 Laos
History |
The human history of Laos stretches back more than 10,000 years
as stone tools and skulls unearthed in Huaphan and Luang Prabang
provinces can confirm. The famous giant jars in Xieng Khouang province
and stone columns in Huaphan province date from the neolithic period.
Over centuries, rural settlements grew slowly to from muang (townships)
along the Mekong River.
The charismatic King Fa Ngoum (1349-1357) began grouping the muang
into a unified Lan Xang Kingdom, basing the capital at Xiengdong
Xiengthong, now known as Luang Prabang. Fa Ngoum was also a warrior,
and between 1353 and 1371 he invaded and conquered territories that
include all of present-day Laos and much of what makes up northern
and eastern Thailand. Under his fierce and dynamic rule, construction,
development and national defence was established, and remains the
religion of the majority of Lao people today.
The capital was moved to Vientiane in 1560 during the reign of King
Setthathirath, who erected the That Luang Stupa, a venerated religious
shrine which is the well known symbol of the Lao nation. The warring
Burmese occupied the capital for seven years from 1575, reflecting
their dominance over Southeast Asia at that time. In 1591 the two
Laotian kingdoms in Luang Prabang and Vieng Chan were reunited under
King Nokeo Koumane.
In the seventeenth century, under the region of King Souliyavongsa,
the Kingdom entere its "glodeb age" and gained increasing
attention from Europe. Reports written by Dutch merchants from the
East Indian Company describe a land of magnificent palaces, temples,
and awe-inspiring religious ceremonies. Vientiene was then considered
to be one of the most beautiful cities in Southeast Asia.
At the end of the reign of King Souliyavongsa, feudal lords challenged
the throne, which in 1713, led to the division of the country into
three Kingdoms: Luang Prabang, Vientiane, and Champassack. This
rift and disunity create excellent opportunities for invasion, in
particular, from Siam. By the end of the 18th century, most of Laos
was under Siamese (Thai) domination, leading to the costly war with
Siam in the 1820s that ended in all three Kingdoms being ceded to
the Thais. However, with the expansion of French Indochina in yhe
late 19th century, the Thais eventually relinquished Laos to the
French and in 1893, Laos became a French colony. The French organised
this territory as a protectorate, with its administrative centre
at Vientiane, and allowed it autonomy in local matters. The catalyst
for change was the WW2 Japanese occupation of Indochina, when a
Lao resistance group named Lai Issara was formed to prevent the
return of the French. Independence was granted in 1953, but internal
feuding between neutralist and communist factions was continue for
several years.
When the USA bombed North Vietnamese troops on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
in eastern Laos in 1964, it fomented the conflict between the royalist
Vientiane government and the communist Pather Lao who supported
the North Vietnamese. A coalition government was formed, but with
the fall of Saigon in 1975, most of the royalists fled to France.
The Pathet lao took control of the country and the Lao People's
Democratic Republic was established in December 1975. Through out
the 1980s Laos maintained friendly relations with the Vietnamese
communists. Since 1989, there has been a move towards a market economy,
and a general relaxation of restrictions, including the emergence
of a fledgling tourism industry. In a landmark event, Laos joined
hands with its neighbors and became a member of Asean in July 1997.
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