The roots of post-1932 praetorian Thailand necessitate an exami¬nation of the military prior to that period. The legacy of a powerful armed forces was to be expected given that violent disorder in polities throughout Southeast Asia was only quelled by soldiers using violence. Indeed, in pre-colonial and/or pre-twentieth-century Southeast Asia, praetorian traditions flourished, though soldiers were not wage earners and war was not meant to be a wholesale sanguinary subjugation of enemy troops (though massive bloodshed did occur). Moreover, the defence of, or acquisition of, new territories within larger boundaries was not the objective.1 The preservation of royalty at that time oscillated around the preservation of a king vis-à-vis a population of mostly rural agricultural workers.

In early kingdoms based in present-day Thailand (e.g., Ayutthaya), ordinary people were required to fulfil manpower needs, but they were differentiated into a complex hierarchy of labour. Commoners (phrai or lek) were a form of bonded labour connected with debt as a result of economic, social and cultural events. Royal phrai or phrai luang worked specifically for the king. Meanwhile, there were private phrai (phrai sow) or khong muang who worked for local lords (jao muang). These lords acted as tax farmers for kings. Slaves (tat) were the socially lowest form of labour. The latter were bought and sold and could not work off debt; they were permanent and thus stable fixtures guaranteeing the economic and infrastructural necessities of kingdoms. Phrai and tat were inherited, purchased or granted to lords by the king. Above (phrai) and tat were regular officials (nai) and senior officials such as generals and governors (khun). At the top of the pyramid were the jao muang (local lords), khunnang (nobles) and jao (princes). The societal value of a person depended on his status within the sakdina (power over rice fields) system. People possessing high sakdina controlled manpower.

Especially during the Ayutthaya period (1351–1767), manpower needs were crucial for both “civilian” and “military” purposes. Regarding the former, agriculture and hunting were of predominant importance for the subsistence of the people, but also to shore up resources for the kingdom. Regarding the latter, phrai were required to provide the manpower for royal armies going to war. Kings would regularly levy corvée obligations upon phrai (as a form of unremunerated tax) for a variety of reasons, including construction work, but also the needs of war. To obtain and maintain royal power, it was necessary to control debt peons and slaves.