A Short History Of Laos Pdf
.Evidence for modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of, that constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state dates back to the. These earliest human migrants are — associated with the culture and have populated the highlands and the interior, less accessible regions of Laos and all of South-east Asia to this day. The subsequent and marine migration waves affected landlocked Laos only marginally and direct Chinese and Indian cultural contact had a greater impact on the country.and people southward migration into Laos only occurred after the eighth century of the common era.The modern nation-state emerged from the as an independent country in 1953. Laos exists in truncated form from the thirteenth century kingdom of. Lan Xang existed as a unified kingdom from 1357–1707, divided into the three rival kingdoms of, and from 1707–1779, fell to suzerainty from 1779–1893, and was reunified under the in 1893. The borders of the modern state of Laos were established by the French colonial government in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Contents.Limitations and current state of research Archaeological exploration in Laos has been limited due to rugged and remote topography, a history of twentieth century conflicts which have left over two million tons of unexploded ordnance throughout the country, and local sensitivities to history which involve the Communist government of Laos, village authorities and rural poverty. The first archaeological explorations of Laos began with French explorers acting under the auspices of the. However, due to the it is only since the 1990s that serious archaeological efforts have begun in Laos. Since 2005, one such effort, The Middle Mekong Archaeological Project (MMAP) has excavated and surveyed numerous sites along the Mekong and its tributaries around in northern Laos, with the goal of investigating early human settlement of the valleys of the and its tributaries.Prehistory in Laos. The Plain of Jars From the 8th century BCE to as late as the 2nd century CE an inland trading society emerged on the, around the site called the.
The Plain, nominated to the tentative list of in 1992 is still being cleared from unexploded ordnance since 1998. The jars are stone, date from the early (500 BCE to 800 CE) and contained evidence of human remains, burial goods and ceramics. Some sites contain more than 250 individual jars.
The tallest jars are more than 3 m (9.8 ft) in height. Little is known about the culture which produced and used the jars. The jars and the existence of iron ore in the region suggest that the creators of the site engaged in profitable overland trade. Early Kingdoms The first indigenous kingdom to emerge in was referred to in Chinese histories as the and encompassed an area of modern, and the coasts of southern and southern since the 1st century CE. Was an,that had incorporated central aspects of Indian institutions, religion, statecraft, administration, culture, epigraphy, writing and architecture and engaged in profitable Indian Ocean trade. By the 2nd century CE, Austronesian settlers had established an Indianised kingdom known as along modern central Vietnam. The established the first settlements near modern in Laos.
Expanded and incorporated the region by the sixth century CE, when it was replaced by its successor polity. Chenla occupied large areas of modern-day Laos as it accounts for the earliest kingdom on Laotian soil. Lower terrace of the mountain complex,The capital of early was Shrestapura which was located in the vicinity of and the of. Is a vast temple complex in southern Laos which combined natural surroundings with ornate sandstone structures, which were maintained and embellished by the peoples until 900 CE, and were subsequently rediscovered and embellished by the in the 10th century.
By the 8th century CE had divided into “Land Chenla” located in Laos, and “Water Chenla” founded by Mahendravarman near in. Land was known to the Chinese as “Po Lou” or “Wen Dan” and dispatched a trade mission to the court in 717 CE. Water, would come under repeated attack from, the sea kingdoms in Indonesia based in Java, and finally pirates.
From the instability the Khmer emerged, and under the king the began to take shape in the 9th century CE.In the area which is modern northern and central Laos, and northeast the established their own kingdoms during the 8th century CE, outside the reach of the contracting kingdoms. By the 6th century in the Valley, had coalesced to create the. In the northemerged as a rival power to the. By the 8th century the had pushed north to create city states, known as “,” in Fa Daet (northeast Thailand), Sri Gotapura (Sikhottabong) near modern, Laos, Muang Sua , and Chantaburi. In the 8th century CE, Sri Gotapura (Sikhottabong) was the strongest of these early city states, and controlled trade throughout the middle Mekong region. The city states were loosely bound politically, but were culturally similar and introduced from missionaries throughout the region. The Tai Migrations.
