Collecting Historical Facts Of Thailand

[TenCent]

I like History in general - it teaches me a lot about a Culture

As I live in Thailand, I would like to collect some historical Facts about the Kingdom

Today I found an Artical about the "France-Siamese-Crises" 

Would love to get more Informations about the History of Thailand in this Thread

Anybody is willing to contribute Links - so it could be easyly "recalled" ?

Edited August 9, 2010 by bonobo
removed uanpproved link

[sillyman99]

http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/thailand-cul.html

[thaifkrlim]

just google Thailand allied Japan

[TenCent]

just google Thailand allied Japan

are you Thai, thaifkrlim ?

if so, I would be happy, if you could give me more about the Thai History in direct links, instead of just "google it"

following your advice, wikipedia came up with following:

............The Japanese invasion of Thailand occurred on December 8, 1941. It was fought between Thailand and the Empire of Japan.

Despite fierce fighting in Southern Thailand, Thai resistance lasted only a few hours before ending in a ceasefire......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_Thailand

[Thongkorn]

I would think that you would get different versions of Thailand's history , depending on where you seek your information, I too like to learn Thailand's history , but it can get you into a lot of trouble.

[Beetlejuice]

just google Thailand allied Japan

are you Thai, thaifkrlim ?

if so, I would be happy, if you could give me more about the Thai History in direct links, instead of just "google it"

following your advice, wikipedia came up with following:

............The Japanese invasion of Thailand occurred on December 8, 1941. It was fought between Thailand and the Empire of Japan.

Despite fierce fighting in Southern Thailand, Thai resistance lasted only a few hours before ending in a ceasefire......

http://en.wikipedia....ion_of_Thailand

My god, the Thais gave up even quicker then the French in world war 2. That has to be a record.

I would have thought there is lots of information available on line? Besides that there must be plenty of documentaries on CD and Thai history books sold in the book shops.

Ask our UG Geko books. I am sure he has some on his shelves in his excellent bookshops or can point you in the right direction.

If you are really serious about researching Thai history, seek and you will find.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Beetlejuice

[Beetlejuice]

Sorry I mean`t Gecko books.

[robblok]

just google Thailand allied Japan

are you Thai, thaifkrlim ?

if so, I would be happy, if you could give me more about the Thai History in direct links, instead of just "google it"

following your advice, wikipedia came up with following:

............The Japanese invasion of Thailand occurred on December 8, 1941. It was fought between Thailand and the Empire of Japan.

Despite fierce fighting in Southern Thailand, Thai resistance lasted only a few hours before ending in a ceasefire......

http://en.wikipedia....ion_of_Thailand

My god, the Thais gave up even quicker then the French in world war 2. That has to be a record.

I would have thought there is lots of information available on line? Besides that there must be plenty of documentaries on CD and Thai history books sold in the book shops.

Ask our UG Geko books. I am sure he has some on his shelves in his excellent bookshops or can point you in the right direction.

If you are really serious about researching Thai history, seek and you will find.

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Why knock Thais for having ago, you forget that Japan had the most upto date equipment of the Time,

Even the Dutch (im Dutch) held out a little longer against the Germans and they were certainly also better equipped.

[jombom]

What many people fail to notice, was that 8 Dec in Thailand was 7 Dec in Pearl Harbour ----- International date line causing the difference.

In actual fact, the first bombs dropped on a British airfield in Malaysia, 20 minutes before Pearl Harbour.

It could be argued that the main thrust of all of these attacks, was Singapore.

The OP's question is far too complex, for a simple reply. It starts in the previous century.

[TenCent]

Can´t see, that my posting is too complex - maybe just for some Foreigners, who are not interested in the Country´s History, they are living in:-)

History is an important Measure to determine your own Position in your "Exile" - or do you want to "Name" it in another way?

Thailand is just a big Refugee Camp for the "Lost" - I consider myself included and its Fun

[bifftastic]

I agree, not too complex. I'm watching the topic with interest, hoping for more on earlier than WW2, as well.

I have always found history fascinating. Thanks for the thread.

