Why Was Thailand Never Colonized?
The intelligent way a beautiful country maintained independence.
Countries across Asia have had quite a complicated relationship when it came to European powers throughout colonial times, with France colonizing what is now Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Britain would control present-day India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Borneo. The Dutch held Indonesia, and after the Spanish left, the Philippines would become a colony of the United States. But one country would stand out, remaining fully independent during colonial times, the country of Thailand. Known as the Kingdom of Siam until 1939, there were many factors that allowed the country to continue its self-governance. One example is simply due to the geographical location of the kingdom. Situated between French Indochina and British-ruled Burma, Siam would serve as a buffer state by default. Frankly, the Europeans were almost glad to have Siam separate the two colonies, as it helped avoid the trouble of border disputes and allowed Siam to steer clear of direct conflict with the Europeans.
Westernization and modernization.
The ruler of Siam at the time, King Chulalongkorn or Rama V, quickly realized the European powerhouses along each border posed a large threat to the autonomy of the country. This led to the king adapting to the Western powers in aspects like fashion, as he often enjoyed being photographed in Western clothing. He would realize the importance of education, specifically education in topography, which the Europeans emphasized as they would refer to maps in order to determine land borders. Rama V would send his sons to the West to receive a traditional European education to appear almost as a Western tributary.
Change would go even further as the country’s entire political system would change from the Mandala system that Siam had used for years before. The Mandala system allowed high levels of sovereignty to rulers in local areas, making power less defined. Rama IV would recognize this problem and put a national army in place, leading to internal unity as well as acquiring more control of the same local rulers. This consolidation of power would greatly benefit Siam in the prevention of Western colonization. Siam’s military would also become surprisingly strong, as they had brought in high-ranking European soldiers to command and train the army. The Siamese also possessed superior knowledge of the terrain and climate along with the skills to use the land to their military advantage.
Paknam Incident.
In 1893, the Siamese and the French had an agreement in which the French were able to move freely through the Paknam islands of Siam, located just south of Bangkok in what is now the Gulf of Thailand. At the time, the French had anchored a gunboat near the French embassy in Bangkok; a second gunboat and an aviso arrived at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, requesting permission to enter the river and head upstream to rendezvous with the first gunboat as the French were in Bangkok for negotiations. The Siamese would refuse the French, leading to a French Rear Admiral by the name of Edgar Humann completely disregarding the demands given by the Siamese and his own government.
Humann was given the order to stand down as he was informed that the Siamese were heavily armed with six, seven-inch disappearing guns and awaiting combat at the newly built fort of Chulachomklao located on the riverbanks. The Siamese also had five gunboats; two were newly built warships, and the older ships were regular gunboats or river steamers that had been converted to participate in battle. A field of sixteen sea mines had also been laid in addition. The French chose to cross the bar just after sunset on July 13th, 1893, and were towed to action by a small steamer. The objective was to fight past the Siamese; had they been fired upon, the Siamese manned their stations and were on high alert. At approximately 6:30pm, the French had crossed into range of the fort, and the Siamese received orders to fire three warning shots; two were blank, and the third, which was a live round landing just in front of the steamer, was ignored.
A fourth round would be fired, and gunships would use this as their cue to open fire. By 6:50pm, the aviso would return fire on Fort Chulachomklao as the French gunboat would return fire at the Siamese gunboats. Siam would send a small boat full of explosives to ram the French gunboat, but it would miss the target. Humann would continue to trudge through the line and eventually be successful. The aviso and gunboat would not suffer immediate damage and push forward to Bangkok; the steamer towing the ships would be hit several times with cannon fire and be forced to cut the line and run ashore.
The following morning, the crew was still aboard the steamer; a Siamese boat would be sent to capture the boat and crew aboard. The crew would be sent to a Bangkok prison and were treated quite poorly, according to reports made. The French would send yet another ship to recapture the steamer but were successfully held off by the Siamese. Upon his arrival in Bangkok, Rear Admiral Humann had set up a blockade in the river with guns pointed to the royal palace, leading to a ceasefire being signed on October 3rd, 1893. After the French departed and their ships were clear, they would set up a second blockade in the river. This left a bad taste in the mouths of the British, as it altered one of their most easily accessible trade routes.
Strategic diplomacy.
King Chulalongkorn would befriend some quite powerful allies throughout his time on the throne. Most notably, that of China and Russia, although the relationship with China was more political as it consisted of a multiple-century-old tributary system. This system would entail Siam paying tribute to the eleventh Chinese emperor, Dezon of Quing Siam would also have to acknowledge overlordship in exchange for recognition and protection. The odd system allowed Siam to maintain a timid relationship with China and avoid conflict. That is until King Chulalongkorn would upright refuse to pay tribute, ending relations until post-World War II.
King Chulalongkorn was not only limited to relations in Asia, as he was well mannered and a fluent English speaker, Chulalongkorn would see the respect of many European leaders once his tour across the continent concluded. During his tour, he would arrive in St. Petersburg and be greeted by Tsar Nicholas II, Russia’s final emperor before the revolution of 1917. A photograph of the two would be published in a French newspaper, sparking many questions and widespread curiosity throughout France, England, and other countries in Europe. It was believed that this was a way to display the powerful allies the kingdom possessed, as well as a way to further discourage any thought of colonizing Siam. Relations between the two countries continued for approximately 20 years until they would be put on pause following the revolution. Diplomatic relations would resume in 1941 and continue throughout the USSR, the two countries remain extremely friendly to this day, as Thailand is one of Russia’s closest trade partners.
Independence in WWII.
During WWII, Japan would invade French Indochina and planned to move on to Burma and the Malay peninsula through Thailand’s ports. Japan’s leaders would attempt to contact Thai officials but the Thai Prime Minister was not in Bangkok at the time. Japan would land anyway, members of the Imperial Army would simultaneously enter the country from the east.
The Thai military would fight back fiercely, but only for a very short period of time. Within hours, Thai officials allowed the Imperial Army to pass through the country. The Japanese would later threaten Thailand by forcing them to join the Axis powers or become a colony. Safe to say, the Thai military joined the Axis powers as it was the only thing stopping a full-scale invasion and occupation of the country.
Conclusion.
Today, the Thai people continue to be extremely patriotic; the current flag, along with the bright yellow flag representing the current king, can be seen flying in the wind and lining almost every road. Their past shows personal hardships among the people, and country-wide hardships that affected the nation as a whole. Siam would remain free of colonial rule but suffered a loss of land, losing what is now Laos during a peace conference on October 3rd, 1893, following the French-Siamese war, or the Paknam incident. The opinion among the Thais shows how independence is a way to preserve culture, beliefs, and age-old traditions within the country.
*Jacob Newson 2025
Resources.
EllesH. “How Did Siam (Thailand) Avoid European Colonization?” New Historian, 8 Jan. 2019, www.newhistorian.com/2019/01/08/how-did-siam-thailand-avoid-european-colonization/?amp=1.
The Globalist. “Thailand: Southeast Asia’s Buffer Country.” The Globalist, 16 Aug. 2022, www.theglobalist.com/thailand-southeast-asias-buffer-country/.
“Home.” – University of Hawaii Manoa Library Website, manoa.hawaii.edu/library/about/news-events/exhibits/colonialism-in-southeast-asia-resistance-negotiation-and-legacies/
“An Overview of Thailand’s Participation in World War 2.” Pacific Atrocities Education, www.pacificatrocities.org/blog/an-overview-of-thailands-participation-in-ww2
“Paknam.” Siam and Scandinavia History, siamscandhistory.blogg.lu.se/tag/paknam/.
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Jacob Newson
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By The best writer 7 days ago in History
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