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02-18-2012, 09:35 PM
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ايوب صابر
مراقب عام سابقا
اوسمتي
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تاريخ الإنضمام :
Sep 2009
رقم العضوية :
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21- الملك شولالون كورن الملقب راما الخامس
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua (
Thai
:
พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรมินทรมหาจุฬาลงกรณ์ฯ พระจุลจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว
), or Rama V (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth
monarch
of
Siam
under the
House of Chakri
. He was known to the Siamese of his time as
Phra Phuttha Chao Luang
(
พระพุทธเจ้าหลวง
– The Royal Buddha). He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam. His reign was characterized by the modernization of Siam, immense government and social reforms, and territorial cessions to the
British Empire
and
French Indochina
. As Siam was threatened by Western expansionism, Chulalongkorn, through his policies and acts, managed to save Siam from being colonized.
[1]
All his reforms were dedicated to Siam’s insurance of survival in the midst of Western colonialism, so that Chulalongkorn earned the epithet
Phra Piya Maharat
(
พระปิยมหาราช
– The Great Beloved King).
Early life
King Chulalongkorn was born on 20 September 1853 to King
Mongkut
and Queen
Debsirindra
and given the name Chulalongkorn. In 1861, he was designated
Krommameun Pikanesuarn Surasangkat
. His father gave him a broad education, including instruction from European tutors such as
Anna Leonowens
. In 1866, he became a
novice monk
for six months in
Wat Bawonniwet
according to royal tradition.
[2]
Upon his return to his secular life in 1867, he was designated
Krommakhun
Pinit Prachanat
(
กรมขุนพินิตประชานาถ
.)
In 1867, King Mongkut led an expedition to the
Malay Peninsula
south of
Hua Hin
,
[3]
to verify his calculations of the
Solar eclipse of 18 August 1868
. Both father and son fell ill of malaria and Mongkut died on 1 Oct. 1868. Supposing the 15-year-old Chulalongkorn also to be dying, King Mongkut on his deathbed had written, “My brother, my son, my grandson, whoever you all the senior officials think will be able to save our country will succeed my throne, choose at your own will.”
Si Suriyawongse
, the most powerful government official of the day, managed the succession of Chulalongkorn to the throne, and his own appointment as
regent
. The coronation was held on 11 November 1868. Chulalongkorn's health improved, and he was tutored in public affairs, traveled to India (then under the
British Raj
) and
Java
(then under Dutch colonial rule) to observe modern administration. He was crowned king in his own right as Rama V on 16 Nov. 1873.
[1]
Si Suriyawongse then arranged the title of
Front Palace
of King
Pinklao
(who was his uncle) to be succeeded by King Pinklao’s son, Prince
Yingyot
(who was then Chulalongkorn’s cousin).
The young Chulalongkorn was an enthusiastic king craving for reforms. He visited Singapore and
Java
in 1870 and
British India
during 1870–1872 to see the administration of British colonies. He toured the administrative centres of Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay and back to Calcutta in early 1872. This journey was later the source of his ideas and methodology of the modernization of Siam.
As a regent, Si Suriyawongse wielded a great influence. Si Suriyawongse continued the works of King Mongkut. He supervised the digging of several important
khlongs
, such as Padung Krungkasem and Damneun Saduak, and the paving of roads such as Chareon Krung and Silom. He was also the patron of Thai literature and performing arts.
The Young King
In 1873, the king became a monk again and returned. The second coronation was held in the same year to celebrate the king’s maturity.
At the end of his regency, Si Suriyawonse was raised to
Somdet Chao Phraya
, the highest title the nobility could attain. Si Suriyawongse himself was the most powerful noble of the 19th century. His family,
Bunnag
, was a powerful one of a Persian descent dominating the Siamese politics since the reign of
Rama I
. Chulalongkorn then married four of his half-sisters. They were all the daughters of Mongkut –
Savang Vadhana
,
Saovabha
, and
Sunandha
with
Concubine Piam
and
Sukumalmarsri
with
Concubine Samli
.
In the same year, Chulalongkorn’s first reform was to establish the
Auditory Office
(Th:
หอรัษฎากรพิพัฒน์)
– to replace the corrupted tax collectors as the only institution that collects taxes. As the tax collectors were under the patronage of various nobles and also provided the financial support to the patron, this caused a great disruption among the nobility, especially the Front Palace. Since the time of King Mongkut, the title of Front Palace had been as powerful as the “second king”, with one-third of national revenue devoted to it. Moreover, Prince Yingyot of the Front Palace was known to be acquainted with many British men, in a time when the British Empire was considered the enemy of Siam.
