Thaitania: Difference between revisions

Changed infobox to new one, rewrote history section, etymology section, and introduction + added provisional List of monarchs from 1656 to 1934.
(added brief details about NatRep thaitania)
(Changed infobox to new one, rewrote history section, etymology section, and introduction + added provisional List of monarchs from 1656 to 1934.)
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{{NationInfobox country|common_name=Thaitania|full_nameconventional_long_name=Thai National Republic|image_flag=RTL ofFlag Thaitania.png|flag_width=300px|local_namenative_name=สาธารณรัฐชาติไทย|capitalofficial_languages=AyutthayaThai|largest_cityreligion=Ayutthaya|government_type=Constitutional republic|languages=Siamese (official)Buddhism </br> LaoIslam|government_type=[[National </br>republicanism|National Tai Yuan </br> Tai Yai </br> Chinese dialects </br> Othersrepublic]]|capital=Ayothaya|established=1934|flag=RTL_Flag_Thaitania.png}}
 
'''Thaitania,''' officially the '''Thai National Republic of Thaitania''' (Thai: สาธารณรัฐชาติไทย) and formerly known as '''Siam''', is a country in Southeast Asia bordered by [[Erawati]] to the northwest, [[Viet-Nam|Viet Nam]] to the east, and [[Kampuchea]] to the southeast. ItIn 1934, the Ayothaya kingdom was historicallyoverthrown knownafter asnearly Siam,six orcenturies theof Ayutthayaexistence Kingdom,and namedreplaced afterby itswith capitala [[National republicanism|national republic]]. InSoon 1934after, theit monarchybecame wasa overthrownfounding andmember replacedof bythe a[[International National-Republican governmentCoalition]]. In 1952, the country officially adopted the short-form name Thaitania''Thaitania.'' It is a founding member of the [[International Republican Coalition]].
 
== Etymology ==
The name Thaitania comes from the word ''Taitani'' plus the Latin suffix ''-ia''. ''Taitani'' itself comes from the ethnonym ''thai'' ไทย and the word ''thani'' ธานี (meaning 'town') and was coined in the early 18th century as an imitation of the Latin term ''Castellani'' (given to an ancient Iberian tribe, later evolving into the modern Spanish ethnonym ''castellano''). In the 19th century, the term ''Taitania'' was coined in Spanish-language documents in Viet Nam. In the 1920s, the name began being used by Thai national republicans, eventually being assumed by the government as Thaitania in 1952.
The name ''Thaitania'' or ''Taitania'' comes from ''Thai + [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-tania tania]'' (a suffix denoting a territory related to the Iberian peninsula), and first appeared in the late 18th century in Spanish records.
 
Prior to the 20th century, the country was widely known as Siam (สยาม, via Portuguese ''Sciam'') or Ayothaya (alternatively spelled Hudia or Odia), the name of the country's seven-century-old capital. Colloquially, many still refer to the country by these names, though they are not officially sanctioned by the government.
Prior to 1952, Thaitania was known by many names to outsiders, commonly Siam, Ayutthaya, or sometimes ''Ratcha'anachak Siam'' (Kingdom of Siam). Within Thaitania, Thais usually referred to the country as ''Prathet Thai'' or the colloquial ''Mueang Thai''.
 
Internally, the country has always been called ''muang thai'' มืองไทย or ''prathet thai'' ประเทศไทย, both roughly translating to 'Thai country'. The term ''rat cha ana chak'' ''thai'' ราชอาณาจักรไทย ('Thai kingdom') is often used in historiography to refer to the period between 1238AD and 1934AD.
After the National Republican Party of Siam took over in 1934, the nation was commonly referred to as the ''Siamese National Republic,'' or the ''Republic of Siam.'' By the 1940s, there was a strong push to distance themselves from the name ''Siam'' and adopt a new official name to be used in official English contexts. There were several suggestions for the new name, including ''Pratet Thai, Mueang Thai,'' and simply just ''Thai.'' An ad-hoc committee for the selection of names was formed in 1950, and the name ''Thaitania'' was eventually selected and made official in 1952.
 
When the national republicans took control of Siam in 1934, the country's official name in English was rendered as the 'Siamese National Republic'. In 1940s, there was a strong push within the government to distance the country from the name Siam, which had gained monarchical connotations in other countries from the late 19th century. The indigenous names ''muang thai'' มืองไทย and ''prathet thai'' ประเทศไทย were suggested, but were considered unsuitable as exonyms. In 1950, an ''ad hoc'' committee was formed, and two years later the name Thaitania was selected.
 
