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Vajiravudh
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Vajiravudh (January 1, 1881 – November 25, 1925) (Rama VI, reigning title Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua; ) was King of Siam (now Thailand) from 1910 until his death. Vajiravudh is known for his efforts to create and promote Siamese nationalism. His reign was characterized by Siam's movement further towards democracy and minimal participation in World War I.
rince Vajiravudh was born on January 1, 1880 to Chulalongkorn and one of his four queens, Saovabha.
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Vajiravudh (January 1, 1881 – November 25, 1925) (Rama VI, reigning title Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua; ) was King of Siam (now Thailand) from 1910 until his death. Vajiravudh is known for his efforts to create and promote Siamese nationalism. His reign was characterized by Siam's movement further towards democracy and minimal participation in World War I.
Education
Prince Vajiravudh was born on January 1, 1880 to Chulalongkorn and one of his four queens, Saovabha. In 1888, upon coming of age, Vajiravudh received the title Krom Khun Thep Dvaravati. He was firstly educated in the Royal Palace in Siamese and English language. He continued his education in Britain, at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1891 and became part of Durham Light Infantry Regiment upon graduation. In 1894, his half-brother Crown Prince Vajirunahit died. Vajiravudh was then appointed the new Crown Prince. He made his studies in law and history at Christ Church, Oxford in 1899. However, he suffered the appendicitis that barred him from personally receiving the graduation in 1901.
Crown Prince Vajiravudh returned to Siam in 1902 and became a monk temporarily according to Siamese traditions in 1904. In 1906, his father Chulalongkorn traveled to Europe to cure his lung disease. Chulalongkorn made Vajiravudh the regent of Siam. Crown Prince Vajiravudh accomplishment during his regency was his supervision of the construction of Chulalongkorn Equesterian Statue.
Chulalongkorn died on October 23, 1910. Vajuravudh succeeded his father as the king of Siam.
Ascension and Early Reforms
Even before coronation, Vajiravudh swiftly passed several reforms. He organized Siam’s Defence and established military academies. He created the rank of General for the first time and Siam, with his uncle Prince Bhanurangsi and the first Siamese general. He also raised the Royal Page School to Chulalongkorn Academy for Civil Officials – then Chulalongkorn University.
In 1911, he established the Scout Order in Siam, part of which became Thai Military Reserve today. On November 11, 1911, Vajiravudh coronation was held with royalties from Europe and Japan as guests – for the first time in Siam to host international parties. In December, the first airplane was flown in Siam.
When King Vajiravudh, ascended to the throne, he was the only hope for the people of the serious famine and plague stricken country for years. In the late 1910s and early 1920s, the country faced a crisis caused by drought, famine and the shortage of rice. There were serious disagreements between the King and his officials on managing these economic and political problems. Vajiravudh, 'a liberal', always rejected sudden intervention of the government in economic problems such as the rise of rice price, proposed by new officials graduated from European countries. Apparently, the King eventually became a very active critic of the ethnic Chinese rice traders and rice mill owners, seen as greedy businessmen who were exploiting poor people. Vajiravudh thus always compared these Chinese merchants with 'jews' in Germany.
Incident of 130
It is said that Chulalongkorn once stated; My son Vajiravudh, upon his coronation, will give you all the Siamese citizens the gift of Parliament and Constitution. The call for democracy had grown stronger that Chulalongkorn had to propose the promulgation of a Constitution for the kingdom of Siam.
The radicals sternly expected that constitution upon the coronation of Vajiravudh. However, no constitution came. In 1911, the Wuchang Uprising that led to the fall of Qing dynasty was a strong urge for Siamese radicals to act. So, for the first time, an attempt to overthrow the monarchy and establish the democracy happened in Siam.
The immediate cause, however, was laid even before Vajiravudh’s coronation. In 1909, Crown Prince Vajiravudh had ordered a Thai Royal Military Academy’s student who had had an argument with one of Vajiravudh’s pages to be canned. The alumni of the Acedemy, who had already been stationed throughout the kingdom, was provoked further by Vajiravudh’s establishment of the Scout Order, which was seen as Vajiravudh’s personal troops to replace the military.
