The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002. Thailand
(TEYE -land) Constitutional monarchy in southern Southeast Asia , bordered by Burma to the west and northwest, Laos to the north and east, Cambodia to the southeast, and the Gulf of Siam (an arm of the Pacific Ocean ) and Malaysia to the south. Its capital and largest city is Bangkok . 1 ‡ Thailand was formerly called Siam. 2 ‡ Strongly supported the United States during the Vietnam War , Thailand was the site of American air bases until 1976, when relations with the United States deteriorated. 3 ‡ During the early 1990s, its economy became one of the strongest in Asia , but it experienced a sharp downturn in the mid-1990s. 4
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
