The Kingdom of Thailand was founded in the thirteenth century. Until 1939, the country was known as Siam. The word "thai" means "free" making Thailand, "Land of the Free".The first Thais, who settled in Northern Thailand, were said to have migrated from Southern China. The Northern Thai kingdoms grew in size with Lanna Thai and Sukothai at the very heart of the country. Sukothai stretched from Nakronsrithammarat in the south to Vientiane in Laos, and Pegu in Burma. Thai historians consider it to be the first true Thai kingdom. Under King Ramkhamhaeng, the second king of the Sukothai era, a writing system was developed which became the basis for modern Thai. It is a tonal language and predominantly monosyllabic. Most of the polysyllabic words in our vocabulary were borrowed mainly from Khmer, Pali or Sanskrit.
In the fourteenth century, the kings of Ayutthaya became very powerful and expanded their kingdoms eastwards until they took Angkor from the Khmers. The Ayutthaya period lasted for four hundred years, during which time the organization of government and a strong tradition of art and literature were firmly established.
Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese in 1569. But the Thais regained control at the turn of the century. Burma invaded again in 1765 and gained control of the capital. In 1769 a new Thai capital was established at Thonburi, on the banks of the Chao Phraya River opposite Bangkok by General Phya Taksin. In 1782, King Rama I of the Chakri dynasty was crowned. The Thai people are very proud that our country has never come under the rule of any Western nation.
For further details on the Chakri dynasty please go to Monarchy
Thailand's national flag is raised each morning at 08.00 hours and lowered each evening at 18.00 hours in every town and village. It is composed of five horizontal bands of red, white and blue. Outer bands of red represent the nation. The inner white bands evoke religion. The blue bandsymbolizes the monarchy. This flag was first introduced by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in 1971, replacing a white elephant on a red background.
