Moreover, with the clouds of war in Europe, World War II soon came. Therefore, during this period, as Siam's national strength increased, the three sides maintained peace in the Indochina Peninsula. This also allowed Siamese reforms to continue.
During World War II, Siam surrendered to Japan and britain and the United States, miraculously avoiding the fate of colonization and falling into war in both world wars
During World War II, Siam was occupied by Japan and declared its membership in the Axis powers. Japan and Siam signed the Treaty of Offensive and Defensive Alliance between Japan and Thailand. With the outbreak of the Pacific War in Japan, Thailand declared war on Britain and the United States in early 1942. As an ally, Japan was still very concerned about Siam, and at one point ceded Burma and the occupied territories in the northern part of the Malaya Peninsula to Siam. As you can see in the chart below, this may be the war gains siam received. Siam joined Japan against Britain and France, on the one hand, Britain and France were feuding; On the other hand, if you don't join the company, you will be annexed by Japan. Joining the Axis powers in this way not only did not get annexed but also gained some territory.
Perhaps following this course of history, Siam will follow Japan to be judged after the war. But Siam's approach once again refreshed the world's three views: the day after Japan surrendered and announced its surrender, Siam immediately declared war on Britain and the United States the next day. This childlike act was recognized by the Allies, not counting siam's war reparations from Japan as the victorious power. What's going on?
There are two levels of reasons for this: The first is that the United States considers the global distribution of US military power after the war, so it values thailand's geographical location at the junction of the two oceans of the Indo-Pacific. This, of course, requires an excuse and a reason, when Siam declared war on Britain and the United States in 1941, the then Siamese ambassador to the United States, Sonny Bammo, announced that it had severed ties with the pro-Japanese Thai government. The Siamese government was no longer able to lead its people independently and responsibly, so it refused to convey a declaration of war against the United States.
To put it bluntly, this is pro-American, so in order to support the ambassador to the United States in the united states in the key position of Siam, Sonny Bamo, to become the first prime minister after Siam's independence. Also because it was the United States, Siam received more than 10 billion yen in war reparations from Japan. Of course, the United States has also acquired a military base in Thailand, and Thailand has become an ally of the United States. During the Vietnam War, the United States deployed a large number of aircraft here.
The second reason was that the British were very reluctant to impunity for Siam, which was already a piece of meat next to British India. The British also wanted to continue their colonial rule, but under the persuasion of the United States (after all, they relied on American aid in World War II and after the war) also admitted siam's correct behavior. As a result, Siam was transformed into a victorious power.
Brief summary:
In summary, Siam (Thailand) has become the only country in Yanzhou's modern history that has not been colonized in recent history with its own reforms, forbearance, hard work, and flexible foreign policy.