泰國的建國及獨立自主

Thailand's Independence

我們首先介紹傣族的起源、及發展，特別是暹羅泰族遷徙、及分布。接著回顧泰國與西方帝國主義的先後接觸，包括葡萄牙、荷蘭、英國、及法國。西方強權因為在泰國的擴張挫敗，於17世紀轉進，到了到18世紀中葉才又捲土重來，尤其是法國、及英國的蠶食鯨吞。終究，泰國主權獨立在英法競逐下獲得共同保證，避免被瓜分的命運。在結語之前，我們簡單描述日本介入的插曲。

"We start with a review of the origin and development of the the Tai peoples, particularly the migrations and distributions of the Thai People. We then move to look into the encounters between Thailand, formerly known as Siam, and Western colonial powers, including Portual, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom. As a result of setbacks in their expansions, these powers retreated in the 17^(th) century. They did not come back until the mid 18^(th) century, with France and the United Kindom competing with one another for business and territorial encroachments. Eventually, Thailand's sovereign independence was guaganteed as a buffer state under the joint guarantee by the French and the British colonial empires without being annexted. Before coming to the conclusions, we sketch the brief interlude of the Japanese."