Twentieth-century Hainanese society on the East Coast of Peninsular Thailand

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the Hainanese society on the east coast of peninsula Thailand during the twentieth-century. It particularly focuses on their economic and social development after the Second World War. The Hainanese were once socially and economically disadvantaged, and their poverty and low social standing made it very difficult for them to compete with Hokkiens, Teochius, and Cantonese.Thus Skinner pointed out that most of the Hainanese were categorized in Chinese society as the artisan class (lower class). However after more than half a century, the Hainanese have managed to carve out an important niche in the Thai economy and attained a great degree of success. The thesis is organized into five inter-locking chapters. The first chapter gave the introduction. The second chapter analyzes the Hainanese immigration process and their settlement expansion on the east coast of peninsular Thailand. The third chapter discusses their rapid progress in business development. The fourth part of the thesis focuses our inquiry onto their upward mobility in social position and the two a??pillarsa?? of the Hainanese society. The final chapter draws the conclusion of this thesis. It is hoped that my study will help to rectify the comparative disregard for the overseas Hainanese in historical works on Thailand and provide the necessary background in understanding the Hainanese role in Southeast Asian countries at the present time.