[Atmos]

Hi

I read this article last week in Bkk Post, and found it is available online

The Franco-Siamese crisis

More than a century ago, France attempted to colonise Siam, however, Siam survived thanks to King Chulalongkorn's clever policies and foreign diplomacy link

"In 1893, France sent warships here to force Siam to surrender. The French ships seized Chanthaburi, Trat, Koh Kong and Dan Sai as collateral. Fourteen years later, France returned Chanthaburi to Siam, but held on to Trat. This led to the signing of the 1904 and 1907 treaties and border demarcation that forced Siam to surrender more land in a bid to preserve independence," said Charnvit Kasetsiri, an historian and lecturer at Thammasat University.

*******************************

We holidayed in Chanthaburi and Trat in May, the French occupation still visible in some places, Laem Sing has a small prison and a building the French used as barracks (now a library).

One question I'll never get an answer to - the French were 17 years in Trat - how many Thais today would have some French ancestry? There must have been some 'collaboration' with the invaders over that time span.

[mark45y]

just google Thailand allied Japan

are you Thai, thaifkrlim ?

if so, I would be happy, if you could give me more about the Thai History in direct links, instead of just "google it"

following your advice, wikipedia came up with following:

............The Japanese invasion of Thailand occurred on December 8, 1941. It was fought between Thailand and the Empire of Japan.

Despite fierce fighting in Southern Thailand, Thai resistance lasted only a few hours before ending in a ceasefire......

http://en.wikipedia....ion_of_Thailand

My god, the Thais gave up even quicker then the French in world war 2. That has to be a record.

I would have thought there is lots of information available on line? Besides that there must be plenty of documentaries on CD and Thai history books sold in the book shops.

Ask our UG Geko books. I am sure he has some on his shelves in his excellent bookshops or can point you in the right direction.

If you are really serious about researching Thai history, seek and you will find.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why knock Thais for having ago, you forget that Japan had the most upto date equipment of the Time,

Thailand wanted parts of Burma for opium production and declared war on France after the Germans occupied the French mainland because they figured the French colonial troops could not be re supplied. The Thais won the war on the ground but lost the naval encounters and reached a stalemate with the French colonial troops. The Japanese negotiated a settlement of the conflict in favor of the Thais and in return the Thai PM agreed secretly to allow the Japanese to use Thailand to invade Burma.

When the Japanese landed the PM went into hiding for a few hours for appearances sake and when he emerged stopped the Thai resistance. Thailand then signed a formal alliance with Japan and declared war against the UK and US.

[JusMe]

Mark has outlined the situation very simply. As he said, (almost) Japan never did "invade" Thailand. There was a long term agreement between Japan and the government of Thailand for passage to Burma and Malaya. The Japanese forces landed in Thailand and in two places encountered minor resistance, mainly because the local forces had not been informed that their own government welcomed the Japanese.

As Mark said, Thailand signed an agreement with Japan (signed in front of the Emerald Buddha, an unprecedented and significant act) and then to the surprise of the Japanese, declared war on the Allies.

These are facts that most Thais are unaware of, even their ranking military, who think they resisted the Japanese.

For anyone interested, and it could take a bit of time as I'm off on vacation now, I do have a collection of the relevant documents, in both Thai and Japanese. Rather large pdf files, but I could post them for download, if someone wants.

[mark45y]

Mark has outlined the situation very simply. As he said, (almost) Japan never did "invade" Thailand. There was a long term agreement between Japan and the government of Thailand for passage to Burma and Malaya. The Japanese forces landed in Thailand and in two places encountered minor resistance, mainly because the local forces had not been informed that their own government welcomed the Japanese.

As Mark said, Thailand signed an agreement with Japan (signed in front of the Emerald Buddha, an unprecedented and significant act) and then to the surprise of the Japanese, declared war on the Allies.

These are facts that most Thais are unaware of, even their ranking military, who think they resisted the Japanese.

For anyone interested, and it could take a bit of time as I'm off on vacation now, I do have a collection of the relevant documents, in both Thai and Japanese. Rather large pdf files, but I could post them for download, if someone wants.

That makes sense. I never figured out why the French wanted the Emerald Buddha as war reparations. Now I know.

[JusMe]

As mentioned, I was off on vacation, but have returned and posted the pdf file on SendSpace. It's available for about a week after any download, so if you want it, get it now. Otherwise, you'll have to PM me and I can try to either send it to you or re-upload. About 50 MB.

For anyone interested, and it could take a bit of time as I'm off on vacation now, I do have a collection of the relevant documents, in both Thai and Japanese. Rather large pdf files, but I could post them for download, if someone wants.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/h0ywut