JULY 20, 1954
SIAM BECOMES THAILAND
Siamese leaders vote to change the name of
Siam to Thailand, which means “land of the free”.
The Thais’ freedom is something that they are
extremely proud of, as they are the only countr y in
Southeast Asia to have never been colonised.
JULY 20, 1948
THE GENEVA CONFERENCE
Held to restore peace to the war-torn Indochina,
the conference led to a peace treaty being signed
in Switzerland between French and Vietnamese
forces to end hostilities between both par ties.
French troops eventually left Vietnam in October
that year.015