The plotters were, however, relatively young army and navy officials, who was also the students in the 1909 event. The coup was planned to be staged on April 1 – Siamese traditional New Year Day. They also planned to choose one of Vajiravudh’s brothers as the first President of Siam. They also viewed that, if the absolute monarchy had been removed, Siam would achieve modernization like those of Japan. The coup leaders accused the King of devoting his time to writing plays and acting in them with his companions. They also accuse him of living a luxurious life in western style; building Sanam Chan Palace and Lumphini Park, and owning expensive horses from Australia, while preaching to his subjects to be austere and nationalistic.
However, the coup plan was leaked. Captain Yut Kongyu, who was selected as the assassinator by lottery, told Mom Chao Prawatpan – and then Prince Chakrabongse - about the upcoming coup. Prince Chakrabongse personally led the arrest of all conspirators and their punishments were severe – including executions to long-term imprisonment. However, Vajiravudh halted the punishment and released them all saying that what they did was for sake of the kingdom.
Key contributions
Literary works
King Vajiravudh was one of Thailand's highly renowned artists, writing modern novels, short stories, plays and even journals. Among his works were translations of three Shakespeare plays - The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet and many other writing pieces to promote the ideology of Thai nationalism. In several writings, he criticised the ethnic Chinese in Thailand as being "Jews of the East", particularly the immigrant traders, due in part to the their economic affluence in Thailand.
Administrative reform and nationalism
Rama VI began his reign with a nationwide tour, sending inspectors to the provinces. After receiving reports, he decided to 'reform' his father (Rama V)'s reform in provincial administration. A new division of province was issued. After troubles in the provinces were reported, new 'viceroys' (Uparaja), the king's agents, were created and sent to supervise provincial governors of the Ministry of Interior, new organ established in the previous reign. This change caused discontent among senior nobles.
He also introduced the surname system as used in western countries, and a flag. He also established the 1924 Palace Law of Succession, which governs succession to the Thai throne to this day. However, according to later historians, his most notable contribution was the focus on nationalism, aiming at Chinese merchants. King Vajiravudh is then considered the father of Thai nationalism, which was later built upon by Field Marshall Phibunsongkhram and Sarit Dhanarajata. He introduced the practice of using the name Rama for the Chakri kings in deference to foreign practice.
Education reform
As he had graduated from Oxford, United Kingdom, King Vajiravudh was interested in a new system of education; western style school or college. He established the Kingdom's first school and university. Upon his accession to the throne, he founded Royal Pages College in 1910. The school was modeled on the traditional English public school, which the King had appreciated while he was spending his education in England. After his death in 1925, the school was renamed Vajiravudh College in his honor. In provinces, numbers of modern, provincial schools were also growing significantly.
Vajiravudh also established Chulalongkorn University in 1917. The University, which was named in honour of his father, was the first western-style university in the country.
Other
Vajiravudh was also the first king to see Siam fight in a foreign war. Siam took part in World War I on the side of the Allied Powers. They were the only Southeast Asians in the European theatre (except for 140,000 Vietnamese troops and workers drafted by the French). Though the Siamese did not do much fighting, as the main objective of the war participation would be the hope in dealing with Western Powers, allowing Siam to later negotiate with the Great Powers on 'unfair' treaties made before.
Through most of his reign there was a good deal of criticism of the king. Some argued that the real power in the state lay with the king's favourites, the young men of his inner entourage for whom he had written plays and with whom he played games and organised clubs and societies. Some, like King Chulalongkorn before his death and Queen Saowapha, his mother, frowned on the king's personal life and his almost total lack of interest in the opposite sex. It was commonly known, but never spoken of, that the King was in fact an "erratic homosexual". He would in fact usually have been passed over had his father not introduced succession-by-legal-primogeniture.
Marriage and succession
On 10 August 1924, King Vajiravudh married Chao Chom Suvadhana (??????????????). She was granted the title Princess Consort Suvadhana or HRH Phra Nang Chao Suvadhana (????????????????? ????????????) on 10 October 1925.
King Vajiravudh and his wife had one daughter, Her Royal Highness Princess Bejaratana (????????????????????? ?????????????????????? ???????????????). She was born on 24 November 1925, just 2 hours before the king's demise.
Without a direct male heir, King Vajiravudh's brother Prajadhipok became the new monarch.
See also
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