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Thailand Chulalongkorn's Reforms
When Mongkut died, his eldest son, Chulalongkorn (Rama V,
1868-1910), a minor at the time, succeeded him. Under his
father's direction, Chulalongkorn had received a thorough
education by European tutors. During the regency that preceded
his coming of age, the young king visited Java and India in order
to witness European colonial administration. Thus he was the
first Chakkri monarch to leave the country. At his coronation in
1873, he announced the abolition of the ancient practice of
prostrating before the monarch, which he regarded as unsuitable
for a modern nation. A number of reform decrees followed,
designed to modernize the judiciary, state finances, and
political structure. The reforms, however, provoked a revolt by
conservatives under Prince Wichaichan in December 1874. Although
the revolt was suppressed, it obliged Chulalongkorn to abandon
"radicalism" and proceed more carefully with reforms. It was more
than a decade before the king and his associates were in a
position to enact more significant changes.
One of the most far-reaching of the later reforms was the
abolition of slavery and the phrai corvee. Slavery was
eliminated gradually, allowing considerable time for social and
economic adaptation, and only disappeared in 1905. As a result of
the introduction of a head tax paid in currency and a regular
army manned by conscription, the corvee lost most of its
function, and wage labor, often provided by Chinese immigrants,
proved more efficient for public works projects. Likewise, the
introduction of salaries for public officials eliminated the need
for the sakdi na. These reforms wrought profound changes
in Thai society.
In 1887 the king asked one of his princes, Devawongse, to
initiate a study of European forms of government and how European
institutions might be fruitfully adopted. The following year, the
prince returned with a proposal for a cabinet government
consisting of twelve functionally differentiated ministries. The
king approved the plan, though several years passed before it
could be fully implemented. In 1893 Prince Damrong Rajanubhab,
acting as minister of interior, began an overhaul of Siam's
antiquated provincial administration. The old semifeudal system
in the outer provinces was gradually replaced by a centralized
state administration. Under Damrong, the Ministry of Interior
became immensely powerful and played a central role in national
unification.
Like his father, Chulalongkorn fully appreciated the
importance of education. He founded three schools on European
lines for children of the royal family and government officials,
including one for girls. Specialized schools were attached to
government departments for the training of civil servants. Study
abroad was encouraged, and promising civil servants and military
officers were sent to Europe for further education. In 1891
Prince Damrong went to Europe to study modern systems of
education. Upon his return he became head of the new Ministry of
Public Instruction, though he was obliged to assume the Ministry
of Interior post a year later.
The country's first railroads were built during
Chulalongkorn's reign, and a line was completed between Bangkok
and Ayutthaya in 1897. This was extended farther north to Lop
Buri in 1901 and to Sawankhalok in 1909. A rail line built south
to Phetchaburi by 1903 was eventually linked with British rail
lines in peninsular Malaya.
Data as of September 1987
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