Southeast Asian Country That Has Never Been Colonized, What's The Reason?

YOGYAKARTA Colonialism managed to penetrate the Southeast Asian region in the 16th century. In just a matter of years, the European nation managed to dominate the countries in the region, including controlling markets and the economy. However, of the 11 countries in Southeast Asia, there is one country that managed to escape the European occupation, namely Siam. The Siam state is now known as the only Southeast Asian country that has never been colonized. So what is the reason?

Siam is the name of the old Thai country used for centuries. The name Siam finally changed Thailand in 1939 in the era of leadership of General Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who at that time served as Prime Minister.

Reporting from New Histonian, Siam is considered capable of outperforming the power of colonialism in the 19th century for several reasons.

The first reason is geographically, Siam is among the two great powers in Southeast Asia, namely Britain which controls Burma, Malaya, and Singapore and France that control Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

It should be noted that at that time France and Britain did not want to clash with each other or did not want to engage in open conflict. To prevent the conflict, either France or Britain chose to maintain good diplomatic relations with Siam.

Another reason Siam has become a country that is not colonized is because of science. Please note, the kings of Siam, especially King Chulalongkorn, chose to adjust their political system to a modern European version. The decision then brought awareness that the creation of a regional map was very important.

Siam menyadari bahwa Eropa adalah bangsa yang sangat menekankan pada pengetahuan, terutama berkaitan dengan topolography. Bahkan Inggris dan Prancis menggunakan pengangan peta untuk menentukan wilayah mana yang bisa memiasa. Jika mereka menemukan wilayah yang masih abu-abu atau tidak jelas, mereka akan segera melakukan klaim wilayah tersebut. Daranya Siam kemudian mengadakan proyek besar yaitu pembuatan map.

The third reason why Siam or Thailand managed to escape colonialism was because of the strengthening of power. As is known, Siam in the middle of the 19th century implemented a Mandala political system where the central authorities did not have full control over the entire region.

Meanwhile, areas located far from the center are often controlled by local kings even though the king of Siam is de facto entitled and responsible for the entire area of Siam.

King Chulalongkorn certainly realized that this condition would trigger vulnerability to his territory. For this reason, King Siam began to strip local kings and form professional soldiers as part of the modernism of the Siam military. Professional soldiers receive modern training including war strategies, the use of modern weapons, and modern military discipline.

This professional soldier then served to help King Chulalongkorn concentrate his power and overthrow local authorities. After the local authorities were successfully removed, all centers of government were transferred to Bangok with the king as the head who controlled everything. This power camp is in fact quite powerful and becomes something that benefits the war against Western colonialists.

That is information related to the state of Aisa Tunggara that has never been colonized. Visit VOI.id to get other interesting information.