Mongkut and the Modernization Wave of the 19th Century

A 19th century Thai King, despite lacking youth, embraced modernization and all in the name of his Kingdom's independence. But he did not act alone, across Asia and Africa, many countries, facing the same imperialist threat, undertook the painful decision. This wave of modernization, however, faced mixed results with some success and many failures.

Table of Contents

1. What Reforms did Mongkut Introduced?

2. Wave of Modernization

A. Imperial Playbook and Argument

B. The Counter Argument and Movement

3. Behind Successes and Failures

4. Summing Up

What was the Urabi Revolt?

Urabi Revolt displayed a resolved of a people to resist against economic and political incursion of a foreign power.

Who was Ismail Pasha?

A visionary desiring to transform Egypt into a beacon of modernization in North Africa, but Ismail Pasha left a legacy of debt that brought his country to the hands of imperial powers.

Rise and Fall of the Dahomey Kingdom

In the west coast of Africa, a kingdom rose that defied European ideas of African civilization as disorganized, chaotic, and unsophisticated. The Kingdom of Dahomey left us the Royal Palaces of Abomey as a testament to its achievements as a kingdom – powerful, artistics, and wealthy. Wealth powered by men and women sold to slavery and shipped to the New World powering the Triangular Trade of the Atlantic.

Victims for Sacrifice in
The History of Dahomy, An Inland Kingdom of Africa, 1793

Gandhi in South Africa

Gandhi in South Africa

Gandhi used non-violence noncooperation, known as satyagraha, to bring independence to his country India. However, the satyagraha developed not in India, but in a country across another side of the Indian Ocean – South Africa. There Gandhi stayed for more than a decade and developed his most revolutionary way of fighting oppression and discrimination.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Great Pyramid of Giza

19th century stereopticon depicting the Great Pyramid

Known as the Horizon of Khufu, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the last remaining Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It served as a tomb of the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. It mobilized thousands of men and resources in order to attain such a gargantuan monument. A monument that served as the testament to the wealth and power as well as ingenuity of Ancient Egyptians.

Dangerous Dictators: Idi Amin

Idi Amin

He ruled his country with an iron fist for 9 years. During that time, he terrorized his people and subjugated them in tremendous fear. He crushed his opponent both real and imagined. His antics surprised many and gave him the image of a “buffoon” in the eyes of the international community. He led his country through his personal taste, making his country isolated, chaotic, and bankrupt. He was one of Africa’s most brutal dictator. He was Idi Amin.

Dangerous Dictators: Mobutu Sese Seko

Mobutu Sese Seko

If someone made a list of worst dictators in history, Mobutu Sese Seko would always be a part of the list. A man who ruined his country, Mobutu ruled with brutality, corruption, and extreme case of narcissism. Served initially as a soldier in the Belgian colonial army, he became journalist and an active participant in politics. When he returned to the military, he became widely involve in the politics of the newly independent Democratic Republic of Congo. So much his involvement, he launched a coup that marked the start of his 32 year reign of terror.

Dangerous Dictators: Jean-Bedel Bokassa

Jean-Bedel Bokassa during his coronation

Known for brutality and outrageous extravagance, Jean-Bedel Bokassa showed an example of how authoritarian military rulers turning into despotic megalomania. From a soldier in the French Army to his country’s Emperor, Bokassa brought terror and poverty to his people.

Papyrus: Foundation of Modern Paper

Example of a papyrus (source: Wikimedia, public domain)

Paper had been and has been an essential part of mankind. It allows improvement it recording, writing, and communication. Many civilization tried to create a form of medium for writing, from Americas to China. But the Egyptians were among the first, if not the first, to develop a material that would lead to creation of paper. From the stems of a plant, the Egyptian created the papyrus.

Almohads: Religious Berber Empire of North Africa

Almohad Caliphate

10th and 11th century, Spain fell under the control of two Muslim Empires. The Almoravids became a powerful Beber Empire in the middle of the 11th century. However, just a hundred years after their rise, the Almoravids saw another contender for their position as a powerful Berber state. In the mountains of the Atlas, from an Islamic preacher and theologian, a new Caliphate would be born - the Almohad Caliphate.

