Why Was Thailand Never Colonised?

[DaRoadrunner]

The Brits colonised Singapore, Malaysia and Burma. The French; Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Why did neither go into Thailand? And what would Thailand have turned out like today if they had been colonised?

 

Some say they left it as a buffer between them. Others say they took one look at the Thais and said.... we are not going in there!

Edited June 15, 2019 by DaRoadrunner

[mstevens]

Maybe they looked closed at it and decided they didn't want it?

Edited June 15, 2019 by mstevens

[wisperone]

Too many ladyboys.

[sirineou]

 

[JimmyTheMook]

It was simply a buffer zone between the colonists at the time, study up how it played all sides as they are doing now with China and the other donors these dayz......

 

 

[SenorJorge]

Nobody wanted it.

[sirineou]

If I was asked to describe the Thai people with only one word I would say

Resourceful. 

Working with Thai family members, friends and workers  at the farm or around the house I am often amazed how much they do with so litle, and with creative solutions to problem requiring few resources.

 I believe it is that resourcefulness that enabled them to escape colonization.

I get annoyed at posters who say Thais are stupid., it could not be further from the truth.   

    Thais are very proud people, and will not admite they don't know how to do something , this attitude often get them in trouble and make them look stupid. 

   Relationships between Expats and Thais often suffer because of the "we pretend to pay them and they pretend to work" syndrom.

  And finally some are stupid, just as many in the west are stupid. Stupidity is a human trait. You should see the idiots I work with in the west, and none of them are Thai.

 

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by sirineou
typo

[Fex Bluse]

Thailand was never colonized by a European power, but there is an argument that Thailand was and is colonized by the Chinese.

 

Thailand is the only country in the region (save Singapore) that did not fight Sino dominance, and now the Chinese have made native Thai guests in their own country, controlling almost all the power and wealth.

[Fex Bluse]

26 minutes ago, sirineou said:

And finally some are stupid, just as many in the west are stupid. Stupidity is a human trait.

Yes, every country has EXACTLY the same ratios of stupid to not stupid people. 

 

In fact, every country, people are all EXACTLY the same. No differences worth talking about.

 

Thank you for contributing to our Utopia.

[Airalee]

22 minutes ago, sirineou said:

If I was asked to describe the Thai people with only one word I would say

Resourceful. 

Working with Thai family members, friends and workers  at the farm or around the house I am often amazed how much they do with so litle, and with creative solutions to problem requiring few resources.

 I believe it is that resourcefulness that enabled them to escape colonization.

I get annoyed at posters who say Thais are stupid., it could not be further from the truth.   

    Thais are very proud people, and will not admite they don't know how to do something , this attitude often get them in trouble and make them look stupid. 

   Relationships between Expats and Thais often suffer because of the "we pretend to pay them and they pretend to work" syndrom.

  And finally some are stupid, just as many in the west are stupid. Stupidity is a human trait. You should see the idiots I work with in the west, and none of them are Thai.

 

 

Great post.  It is easy for those that like to jump to conclusions (usually wrong) to view other cultures through the fog of their own and and then place judgement.  

 

When you say that just as many in the west are stupid...I would bet on more.  I’m reminded of this (paraphrased) quote...

 

“Better to be silent and thought a fool (Thailand) than to speak and remove all doubt (USA)”

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

4 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Thailand is the only country in the region (save Singapore) that did not fight Sino dominance

?

The Chinese in Singapore were, to my knowledge, brought in by Britain as workers, and became the majority by the time they got independence. 

Nothing to do with "fighting".

[Enoon]

No it was not "Colonised".

 

The British and French took what they wanted from Siam (a French naval squadron forcing the Chao Phraya and threatening Bangkok in the Paknam incident)

 

 

Meanwhile they had been becoming closer in an atmosphere of growing conflict avoidance and co-operation (as Germany grew stronger and of concern to them both).

 

The ultimate expression of Franco-British amity was the "Entente Cordiale" of 1904:

 

"The agreement was upsetting to Germany, whose policy had long been to rely on Franco-British antagonism."

Entente Cordiale - Wikipedia

 

Siam ceased to be the great regional power that it had been because of the British and the French.

 

Have a good think about that.

 

It has not been forgotten in what's left of "Siam".

 

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by Enoon

[ezzra]

Maybe they needed work permit for it and they have tried and tried alas, colonialism reserved for Thais only...

[neeray]

45 minutes ago, sirineou said:

If I was asked to describe the Thai people with only one word I would say

Resourceful. 

Working with Thai family members, friends and workers  at the farm or around the house I am often amazed how much they do with so litle, and with creative solutions to problem requiring few resources.

