Background Part1

Thailand's origin is traditionally tied to the short lived kingdom of Sukhothai founded in 1238, after which the larger kingdom of Ayutthaya was established in the mid 14th century.

Siam is the name, which the country was known all over the world until 1949. On May 1949, an official proclamation changed the name of the country to "Thai" or Thailand.

Thailand contact with various European powers became in the 16th century. Thailand was never colonized by a European power because there are two reasons:

First, it is left as a buffer state between parts of Asia that were colonized by the French and the British.

Second, Thailand has been a number of very able rulers in the 1800s. However western influence including the threat of force,  led to many changes in the 19th in century and major concessions to British mercantile interest.

This included the lost of the 3 Southern Provinces which later became Malaysia's 3 northern states.

The geographical Thailand located in the Southeast Asian on the gulf of Thailand that covering area of 513115 sq. km. and shares boundaries with Laos on the east and Northeast, Cambodia on the Southeast, Malaysia on the South and Myanmar on the west and Northwest.

Topographic Thailand is divided into four natural regions:

The North is mountainous region comprising natural forest.

The Central is the basin of the Chao Phraya Rive. It is the richest and most extensive rice producing area in the country.

The Northeast is known as "Isan" that is a huge region with over 20 millions inhabitants; the most of them are engaged in agriculture.

The Southern is hilly to mountainous with thick forest and rich deposits of mineral and ores. This region is the centre for the production of rubber.