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VajiravudhVajiravudh (January 1, 1880 - November 25, 1925) (also known as Rama VI, reigning title Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua) was King of Siam (now Thailand) from 1910 until his death. He succeeded his father, King Chulalongkorn. His mother was Queen Sripatcharinthara. When Vajiravudh was only 11 years old, he was sent to study at an English cadet school and then the University of Oxford. Unsurprisingly, therefore, Siam inherited a great deal of Anglo-Saxon culture. When Crown Prince Vajirunahit died, Vajiravudh succeeded him and was crowned as the 6th king of the Chakri dynasty on October 23 1910, after his father's death. Vajiravudh reigned during the transition from an old-fashioned to a modernized and prosperous Thailand. He continued the modernizations introduced by his father, whose great achievements were difficult to follow. At the end of the reign of Rama VI, Siam had many serious problems, many of which were setbacks resulting from modernization. Siam spent a lot of money on western technology, while receiving little from exporting its mostly agricultural products. When King Vajiravudh ascended to the throne, he was the only hope for the people of the famine and plague stricken country. However, some were disappointed to see that the new king could barely manage the tasks that were essential for the country. This was most strikingly visible when a coup d'etat against him took place on November 11 1911, led by young soldiers. The plot was to seize the king and force him to peacefully abdicate, after which they would urge other princes to take his place as the first President of a Siamese republic. The coup failed, and all the accomplices were arrested. Those soldiers thought that the king had nothing to do but write plays and act in them himself with his favorites. They also accused the king of living a luxurious life in western style; building Sanam Charn castle and Lumphini park, and owning expensive horses from Australia, while preaching to his subjects to be austere and nationalistic. The most important factor in the coup was the king's introduction of senior scouts to the nobility and the soldiers. The accomplices thought that this disrupted the military order and secretly consolidated the monarchial power. Nonetheless, this coup became the inspiration for the revolution in 1932. King Vajiravudh could have been one of Thailand's highly renowned artists, writing modern novels, short stories, plays and even journals, if he had not been chosen to be the crown prince and the king. Among his works were translations of three Shakespeare plays - The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet. The king's private life was another cause of public controversy and rumors. He had lived as a bachelor for years, unlike his grandfather and father who emphatically practised polygamy. The king liked to do his work, play cards and play night and day with his favorites who were good looking young men, which led to suspicions that he might be homosexual. Finally he decided to get married, mostly to produce an heir to the throne as an essential factor in its stability. However he remained childless until two hours before his death, when his wife gave birth to a daughter. Thus his brother became the new king Rama VII. Among Vajiravudh's most notable accomplishments were the reform of the country's administration, the growth of public education, the surname system as used in western countries, and the modern flag. However his most notable contribution was the focus on Nationalism. King Vajiravudh could be praised as the father of Thai nationalism, which was later reproduced by Field Marshall Phibunsongkhram and Sarit Dhanarajata. Vajiravudh was also the first king to see Thailand in a foreign war. Siam took place in World War I on the side of the Allied Powers. Though the Thai did not do much fighting, they were the only Southeast Asians in the war (except for 20,000 Vietnamese coolies drafted by their colonial French overlords). Vajiravudh Vajiravudh
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