== History ==
{{Main|History of Thaitania}}
The Ayothaya kingdom was founded in 1351 by King Ramathibody I of the Uthong dynasty. The kingdom switched hands numerous times, with the Golden Castle dynasty (''prasat thong'' ปราสาททอง) coming to power in 1622. In 1656, the pro-French monarch Ramathibody III ascended to the throne. His reign and support for a patrimonial bureaucracy ignited tensions between various political factions in the country. Eventually, a coalition of the [[Netherlands|Dutch]], [[England|English]], the Buddhist clergy, and [[Persia|Persian]] & Makassarese immigrants overthrew him in the Revolution of 1692.
Kosa Pan, a descendant of the Sukhothay dynasty, was crowned as Sanphet VII. His Lin Thong dynasty (ลิ้นทอง, 'golden tongue') would rule from 1692 to 1783. In the Burmese-Siamese War of 1765, the country successfully repelled Burmese invaders, though the government was significantly weakened. The Lin Thong were overthrown by the House of Praphasara (ประภาสระ, 'radiance') in 1783. In 1849, the [[Erawa|Burmese]] invaded and annexed the northern state of Lan Na. As a precautionary measure, in 1854, the Treaty of Petbury was signed, with the Praphasara dynasty leasing the port of Petbury to the British for 99 years and establishing an alliance. In 1887, Siam annexed the northeastern kingdom of Lan Chang and asserted their control over the vast majority of the agricultural Isan region.
 
Suggested as early as the 17th century, the idea of a canal in the southern part of the country resurfaced during the late 19th century. Such a canal would allow ships to bypass the [[Netherlands|Dutch]]-dominated Straits of Malacca completely and would be very economically productive. Construction of the canal began in 1881 and was finished in 1893, dubbed the Tangom Canal (from ทางอ้อม, 'detour').
=== Kingdom of Siam ===
The land which is now Thaitania (historically called Siam by foreigners) was historically ruled by multiple Thai states, including the Sukhothai Kingdom, Chiang Mai, Lan Na. However, Thaitania was most known to be historically ruled by the Ayutthaya Kingdom, which lasted since its formation in 1351 up until its dissolution in 1934 by the Siamese National Republican movement. As the Ayutthaya kingdom, Siam had fought multiple conflicts against the Khmers, the Burmese, and the Vietnamese.
 
===== Anglo-Siamese Alliance (1953) =====
In 1849, the Burmese Empire annexed the Kingdom of Lannathai, which bordered Siam to the north. To deter further Burmese expansion into Thai territory, Siam sought an alliance with Great Britain. In 1953, Ramathibodi IV signed the Treaty of Alliance and Trade with Great Britain. In exchange, Great Britain is granted a 99-year lease on the Siamese port of Petbury. The latter half of the 19th century saw Siam's rise as a significant power in Indochina, eventually annexing the neighboring kingdom of Lan Xang in 1887.
 
===== Canal of Thaitania (1893) =====
The idea of a canal through the Kra Isthmus connecting the Andaman Sea to the Gulf of Thaitania was suggested as early as the 17th century. Numerous surveys had been done before the 19th century to assess the possibility of such a canal, but the idea was discarded as impractical with the technology at the time.
 
The idea resurfaced in the second half of the 19th century after the British took interest in the project. Such a canal would lead to ships completely bypassing the Strait of Malacca, which was dominated by their rival, the Netherlands, and would reduce the travel distance to the British holdings in China. The King of Siam allowed British engineers to survey the region, and the construction of the canal started in 1881. The Canal of Thaitania , finished in 1893, propelled Siam's status as a regional power, and diminished the strategic importance of the Strait of Malacca.
 
An anti-monarchial movement grew within the country starting in the 1910s. Large demonstrations and riots erupted in Ayothaya in 1932. Two years later, the Plotpoy Party (ปลดปล่อย, 'to liberate') overthrew the monarchy and established a [[National republicanism|national republic]]. This became known as the Siamese Revolution. In 1937, the country annexed Lan Na from British-controlled [[Erawa|Burma]], a move that was only recognized by fellow republican countries. At the same time, the Thai government began supporting the national republican movement in Burma.
===== The Siamese Revolution (1932-1934) =====
There has been a growing anti-monarchial sentiment throughout the 1910s and 1920s. Large scale protests break out in 1932 in the capital, Ayutthaya. This came to a head when in 1934, the National Republican Party of Siam eventually took over and dismantled the monarchy.
 
==== National RepublicList of Thaitanialeaders ====
In the 1937, Thaitania (then known as the Siamese National Republic) expanded its territory westwards, after it invaded and annexed Lan Na from the British. At the time, only the National Republican bloc recognized the Siamese occupation of Lan Na. Siam, along with Russia, was also involved in Erawati's war for independence, supporting the rebels against the British.
 
==== List of monarchs ====
In 1952, the National-Republican government officially adopted the name ''Thaitania'' in English contexts.
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!
! colspan="2" |Reign
!Dynasty
!Notes
|-
|Ramathibody III
|
|1656
|1692
| Prasat Thong
|
|-
|[[Sanphet VIII]]
|
|1692
|1717
| rowspan="4" |Lin Thong
|
|-
|Sanphet IX
|
|1717
|1719
|
|-
|Intharacha IV
|
|1719
|1742
|
|-
|Sanphet X
|
|1742
|1783
|
|-
|Ramesuan III
|
|1783
|1807
| rowspan="7" |Praphasara
|
|-
|Ramesuan IV
|
|1807
|1829
|
|-
|[[Ramthibody IV]]
|
|1829
|1874
|
|-
|Sanphet XI
|
| colspan="2" |1874
|
|-
|Ramesuan V
|
|1875
|1916
|
|-
|Sanphet XII
|
|1916
|1929
|
|-
|[[Sanphet XIII]]
|
|1929
|1934
|
|}
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