Chakri Dynasty

The Chakri Dynasty (ราชวงศ์จักรี, Ratchawong Chakkri) is a dynasty of monarchs that rules Thailand today . It is also called the Rattanakosin Dynasty, the Bangkok Dynasty, etc., and is also called the Chakri Dynasty by romanizing it . Currently, Rama X reigns as the King of Thailand .

Jwari is not the surname of the royal family . Literally, it is a Thai expression that refers to Vishnu , which means 'one with chakram ' . Originally, it was the title of the Ayutthaya dynasty and the Great King of Thailand before the Zhangli dynasty .[1]

King Takshin, who founded Siam, suffered from mental illness in his later years, called himself Buddha, and pursued violent politics, so he was forcibly detained and murdered by Chakri.

General Chakri founded the Chakri Dynasty when he ascended the throne as King Rama I. By the time of King Rama V, a wave of imperialism had swept through Southeast Asia . King Rama V realized the need for westernization and carried out reforms. He also practiced the tightrope diplomacy (bamboo diplomacy) between Britain in the west (British Indies ) and France in the east ( French Indochina ), allowing Siamese independence to be preserved in exchange for ceding significant territories to the great powers in the process. there was.

In 1932, a coup d'etat named Revolution was changed to Thailand (Thailand), and the king's power was greatly restricted as it became a constitutional monarchy on the premise monarchy . The military dictator, who was a revolutionary for him, was dictatorship. At that time, King Rama VII retired, and his successor, Rama VII , died in 1946.

King Rama IX , who ascended the throne in 1946, used his authority to act as a mediator between the struggles between various military leaders and the democratization movement after Plak Phibunsongkhram lost power. increased real power. His actions have been praised by many Thais, but at the same time he is also the target of criticism for retreating democracy.

The status of the king and royal family in Thailand is absolute compared to other constitutional monarchies. This is because the royal family contributed to maintaining independence from the wave of imperialism and also functioned as a major mediator in stabilizing the political situation in modern Thailand .

Perhaps because of this reputation, Thailand is strongly punishing criticism of the king and royal family as if it were a country with an absolute monarchy in the past. Criticism of the king and royal family is prohibited in Thailand, and violations can result in up to 15 years in prison. For this reason, minority groups in Thailand that criticize the king and royal family operate in secret. Although criticism of the royal family has increased significantly since the 2000s and 2010s, its influence is minimal due to state repression.

The royal family, which has a profound influence on the economy, politics, military, bureaucracy, and people, is an important key point in understanding Thailand's political landscape.

The Thai royal family's assets are said to be worth a whopping $5 billion, making it the 5th largest royal family in the world. Considering that the 1st to 4th place are oil-producing countries, it is the largest among non-oil-producing countries. Australia's ABC News and other sources estimate the size of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's (King Rama IX) wealth at approximately $30 billion to $40 billion (approximately 34 to 45 trillion won).

The Crown Property Bureau, which is in charge of the Thai royal family's finances, owns more than 100 companies, including Siam Commercial Bank , Thailand's largest bank, and Siam Cement Group, its largest corporation. The royal family's wealth accounts for 10% of Thailand's total assets. In other words, the King of Thailand has a strong influence on the political and business world as both a monarch and the head of a conglomerate. In addition, they own a lot of real estate, making a profit of KRW 90 billion a year alone from 70 million square meters of land, mainly in the capital Bangkok. There are also bureaucratic buildings on the land, showing the close relationship between officials and the royal family. article

In addition, the royal family is involved in various fields such as shopping malls, hospitals, heavy industry, and broadcasting. The hospital medical system has some positive aspects, such as providing welfare to the common people through low medical costs or even designating free medical hospitals by region, but in reality, the quality of medical services is low, so there are many cases in which people do not receive proper treatment, but there is no significant improvement plan.

The reason why the Thai royal family dominated the business world was because, as Thailand began modernizing in the 19th century, most businesses were operated with royal funds. Of course, profits from the business flowed to the royal family. And politically, he was unable to exercise any real power and instead focused on financial power.

Royal property is not taxed, is not monitored by the government, and property management details are not clearly disclosed. Since the royal family is a sacred and inviolable territory, property management is also done in secret. Even if you try to criticize the royal family's finances, it is not easy because this is a country where criticism of the royal family is governed by corongtang . Related articles

The Thai edition of The New York Times , December 3, 2015, reporting an article dealing with the opacity of royal finance management . The content was censored and deleted due to the above-mentioned royal insult prohibition law . Censored article content

In modern Thailand, where coups are frequent and political instability is high, the most trusted partner of many businessmen, including foreigners, is the royal family. Since the military, which is the main cause of Thailand's political instability, cannot touch the royal family, the royal family has been able to maintain stable financial resources. So if you get in touch with the Thai royal family, you can keep your business stable.

The 'Rama' given to the kings of the Chakri Dynasty refers to Ramachandra , the Hindu incarnation of Vishnu , and is not the king's name.

In the past, Kings of Thailand sometimes identified themselves with Rama in terms of sanctification. As Westernization was achieved, Western kingdoms tried to imitate the title of king as XXn years old, but this was not the case in Thailand, where the name of the monarch was not carelessly called . It was contrary to custom. At that time, the king was not called by name directly, but the algebra was added, such as the first king, and the addition of a llama symbolizing the king of Thailand was settled in the style of "Rama X". It was Rama VI who initiated this custom.

There is an ominous prophecy handed down to the Chakri Dynasty from King Rama I , which predicts that the dynasty's lifespan will end in the 9th generation . # However, since this is a work that is critical of the Chakri dynasty, the similar tale of Prithvi Narayan from Nepal may have been forcibly adapted to Thailand. This and other Nepalese tales also became famous after the monarchy in Nepal was abolished . However, the fact that this groundless rumor has spread itself shows that the public sentiment of the Thai people has changed noticeably compared to before.

The branches of the royal family are called Ratchasakun (ราชสกุล), and there are a total of 131 families (91 with the brothers of King Rama I and descendants from Rama I to VII as the founders, and 40 with the father kings as the founders).