As part of mainland Southeast Asia, the territory of Thailand (previously known as Siam) has historically been part of a region that has been governed by small polities, often geographically remote from each other, which have been drawn into larger alliances or federations through ties of mutual kinship o favour-exchange or, else, through short-term military domination. A strong Buddhist tradition has acted to provide legitimacy for temporal rulers insofar as they could demonstrate personal virtue and the mandate of heaven. In the event of calamities and natural disasters, therefore, it was possible to interpret events as the censure of heaven. Under these circumstances, it would be legitimate for a rival claimant to a throne to lead a challenge and the gods would determine who the rightful victor should be.
In a feudal society, people would nearly always have at least two rulers. One was the local lord or chao who controlled the polity of which the individual was a part and the second was the ruler of the local ruler, who might have been the King of Siam or another powerful but remote person. Perceived injustice at a local level was more likely to stimulate a provincial revolt which had the objective of changing the local ruler rather than a challenge to national rule. The concept of a nation state in Siam did not have significance much before the twentieth century, although the first systematic attempts to create it were undertaken by King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) (1853-1910).
Rebellions over the years have been characterized to a large degree by their small-scale, inspiration by local causes and, frequently, leadership by an individual claiming religious authority and, in some cases, miraculous powers. Examples of rebellions along these lines include the Bunkwang Rebellion (1699), the Chiangkaeo Rebellion (1791), the Sa-Kiad-Ngong Rebellion (1820), the Battle of Sambok (1895), the phu mi bun Rebellion (1901-2) and others (Seri and Hewison, pp.70-9). These rebellions followed the previously stated model. Owing to the geographical remoteness of many locations, together with the seasonal nature of military service, it was possible for a group of rebels to make conquests of important strategic points early in the campaign. However, when the king in his capital was able to recruit and deploy an organized military force, the rebels were generally dispersed without too much difficulty. In the Bunkwang Rebellion of 1699, for example, a temple-educated commoner gathered together a group of peasants in the name of liberation for the Lao people of the northeast of Siam from the control of the Thais of Ayutthaya. Bunkwang seized Nakhon Ratchasima and then decided to march on Ayutthaya itself, with 4,000 peasants, 84 elephants and 100 horses. They reached Lopburi by crossing the mountains but were then met by Ayutthayan troops who swiftly defeated them and killed Bunkwang (ibid.). in 1895, the so-called Battle of Sambok was an instance of resistance to the newly introduced taxation system. Villagers were encouraged by their leaders to refuse to pay, for reasons that included the desire to be part of a Lao rather than a Thai kingdom and because it would have meant a lengthy journey to Nakhon Ratchasima. However, an armed force was dispatched and soldiers killed three village leaders with the remainder of the villagers quickly giving up the fight. This form of rebellion, which might in truth be better labeled as passive resistance, forms a recognizable theme in Thai literature. Minfong Ho's Rice Without Rain, for example, features pivotal scenes in which the heroine's father id persuaded to stand up to predatory officials whose imposition of taxes is deemed to be not just unfair but contrary to the natural order. The official has a police officer arrest and imprison the father and his life is subsequently ruined.
In a feudal society, people would nearly always have at least two rulers. One was the local lord or chao who controlled the polity of which the individual was a part and the second was the ruler of the local ruler, who might have been the King of Siam or another powerful but remote person. Perceived injustice at a local level was more likely to stimulate a provincial revolt which had the objective of changing the local ruler rather than a challenge to national rule. The concept of a nation state in Siam did not have significance much before the twentieth century, although the first systematic attempts to create it were undertaken by King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) (1853-1910).
Rebellions over the years have been characterized to a large degree by their small-scale, inspiration by local causes and, frequently, leadership by an individual claiming religious authority and, in some cases, miraculous powers. Examples of rebellions along these lines include the Bunkwang Rebellion (1699), the Chiangkaeo Rebellion (1791), the Sa-Kiad-Ngong Rebellion (1820), the Battle of Sambok (1895), the phu mi bun Rebellion (1901-2) and others (Seri and Hewison, pp.70-9). These rebellions followed the previously stated model. Owing to the geographical remoteness of many locations, together with the seasonal nature of military service, it was possible for a group of rebels to make conquests of important strategic points early in the campaign. However, when the king in his capital was able to recruit and deploy an organized military force, the rebels were generally dispersed without too much difficulty. In the Bunkwang Rebellion of 1699, for example, a temple-educated commoner gathered together a group of peasants in the name of liberation for the Lao people of the northeast of Siam from the control of the Thais of Ayutthaya. Bunkwang seized Nakhon Ratchasima and then decided to march on Ayutthaya itself, with 4,000 peasants, 84 elephants and 100 horses. They reached Lopburi by crossing the mountains but were then met by Ayutthayan troops who swiftly defeated them and killed Bunkwang (ibid.). in 1895, the so-called Battle of Sambok was an instance of resistance to the newly introduced taxation system. Villagers were encouraged by their leaders to refuse to pay, for reasons that included the desire to be part of a Lao rather than a Thai kingdom and because it would have meant a lengthy journey to Nakhon Ratchasima. However, an armed force was dispatched and soldiers killed three village leaders with the remainder of the villagers quickly giving up the fight. This form of rebellion, which might in truth be better labeled as passive resistance, forms a recognizable theme in Thai literature. Minfong Ho's Rice Without Rain, for example, features pivotal scenes in which the heroine's father id persuaded to stand up to predatory officials whose imposition of taxes is deemed to be not just unfair but contrary to the natural order. The official has a police officer arrest and imprison the father and his life is subsequently ruined.
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