Boworadej Rebellion in Thai Historical Novels

Abstract

In Thailand, important events that represent the nation’s crises are usually depicted in historical novels. The Boworadej Rebellion in 1933 is one of those crises and is a popular event featured in Thai historical novels since the late 1940s until present. The purpose of this article is to study the image of Boworadej Rebellion represented in historical novels and the factors that affect its presentation. The study suggests that the images of Boworadej Rebellion are mostly presented from the Rebellion’s perspective and negative impacts are mostly chosen to be portrayed. The unjust punishment inflicted on the rebels arguably derived from the government’s establishment of the Special Tribunal and the imprisonment of the political prisoners, which led to King Prajadhipok’s abdication. This popular topic in Thai historical novels reflects on the shortfall of the revolution and the oversight of the government led by Khana Ratsadon (the People's Party).

The negative representation may have arisen from the fact that the historical novels were written by the ex- political prisoners who had later been released. During the late 1940s these people have produced many writings relating the atrocities of their incarceration. These writings might have played an important role in building the mainstream collective memory of the Boworadej Rebellion. The second factor might be the writers’ personal backgrounds. The third is the historical context in which the novels were written.