Research & Article

Thailand  has  a  long  history  of  heritage  protection.  From  the  mid  seventh  to  the  mid  nineteenth  century,  the  aim  of  protecting  man-made  monuments  as  well  as  the  manner  of  conserving  them  were  different  from  those  of  today.  For  over  a  millennium,  personal  piety  was  the  rationale  behind  conservation.  From  the  mid  nineteenth century onwards, as the state took over the responsibility for protecting cultural  heritage,  so  did  the  aim  of  conservation  change  from  religious  piety  to  national pride. The 1960s saw development as a threat to conservation. But twenty years later, the state used conservation as a means to further economic development through tourism. Thus, the change in the history of heritage protection parallels those of the Thai nation as it advanced from a traditional Buddhist kingdom to a modern materialist state.