C. Thailand’s military junta said it had been endorsed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej. This is the 12th military coup since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932. The prime minister of Thailand's parliament is the supposed head of government. The king's power is symbolic but very important. It is a serious crime to insult the royal family.

Q: There is a deep political divide in Thailand between mostly rural poor and an urban middle class. What is Thailand's largest city and capital?

A. Angkor Wat

B. Bangkok

C. Hanoi

D. Yangon

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B. More than 14 million people live in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region – about 22 percent of Thailand's population.

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Q: Thailand's military junta said it would stay in power “indefinitely.” Military dictators ruled Thailand's neighbor Myanmar, or Burma, from a 1962 coup until 2011. Myanmar is . . .

A. Northwest of Thailand

B. Northeast of Thailand

C. Southwest of Thailand

D. Southeast of Thailand

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A. Thailand is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma.

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Q: Before its 1962 coup, Burma had been a democracy since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. Which European nation colonized Thailand, once known as Siam?

A. Britain

B. France

C. Portugal

D. None

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D. Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia never colonized by a European power. The kings of Siam were able to play off tensions between Britain and France and remain a buffer state between parts of Southeast Asia that were colonized by the two powers.

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