Independent but impoverished, 19th-century Lanna was governed by the family of Kawila, nominally a vassal of Thailand, but in fact autonomous. Not until 1874 was a Thai High Commissioner sent to administer the north and during the reign of King Rama V the region was slowly incorporated into the Thai kingdom. Laos, east of the Mekong, annexed by King Rama I during the Burmese War, was ceded to France in 1893, following a show of force by gunboats.
Chao Kaew Nawarat, last king of Chiang Mai