Ghana Empire: Land of Gold

Empire of Ghana

West Africa saw the rise of powerful and very wealthy kingdoms and even empire. Various terrain and environment existed within the African continent. But rivers provided fertile lands capable of supporting the rise of civilization. Already, during the time of the ancient, the Nile River permitted the rise of the Egyptian civilization in the Saharan desert of Africa. And in West Africa, the rivers of Senegal and Niger gave rise to several kingdoms as well. One of the first kingdoms that rose prominently in the region was the Ghana Empire.

Askia Mohammad: The Zenith of the Songhai Empire

Askia Mohammad depicted in Civilization V

The Songhai people rose from the obscurity of the once mighty Mali Empire to become the newest empire in the region thanks to the efforts of its founder Sunni Ali. Sunni Ali died in 1492, leaving his son in charge of the Empire. However, it would be interrupted by the ambitions of one of Ali’s most trusted general – Mohammad Ture or better known as Askia Mohammad. This cunning and tenacious general would march the Empire into its golden age.

Sunni Ali: The Rise of the Songhai Empire

Songhai Empire

Mali’s power had waned by the 15th century. Various regions of the empire began to assert their independence from the declining Mali. Among this regions was near the famous bend of the Niger River. It only took a ruthless ruler, named Sonni or Sunni Ali Ber to lead his people to independence and to a military campaign that would forge a new empire – the Songhai.

Merina Kingdom: Development, Progress, and Fall

Rainilaiarivony

May of 1863 – King Radama II of the Malagasy Kingdom of Merina lay dead, strangled by his officials. Two leaders of the plot, Prime Minister Rainivoninahitriniony and his brother, Rainilaiarivony, looked for a new monarch. Their searched led to them to the closest royal relative of the deceased King – her widow. Unlike previous rulers, succeeding monarchs of King Radama II would not enjoy the same absolute rule that previous monarch did. Three queens of the kingdom would become puppets to their Prime Minister and husband. Ultimately, the cause of the failure of the kingdom would not be wholly due to internal strife but rather brought by foreign entities far more powerful than they were.

Songhai Empire: The Last Great Empire

Songhai Empire

In area of Western Africa, great civilization appeared and fell. Cities like Timbuktu, Gao, and Djenne (Jenne) were just among the flourishing cities of trade, culture, and education. Trans-Saharan trade of cloth, gold, and salt brought wealth and prosperity to the civilization that control such lucrative routes. Rivers provided fresh water and food that sustained empires for long time. Among the last empires that grew in this part of the world is the Empire of Songhai. From obscurity of a shadow of another empire, it grew to become the dominant power in the area.

Andrianampoinimerina: Founder of a New Merina Kingdom

Andrianampoinimerina

A lone big island stand in the East Coast of Africa. The island of Madagascar is the largest island in the African continent. And here a story of Kingdom would begin. Once a small divided Kingdom at the center of the island, a king would rise up to unite once more this kingdom. King Andrianampoinimerina would take challenges by battle or by diplomacy to unite the divided Merina Kingdom and enlarge it to dominate the whole island.

Ranavalona III: The Last Sovereign of Merina

Ranavalona III

The desire of the French for Madagascar erupted in last month of 1883. Months into the middle of the war, the Queen, Ranavalona II, became ill and died. Upon her death, his husband, the real power in Kingdom, and Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony looked for another Queen. He found it in form of a niece of Ranavalona II who became to be known as Ranavalona III. Her reigned would be the last of the Merina Dynasty and its Kingdom.

Ranavalona II: Beginning of the end

Ranavalona II

After the death of King Radama II, the Merina or Malagasy monarchy began to wane in its authority.  Officials from the freemen class or Hova, led by the then Prime Minister Rainivoninahitriniony, placed Queen Rasoherina to the throne. Shortly, just years after coming to the throne, the Queen replaced Rainivoninahitriniony with his brother, Rainilaiarivony. In 1868, Queen Rasoherina passed away. Rainilaiarivony then took a cousin of the Queen, Ramoma, to succeed her under the title Ranavalona II. Her reign would be marked by dramatic changes in religion and society of the Merina Kingdom.

Rasoherina: The Decline of a Monarchy

Rasoherina

Two tumultuous monarch had ruled Merina after the death of King Radama I. His successor and wife brought the nation into a bloodbath. Meanwhile, his supposedly son ruled too openly to the influences of the foreigners leading eventually to his downfall. Next to rule was widow, either forced or in fear, she began a period of tolerance and shift on the power to rule the Merina Kingdom. These was the reign of Queen Rasoherina.