Siam (1782–1939)

Kingdom of Siam

The only Southeast Asian kingdom never colonised, Siam renamed itself Thailand — 'land of the free' — in 1939 to bind the state to the Thai nation (and briefly switched back after WWII).

Siam's 19th-century flag carried a sacred white elephant — the ruinously expensive royal gift that gave the world the phrase 'white elephant'.