The mainland of Southeast Asia at the end of the 13th centuryThere have been many theories proposing the origin of the — of which are a subgroup — including an association of the Tai people with the that has been proven to be invalid. The Chinese chronicles of the provide the first written accounts of speaking peoples who inhabited the areas of modern China and.James R. Chamberlain (2016) proposes that Tai-Kadai (Kra-Dai) language family was formed as early as the 12th century BCE in the middle Yangtze basin, coinciding roughly with the establishment of the and the beginning of the. Following the southward migrations of and (Rei/Li) peoples from the ancient around the 8th century BCE, the Be-Tai people started to break away to the east coast in the, in the 6th century BCE, forming the. After the destruction of the by Chu army around 333 BCE, Yue people (Be-Tai) began to migrate southwards along the east coast of China to what are now Guangxi, Guizhou and northern Vietnam, forming (Central-Southwestern Tai) and. The, from and northern Vietnam began moving south – and westwards in the first millennium CE, eventually spreading across the whole of mainland Southeast Asia.
Based on layers of Chinese in proto- and other historical evidence, Pittayawat Pittayaporn (2014) proposes that the southwestward migration of Tai-speaking tribes from the modern Guangxi and northern Vietnam to the mainland of Southeast Asia must have taken place sometime between the 8th–10th centuries. Tai speaking tribes migrated southwestward along the rivers and over the lower passes into Southeast Asia, perhaps prompted by the Chinese expansion and suppression. Chinese historical texts record that, in 722, 400,000 'Lao' rose in revolt behind a leader who declared himself the king of in. After the 722 revolt, some 60,000 were beheaded.
In 726, after the suppression of a rebellion by a 'Lao' leader in the, over 30,000 rebels were captured and beheaded. In 756, another revolt attracted 200,000 followers and lasted four years. In the 860s, many local people in what is now north Vietnam sided with attackers from, and in the aftermath some 30,000 of them were beheaded. In the 1040s, a powerful matriarch-shamaness by the name of, her chiefly husband, and their son, raised a revolt, took, besieged for fifty seven days, and slew the commanders of five Chinese armies sent against them before they were defeated, and many of their leaders were killed.
As a result of these three bloody centuries, the Tai began to migrate southwestward. A 2016 mitochondrial genome mapping of Thai and Lao populations supports the idea that both ethnicities originate from the Tai–Kadai (TK) language family.The Tai, from their new home in Southeast Asia, were influenced by the Khmer and the Mon and most importantly Buddhist India. The Tai was founded in 1259 (in the north of modern ). The was founded in 1279 (in modern ) and expanded eastward to take the city of Chantaburi and renamed it to Vieng Chan Vieng Kham (modern ) and northward to the city of Muang Sua which was taken in 1271 and renamed the city to Xieng Dong Xieng Thong or “City of Flame Trees beside the River Dong,” (modern, Laos). The had firmly established control in areas to the northeast of the declining.
Following the death of the king, and internal disputes within the, both Vieng Chan Vieng Kham and Xieng Dong Xieng Thong were independent city-states until the founding of the in 1354. The and later the were established and '.conquered the Khmers of the upper and central valley and greatly extended their territory.' The Legend of Khun Borom. Main article:The history of the Tai migrations into Laos were preserved in myth and legends. The Nithan Khun Borom or 'Story of ' recalls the origin myths of the, and follows the exploits of his seven sons to found the kingdoms of Southeast Asia. The myths also recorded the laws of Khun Borom, which set the basis of common law and identity among the Lao.
Among the the exploits of their folk hero Thao Hung are recounted in the Thao Hung Thao Cheuang epic, which dramatizes the struggles of the indigenous peoples with the influx of Tai during the migration period. In later centuries the Lao themselves would preserve the legend in written form, becoming one of the great literary treasures of Laos and one of the few depictions of life in Southeast Asia prior to Therevada Buddhism and Tai cultural influence. Lan Xang (1353–1707). Lan Xang's zone of influence and neighbours, c. 1540(1353–1707) was one of the largest kingdoms in. Also known as the 'Land of a million elephants under the white parasol' the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the early kingdom.
