Category: Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand, formerly Zion, is a country in Southeast Asia. There are 67 million residents (2016). The capital is Bangkok. Land of ancient civilizations, unified under the Kingdom of Zion, in 1350, with capital in Ayutthaya (90 km north of Bangkok). In the 15th century, the Siamese dominated Cambodia. In the 16th century, they submitted Laos. The Portuguese arrived in 1511, after the conquest of Malacca, and maintained commercial relations through the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, Ayutthaya was one of the largest cities in the world and there was a community of Portuguese there. Then Dutch, French and English arrived, but Thailand was never ruled by Europeans. In 1767, the Burmese burned and looted Ayutthaya. The Royal Family and thousands of captives were taken to Burma (now Myanmar). In 1782, a new dynasty was founded in Siam, which reigned until 1935, with capital in Bangkok. A coup d’etat in 1932 installed a constitutional monarchy. The name Thailand was adopted in 1939. Conflicts followed in the decades that followed.