Administration, Economy, and Infrastructure
Rama VI inherited his father's plan of building a modern nation although he was skeptical. Disagreements in new form of administration occurred constantly with 'old aristocrats', many of them were his relatives such as the celebrated Prince Damrong, his uncle, who took charge of the Ministry of Interior. As more and more corruptions in the newly created provinces were reported, Rama VI eventually suggested his own creation of viceroy system. Viceroys, who were appointed directly by the king, were sent to supervise the provincial governors and local officials.
In 1912, Vajiravudh announced the change of calendar usage from Rattanakosin Era designated by Chulalongkorn to the Buddhist Era which is still in use today. In 1913, Siam faced financial crisis as the Chinese-Siamese Bank went bankrupt.
In 1914, the construction of Don Mueang Airport, the first Siamese airport, began. In the same year the Siamese government decided to take a loan from the Federated Malay States to extend the railways to the south. In 1915, Vajiravudh himself visited the southern provinces to oversee the railway constructions. The Bangkok railway station at Hua Lamphong was then established as a center of Siamese railroads. Prince Damrong eventually left the Ministry of Interior in 1915. In 1916, Vajiravudh appointed his half-brother Prince of Kampangpetch as the Head of Railway Department.
In 1917, Vajiravudh established the Nakorn Sri Thammarat regiment as his handful forces. In the same year Vajiravudh officially founded the Chulalongkorn University - the first university in Siam named in honor of his father. In 1918, Vajiravudh founded the Dusit Thani near his Dusit Palace as an experimental place for democracy. The democratic institutions were imitated including elections, parliament, and the press. Vajiravudh himself acted as one of the citizens of Dusit Thani yet the city was perceived as another Vajiravudh's acting theatre.
During 1918-1919 the rice price quickly rose. The government faced sharp criticism from the public because of its idle response. The major cause of the problem was the stockade of rice. The Chinese millers and rice merchants bought huge amounts of rice from the farmers in order to export to Singapore, the largest rice market in the region. The price speculation took place. The government thus decided to impose the ban of rice export for months. At the same time the public servants asked for higher paid due to the rising cost of living. Consequently, the public, mainly the urban 'middle-class', and Chinese traders became more and more unhappy with the government.
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