The founding of Lan Xang was recorded in 1353, after a series of conquests. From 1353–1560 the capital of Lan Xang was (known alternately as Muang Sua and Xieng Dong Xieng Thong).
Under successive kings the kingdom expanded its sphere of influence over an area that now incorporates all of modern, the of, of Southern, region of, and the region of Northern.Lan Xang existed as a sovereign kingdom for over 350 years. The first serious foreign invasion came from the in 1479, which was defeated, though leaving the capital of largely destroyed. The first half of the sixteenth century allowed for the power, prestige and cultural influence of the kingdom to be restored under a series of strong kings (see Souvanna Balang, ). In the 1540s a series of succession disputes in the neighboring, created a regional rivalry between, and Lan Xang. In 1540 Lan Xang defeated an incursion from.
By 1545 the was attacked by the and then. Lan Xang entered into an alliance with, and aided in the defense of the kingdom.
In 1547 the kingdoms of Lan Xang and were briefly unified under of Lan Xang and his son in. Would go on to become the king of Lan Xang on the death of his father, and become one of the greatest kings of Lan Xang.The began a series of expansions during the late 1550s which culminated under King. Moved the capital of Lan Xang from to in 1560, to better defend against the threat of and to more ably administer the central and southern provinces. Subjugated the and went on to destroy the kingdom and city of in 1564. King fought two successful guerilla campaigns against the invasions, leaving Lan Xang the only independent kingdom until his death in 1572, while on campaign against the. The succeeded with the third invasion of Lan Xang around 1573, and Lan Xang became a vassal state until 1591 when the son of, Nokeo Koumane, was able to successfully reassert independence.Lan Xang recovered and reached the apex of its political and economic power during the seventeenth century under King, who became the longest reigning of Lan Xang's monarchs (1637–1694). In the 1640s the first European explorers to leave a detailed account of the kingdom arrived looking to establish trade and secure Christian converts, both were ultimately largely unsuccessful.
Upon the death of a succession dispute erupted and the kingdom of Lan Xang was ultimately divided into constituent kingdoms in 1707. Regional Kingdoms (1707–1779). Southeast Asia around 1707 until 1828 showing the kingdoms of Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Champasak and the principality of Phuan (Xieng Khuang)Beginning in 1707 the kingdom of was partitioned into regional kingdoms of, and later (1713).
The was the strongest of the three, with extending influence across the (now part of modern ) and conflicting with the for control of the (on the border of modern ).The was the first of the regional kingdoms to emerge in 1707, when King Xai Ong Hue of was challenged by Kingkitsarat, the grandson of. Xai Ong Hue and his family had sought asylum in when they were exiled during the reign of. Xai Ong Hue gained the support of the Emperor in exchange for recognition of suzerainty over.
At the head of a army Xai Ong Hue attacked and executed King Nantharat another claimant to the throne. In response ’s grandson Kingkitsarat rebelled and moved with his own army from the toward. Kingkitsarat then moved south to challenge Xai Ong Hue in. Xai Ong Hue then turned toward the for support, and an army was dispatched which rather than supporting Xai Ong Hue arbitrated the division between and.In 1713, the southern nobility continued the rebellion against Xai Ong Hue under, a nephew of, and the emerged.
The comprised the area south of the as far as together with the areas of the lower and rivers on the. Although less populous than either or, occupied an important position for regional power and international trade via the.Throughout the 1760s and 1770s the kingdoms of and competed against each other in a bitter armed rivalry, and sought out alliances with the kingdoms to strengthen their relative positions by adding to their own forces and denying them to their enemy. As a result, the use of competing alliances would further militarize the conflict between the northerly kingdoms of. Between the two major kingdoms if an alliance with one was sought by either or, the other would tend to support the remaining side. The network of alliances shifted with the political and military landscape throughout the latter half of the eighteenth century. Siam and Suzerainty (1779–1893). Main articles: andBy 1779 General had driven the from, had overrun the Kingdoms of and, and forced to accept vassalage ( had aided during the siege of ).
