Monthon: The Provincial Administration of Siam

Abstract

Derived from a study of relating historical documents, the purpose of this article is to understand the background and development of Thai government administration systems, from those of Ayutthaya Kingdom to “Monthon” administration system, which resulted from the reform of the Thai bureaucracy during the reign of King Chulalongkorn. During Ayutthaya period, the country was governed under the system of the Four Pillars of Ministries for the central administration, which was differentiated from the vassal provinces and tributary states of the upcountry. King Chulalongkorn, by incorporating the government concepts from the West, re-arranged the provincial government administration system by combining ten households into one village, several villages into a sub-district, several sub-districts into a district, several districts into a province, and finally several provinces into the Monthon. The addition and adjustment of provinces in Monthon had constantly been occurring throughout 40 years before this Monthon system was revoked after the Democratic Revolution of 1932 (2475 BE). The Monthon system, however, still forms an important basis for the Thai provincial governmental administration system, and for the country as a whole, until today.