 I believe it is that resourcefulness that enabled them to escape colonization.

I get annoyed at posters who say Thais are stupid., it could not be further from the truth.   

    Thais are very proud people, and will not admite they don't know how to do something , this attitude often get them in trouble and make them look stupid. 

   Relationships between Expats and Thais often suffer because of the "we pretend to pay them and they pretend to work" syndrom.

  And finally some are stupid, just as many in the west are stupid. Stupidity is a human trait. You should see the idiots I work with in the west, and none of them are Thai.

 

 

There's lots of "stupid" where I come from !

[Somtamnication]

They were colonized well over 100 years ago when the Chinese were invited and free land to mine and farm.

 

Now, the Thai Chinese are the wealthy ones and control things that cannot be mentioned.

 

Yes, Thailand was colonized, albeit, not the way we understand colonization to be.

[SenorJorge]

7 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

They were colonized well over 100 years ago when the Chinese were invited and free land to mine and farm.

 

Now, the Thai Chinese are the wealthy ones and control things that cannot be mentioned.

 

Yes, Thailand was colonized, albeit, not the way we understand colonization to be.

Is your name David?

[Enoon]

 

1 hour ago, Enoon said:

No it was not "Colonised".

 

The British and French took what they wanted from Siam (a French naval squadron forcing the Chao Phraya and threatening Bangkok in the Paknam incident)

 

 

Meanwhile they had been becoming closer in an atmosphere of growing conflict avoidance and co-operation (as Germany grew stronger and of concern to them both).

 

The ultimate expression of Franco-British amity was the "Entente Cordiale" of 1904:

 

"The agreement was upsetting to Germany, whose policy had long been to rely on Franco-British antagonism."

Entente Cordiale - Wikipedia

 

Siam ceased to be the great regional power that it had been because of the British and the French.

 

Have a good think about that.

 

It has not been forgotten in what's left of "Siam".

 

 

Yes folks, it's true, large chunks of Siamese (now Thailand) territory was colonised, was not returned and now exists as independent nations.

 

Time to stop repeating the myth.

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by Enoon

[geoffbezoz]

19 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

 

Yes folks, it's true, large chunks of Siamese (now Thailand) territory was colonised, was not returned and now exists as independent nations.

 

Time to stop repeating the myth.

 

 

 

Agreed and when the state stops brainwashing the people from birth they actually may find out a bit more of their history, not currently taught to them.

[Odysseus123]

Lack of an easily developed seaport as well.

The main sea lane was Bombay-Madras-Calcutta-Rangoon-Penang-Singapore-and on to Macao and Shanghai.

 

Laos and Cambodia were colonized from Vietnam.Both Hanoi and Saigon were only being developed at the time and Camh Ran Bay was a very problematic open anchorage.

Edited June 16, 2019 by Odysseus123

[Puchaiyank]

The Thais ran out to meet the foreigners with Som Tom and fermented fish...

 

[Hayduke]

 

Neither the French nor the British were able to secure the appropriate work permits...and since all of their personnel had to leave every 90 days…effective colonization became exceedingly difficult and ultimately impractical.

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2019 by Hayduke

[ravip]

Why Was Thailand Never Colonised?

 

Thank God for that!

But, that might be the very reason the 'invasion' has started now.

[rumak]

4 hours ago, sirineou said:

If I was asked to describe the Thai people with only one word I would say

Resourceful. 

Working with Thai family members, friends and workers  at the farm or around the house I am often amazed how much they do with so litle, and with creative solutions to problem requiring few resources.

 I believe it is that resourcefulness that enabled them to escape colonization.

I get annoyed at posters who say Thais are stupid., it could not be further from the truth.   

    Thais are very proud people, and will not admite they don't know how to do something , this attitude often get them in trouble and make them look stupid. 

   Relationships between Expats and Thais often suffer because of the "we pretend to pay them and they pretend to work" syndrom.

  And finally some are stupid, just as many in the west are stupid. Stupidity is a human trait. You should see the idiots I work with in the west, and none of them are Thai.

 

 

pretty amazing,  but i believe the only place that one can never find stupid people is in the mirrors of the beholder.   Just ask anyone who looks .....................

BTW: general comment, not directed at sirineou 

[Yinn]

4 hours ago, mstevens said:

Maybe they looked closed at it and decided they didn't want it?

 

4 hours ago, wisperone said:

Too many ladyboys.

 

4 hours ago, SenorJorge said:

Nobody wanted it.

 

3 hours ago, neeray said:

There's lots of "stupid" where I come from !

Yes Neeray.