Traditional power relationships in followed the model, warfare was waged to secure population centers for, control regional trade, and confirm religious and secular authority by controlling potent symbols (, important, temples, and images). To legitimize the, General seized the and images from.
Also demanded that the ruling elites of the kingdoms and their royal families pledge to in order to retain their regional autonomy in accordance with the model. In the traditional model, vassal kings retained their power to raise tax, discipline their own vassals, inflict capital punishment, and appoint their own officials. Only matters of war, and succession required approval from the. Vassals were also expected to provide annual tribute of gold and silver (traditionally modeled into trees), provide tax and tax in-kind, raise support armies in time of war, and provide for state projects. However, by 1782 had been deposed and was king of, and began a series of reforms which fundamentally altered the traditional. Many of the reforms took place to more closely administer and assimilate the (or ) which was traditionally and culturally part of the Lao kingdoms’ tributary networks. In 1778, only was a tributary of Siam, yet by the end of the reign of Rama I, and paid tribute directly to.
According to records, by 1826 (less than fifty years) the number of towns and cities in had grown from 13 to 35. Forced population transfers from Lao areas were further reinforced by projects and increased taxes. Siam required labor to help rebuild from repeated Burmese invasions, and growing sea trade. Increasing the productivity and population living on the provided the labor and material access to strengthen Siam.Siribunnyasan the last independent king of had died by 1780, and his sons Nanthasen, Inthavong, and had been taken to as prisoners during the sack of in 1779. The sons would become successive kings of (under Siamese suzerainty), beginning with Nanthasen in 1781.
Nanthasen was allowed to return to with the, the of, the remained in and became an important symbol to the of their captivity. One of Nanthasen's first acts was to seize Chao Somphu a prince from who had entered into a tributary relationship with, and released him only when it was agreed that would also acknowledge Vientiane as suzerain. In 1791, Anuruttha was confirmed by as king of. By 1792 Nanthasen had convinced that Anuruttha was secretly dealing with the, and Siam allowed Nanthasen to lead an army and besiege and capture. Anuruttha was sent to as a prisoner, and only through diplomatic exchanges facilitated by, was Anuruttha released in 1795. Soon after Anuruttha's release it was alleged that Nanthasen had been plotting with the governor of to rebel against Siam. Ordered the immediate arrest of Nanthasen, and soon after he died in captivity.
Inthavong (1795–1804) became the next king of, and dispatched armies to aide Siam against Burmese invasions in 1797 and 1802, and to capture the (with his brother Anouvong as general). Anouvong’s Rebellion and Lao Nationalism.
King,is a symbolic and controversial figure even today, his short lived rebellion against Siam from ultimately proved futile and led to the total annihilation of as a kingdom and a city, yet among the Lao he remains a potent symbol of unyielding defiance and national identity. And histories record that rebelled as the result of personal insult suffered at the funeral of in. Yet, the lasted three years and engulfed the whole of the for more complex reasons.The history of forced population transfers, projects, loss of national symbols and prestige (most notably the ) formed the backdrop to specific actions taken by to directly annex the region. In 1812 and were at odds over the succession of the king, the gained the upper hand with their chosen successor and compensated itself by annexing territory on the and along the in. As a result, Lao international trade along the was effectively blockaded, and heavy duties were imposed on Lao merchants who were viewed suspiciously by for their trade with both the and.In 1819 a rebellion in provided with opportunity, and he dispatched an army under his son Nyo who managed to suppress the conflict.
In exchange successfully made the case that his son be crowned as king in, which was confirmed. Had successfully expanded his influence throughout, and now. Dispatched a number of diplomatic missions to, which were viewed suspiciously in light of his growing regional influence.By 1825 had died, and was consolidating his position against prince. In the ensuing power struggle before the accession of one of ’s grandsons was killed. When arrived for the funerary services, he made several requests of the king which were dismissed including the return of his sister who had been captured in 1779, and Lao families which had been relocated to near.
