Download or read book The Rise and Decline of Thai Absolutism written by Kullada Kesboonchoo Mead and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2006-08-15 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the development of Thailand from the integration of Siam into the European world economy at the beginning of the nineteenth century, up to the emergence of Thailand as a modern nation state in the twentieth century. It concentrates in particular on the reign of King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910), during which period the state was modernized, the power of the great nobles was subordinated to the state, and a modern bureaucracy and education system were created.