Ngiao rebellion

Ngiao Rebellion

Captured Shan (Ngiao) rebels
Date25 July 1902 - 22 May 1904
(1 year, 10 months)
Location
Phrae Province, Siam
Result Siamese Victory
Belligerents
Shan (Ngiao) Rebels
Support:
 France (until 1904)		 Thailand Siam
Support:
United Kingdom
 France (from 1904)
Commanders and leaders
Phaka Mong †
Sala Po Chai †
Phiriya Theppawong		 Thailand Chulalongkorn
Thailand Surasakmontri
Thailand Phraya Chaiboon †
Louis Leonowens
Denmark Gustav Schau
Denmark Hans Jensen †
Strength
300+ 6,000+
Casualties and losses
37+
16  (POW)		 36+

The Ngiao rebellion (Thai: กบฏเงี้ยว), also called the Phrae City Rebellion and the 1902 Shan rebellion,[1] was an uprising of Tai Yai (Shan, historically known in Thai as Ngiao) people against Siamese rule, in what is now Phrae province in northern Thailand between 25 July and 14 August in 1902. It arose as resistance to centralizing reforms initiated by King Chulalongkorn, particularly the levying of taxes and the adoption of the Monthon Thesaphiban provincial administration system, as well as the partitioning of territory with the British, which forced the Shan to adopt either British or Siamese nationality.

In the morning of 25 July 1902, rebels attacked and looted the town of Phrae, killing over twenty government officials including the royal commissioner, Phraya Ratcharitthanon. The rebellion was soon quelled by troops from Bangkok led by Chaophraya Surasakmontri, as well as Siamese troops commanded by British and Danish officials. Ten rebel leaders were executed, sixteen were taken to Bangkok for imprisonment, and Chao Phiriya Theppawong, the ruler of Phrae, escaped into exile in Luang Phrabang.[2][3] The rebellion continued onward as an insurgency until 22 May 1904 and spanned across Northern Siam.[4][5]

The revolt was part of several acts of resistance that arose in the fringes of the country in the 1890s to early 1900s. A few months earlier, the Holy Man's Rebellion in the Northeast saw rebels sack the town of Khemmarat before being routed by the Siamese army.[6] While it was unclear whether and to what extent the local rulers supported the rebellion in Phrae, the local lordship of Phrae was ended, and further reforms were put into place that helped Siam fully annex the former lands of Lanna and assimilate its people.[3]

  1. ^ Andrew Walker on "Why is the Shan Rebellion of 1902 Important?", retrieved 19 January 2024
  2. ^ "กบฏเงี้ยว". Museum Thailand (in Thai). Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b "การปฏิรูปมณฑลพายัพของสยาม บีบบังคับให้เงี้ยวก่อกบฏ เมื่อ พ.ศ. 2445 ?". Silpa Wattanatham (in Thai). 23 July 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2005). A History of Thailand. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-521-01647-9.