In 1874, Chulalongkorn chartered the Council of State – as a legislative body – and Privy Council – as his personal counsel based on the British
privy council
. The members of the councils were appointed by the monarch.
Front Palace crisis
In 1874, the Grand Palace was bombed and a fire raged through it. The Front Palace gave no help in extinguishing the fire. This raised suspicions. Prince Yingyot hid himself in the British consulate so that Chulalongkorn could do him no harm. However, the king was waiting, ready to strike, and the tensions continued, until the retired Si Suriyawongse returned from
Ratchaburi
to calm the conflicts.
The "Front Palace Crisis" incident indicated how much power was wielded by the aristocrats and royal relatives, leaving the king little power. This would become one of his main motives to reform the feudal Siam politics, reducing the power held by the nobility.
When Prince Yingyot died in 1885, Chulalongkorn took that opportunity to abolish the titular Front Palace and created the title of "
Crown Prince of Siam
" in accordance with the Western style. Chulalongkorn's son, Prince
Vajirunhis
, was appointed the first Crown Prince of Siam, though he never reigned. In 1895, the Prince died of typhoid at age 17, he was succeeded by his half-brother
Vajiravudh
, who was then at boarding school in England.
After that, Sri Suriyawongse withdrew from politics, as did the Bunnak family.
Heo insurgency
In the northern
Laotian lands
bordering China, the insurgents of the
Taiping rebellion
had taken refuge since the reign of King Mongkut. These Chinese were called
The Heos
and became bandits pillaging the villages. In 1875, Chulalongkorn sent troops from Bangkok to crush the Heos as they ravaged as far as
Vientiane
. However, they met strong Chinese resistance and retreated to
Isan
in 1885. New, modernized forces were sent again and were divided into two groups approaching the Heos from Chiang Kam and Pichai. The Heos scattered and some fled to
Vietnam
. The Siamese armies proceeded to eliminate the remaining Heos. The city of
Nong Khai
maintains memorials for the Siamese dead.
Military and Political Reforms
Freed from the Front Palace and Chinese rebellions, Chulalongkorn initiated his reforms. He established the
Royal Military Academy
in 1887 to train the troops in Western fashion. The modernized forces provided the king much more power to centralize the country.
The government of Siam had remained rather unchanged since the fifteenth century. The central government was headed by the
Samuha Nayak
(i.e. Prime Minister), who controlled the northern parts of Siam, and the
Samuha Kalahom
(i.e. Grand Commander), who controlled the southern Siam in both civil and military affairs. The Samuha Nayak presided over the
Chatu Sadombh
(i.e. Four Pillars). The responsibilities of each pillar were rather overlapping and uncertain. In 1888, Chulalongkorn tried the new ministerial government. The ministers were, in the beginning, the members of royal family. The official establishment of ministries was promulgated in 1892, with all ministries in equal status.
The Council of State proved unable to veto the legal drafts or to give Chulalongkorn advices because the members still respected Chulalongkorn as an absolutist monarch. Chulalongkorn then dissolved the Council altogether and transferred the duty to give advices to the cabinet in 1894.
Chulalongkorn also abolished the traditional Nakorn Bala methods of tortures in judiciary process, which was seen as inhumane and barbaric by Western and Modern views, and introduced the Western code. His Belgian advisor,
Rolin-Jaequemyns
, played a great role in the development of modern Siamese law and judicial system.
Call for democracy
Chulalongkorn was the first Siamese king to send the royal princes to Europe to be educated. In nineteenth century Europe, nationalism flourished and there was a call for liberty. The princes, of course, had been influenced by the liberal ideas of democracy and elections. They encountered republics like
France
and
constitutional monarchies
like the United Kingdom.
In 1884 (103 of Rattakosin Era), Siamese officials in London and Paris arranged a request to Chulalongkorn, citing the threats from European colonialism were coming and Siam should be reformed like
Meiji Japan
and Siam should became a constitutional monarchy. However, Chulalongkorn stated that it was not yet time and he himself was urging reforms.
Throughout Chulalongkorn's reign, writers with radical ideas had their works published for the first time. The most notable ones included
Tianwan
, who had been imprisoned for 17 years and from prison he produced many works criticizing the old Siamese society.
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