Slavery in Thailand

Slavery in Thailand was practiced from the Ayutthaya period until its abolition by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) through a series of reforms taking place from 1874 to 1905.

Slave is the usual English term for a historical legal personal status known in Thai as that (ทาส, pronounced [tʰâːt], from Pali: dāsa).

They formed the lowest rank in the social hierarchy system known as sakdina, which dates from the Ayutthaya period (14th–18th centuries), and were bound under servitude to a master, who according to the law "had absolute power over their slaves other than the right to take their lives".

Masters' employment of their slaves varied, as was recorded by Simon de la Loubère, who visited Ayutthaya in 1687:[1] They employ their Slaves in cultivating their Lands and Gardens, and in some domestic Service; or rather they permit them to work to gain their livelihood, under a Tribute which they receive from four to eight Ticals a Year, that is to say, from seven Livres ten sols, to fifteen Livres.The abolition of slavery in Thailand occurred during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V).

The King, intent on avoiding social upheaval and angering the slave-owning noble class, gradually implemented reforms over several decades, beginning in 1874, with a royal act stipulating that those born into slavery since 1868 be free upon reaching twenty-one years of age.