And this thread will make all the people who like to say the stupid thing about Thai everyday on the thaivisa say more stupid thing. Strange life, have the brain problem.

 

King 5 was very clever and stopped the farang invade us. That is why he a “great king” for the Thai people. King 4 also help a lot.

 

If he not do it I think we would be the third world and poor country same like Laos, Cambodia, and Burma.

Look at them now, the country that the farang  invade and stolen. Have the bad economy, the people must come to Thailand for money and job.

 

 

If anyone interested, should look at this one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Khamhaeng_Inscription

 

Maybe real, maybe the fake. But it one of the reason farang not invade. Farang believe it then. King is very clever with the farang invade situation.

 

 

[marcusarelus]

4 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

Thailand was never colonized by a European power, but there is an argument that Thailand was and is colonized by the Chinese.

 

Thailand is the only country in the region (save Singapore) that did not fight Sino dominance, and now the Chinese have made native Thai guests in their own country, controlling almost all the power and wealth.

One big reason the Thais fought on the side of Japan during WWII was the anti Chinese sentiment at the time.  You only have to look at the anti Chinese laws passed in that time period.  Or read a Thai book that referred to the Chinese as the, "Jews of the orient."  You are way off base.  

[Odysseus123]

6 minutes ago, Yinn said:

 

 

 

Yes Neeray.

And this thread will make all the people who like to say the stupid thing about Thai everyday on the thaivisa say more stupid thing. Strange life, have the brain problem.

 

King 5 was very clever and stopped the farang invade us. That is why he a “great king” for the Thai people. King 4 also help a lot.

 

If he not do it I think we would be the third world and poor country same like Laos, Cambodia, and Burma.

Look at them now, the country that the farang  invade and stolen. Have the bad economy, the people must come to Thailand for money and job.

 

 

If anyone interested, should look at this one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Khamhaeng_Inscription

 

Maybe real, maybe the fake. But it one of the reason farang not invade. Farang believe it then. King is very clever with the farang invade situation.

 

 

Yinn-I admire the cut of your jib.

 

You are a breath of fresh air on this forum.

 

May I invite more of your colleagues to join this forum as their views would certainly enhance the overall debate?

[Kwasaki]

5 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

Some say they left it as a buffer between them.

Brief History.

Thailand was never colonized by Europeans. Thailand was the only country in South East Asia which was not colonized by Europeans.

All of its neighbours were controlled by either the British or the French. Burma and Malaysia being British colonies and Laos and Cambodia being French.

Much later, the European colonial powers threatened Thailand in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but Thailand survived as the only Southeast Asian state to avoid European colonial rule because of centralizing reforms enacted by King Chulalongkorn and because the French and the British decided it would be a neutral territory. 

Edited June 16, 2019 by Kwasaki

[neeray]

40 minutes ago, Yinn said:

 

 

 

Yes Neeray.

And this thread will make all the people who like to say the stupid thing about Thai everyday on the thaivisa say more stupid thing. Strange life, have the brain problem.

 

King 5 was very clever and stopped the farang invade us. That is why he a “great king” for the Thai people. King 4 also help a lot.

 

If he not do it I think we would be the third world and poor country same like Laos, Cambodia, and Burma.

Look at them now, the country that the farang  invade and stolen. Have the bad economy, the people must come to Thailand for money and job.

 

 

If anyone interested, should look at this one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Khamhaeng_Inscription

 

Maybe real, maybe the fake. But it one of the reason farang not invade. Farang believe it then. King is very clever with the farang invade situation.

 

 

Clarity: When I said "There's lots of "stupid" where I come from !", that was not referring to Thailand. Surprise, surprise, that was referring to Canada.

I am appalled on a daily basis at some of the born and raised Canadian people that I meet (and same for USA).

From an earlier posted comment (?), I must agree, Thais are very resourceful. And from another poster (?), there are "stupid" people in every country, probably in an equal percentage to each other.

I have respect for Thais, particularly for the hard work of many. And having done business with many dozen, their level of service was above that of my home country. No complaints !

[Kwasaki]

4 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

They were colonized well over 100 years ago when the Chinese were invited and free land to mine and farm.

 

Now, the Thai Chinese are the wealthy ones and control things that cannot be mentioned.

 

Yes, Thailand was colonized, albeit, not the way we understand colonization to be.

Dunno about that but if someone came from China I would reckon there Chinese, like the Thai people did, who originally lived in southwestern China, migrated into mainland Southeast Asia over a period of many centuries. 

Much of the vast area were Indianised kingdoms so maybe there Indian. ????

[RichardColeman]

Er. if the Japs had won WW2 then they would they not be colonized ? So, only thanks to outside sources that they were not