Finding Their Voice Northeastern Villagers and the Thai State

[Michael Hare]

For those of us that live in Isaan, this book gives a fantastic background into how Isaan villagers were brought into mainstream Thailand. There were certainly a lot of rebellions in the the early 1900s which were brought down with force. The French were heavily involved, particularly drawing boundaries to suit themselves.

https://books.google.co.th/books?id=3w74AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT31&lpg=PT31&dq=Villages+revolt+Thailand+1900s&source=bl&ots=kno6peEacf&sig=7d56r4MO8qMIJyVctuoEa75JMWY&hl=th&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjy_P2-6dXLAhVGH44KHdeFCVYQ6AEILzAD#v=onepage&q=Villages%20revolt%20Thailand%201900s&f=false

[cooked]

I'll read it.

[Michael Hare]

In the book, Ubon plays a major role as does Kud Khan in Sisaket province. The uprising wanted no French or Siam control. The villagers were pissed off about having to pay high taxes of 4 baht/head/year! They burnt down Khemmarat, killed two Thai officials and marched towards Ubon. They believed that by just drinking holy water the Thai army bullets wouldn't enter their bodies. Outside of Trakhan, the Thai army had machine guns. Killed two hundred and took the leaders back to their respective villages where they were executed in public as a warning.

Thus, Isaan became part of the Thai state.