Before returning to, ’s son Ngau, the crown prince, was forced to perform manual labor during which he was beaten.Early in his reign, ordered a census of all peoples on the, the census involved the forced tattooing of each villager’s census number and name of their village. The aim of the policy was to more tightly administer Lao territories from and was facilitated by the nobility had installed in the newly created cities throughout the region. Popular resentment against the forced tattooing and increased taxes became for rebellion.Toward the end of 1826 was making military preparations for armed rebellion. ’s strategy involved three objectives, first was to repatriate all ethnic living in to the right bank of the and execute any Siamese engaged in the tattooing of, the second objective was to consolidate power by forging an alliance with and, the third and final goal was to gain international support from either the,. In January hostilities commenced, and the Lao armies were sent from to capture, and Lomsak. From forces rushed to take and Suvannaphum, while pursuing a policy ensuring the time to retreat.’s forces pushed south eventually to to free the there, but the flood of refugees pushing north slowed the armies’ retreat. Also severely underestimated the arms stockpile, which under the terms of had provided with weaponry from the in.
A defense was staged at the traditional Lao stronghold in the, but the emerged victorious and leveled the city. The pushed north to take and fled southeast to the border with. By 1828 had been captured, tortured and sent to with his family to die in a cage. Ordered to return and level the city of, and forcibly move the entire population of the former Lao capital to the region. Aftermath and Vietnamese Intervention Following the Siam and Vietnam were increasingly at odds over control of the. In 1831 sent troops to seize and annexed the area as the province of Tran Ninh. Also in 1831 and again in 1833 King Mantha Tourath sent a tributary mission to the, which were quietly ignored so as not to antagonize the further.
In 1893 these tributary missions from were used by the as part of a legal argument for all the territories on the east bank of the. In late 1831 and had a series of wars (, and ) over control of and.In the aftermath of 's destruction the Siamese divided the lands into three administrative regions. In the north, the king of and a small Siamese garrison controlled, the,. The central region was administered from and extended to the borders of Tran Ninh and south to.
The southern regions were controlled from and extended to areas bordering. From the 1830s through the 1860s small rebellions took place across lands and the, but they lacked both the scale and coordination of the.
Importantly, at the end of each rebellion Siamese troops would return to their administrative centers, and no Lao region was allowed to have a buildup of force which could have been used in rebellion. Population Transfers and Slavery. Ruins in Vientiane, depicted by Louis Delaporte during the Mekong Expedition led by Francis Garnier (c.
1867).Population transfers of ethnic to began in 1779 with suzerainty. Artisans and members of the court were forcibly moved to near, and several thousand farmers and peasant who were transported throughout to, and Nakhon Chaisi in the southwest and to and in the southeast. However, massive deportations estimated between 100,000–300,000 people began following the defeat of King in 1828, and would continue until the 1870s. From 1828–1830 over 66,000 people were forcibly relocated from.
In 1834 the first of several relocations of the areas of began, transferring more than 6,000 people. Most of those relocated were settled in the region and were considered that cha loei or “war slaves” who were to serve as in underpopulated areas for the elite.
The result changed the demographics and cultural traditions of and and continues today with a five-fold disparity between the ethnic living on the West Bank of the and those left in the East in what is today.Although slavery existed in areas before the rebellion in 1828, the defeat and subsequent removal of most ethnic left a depopulated and vulnerable position for the remaining people of the East Bank of the. Hill tribes which had little involvement in the 1828 rebellion bore the brunt of organized slave raids into and became known collectively and pejoratively in and as kha or “slaves.” were hunted or sold into slavery frequent organized raiding parties from,.
Larger tribes of, such as the, would conduct slave raids against weaker tribes. The raids continued throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century, a military campaign in Laos in 1876 was described by a British observer as having been 'transformed into slave-hunting raids on a large scale.' The population transfers and slave raids ameliorated toward the end of the nineteenth century when European observers and anti-slavery groups made their presence increasingly difficult for the elite. In 1880 both slave raiding and trading became illegal, although debt slavery would persist until 1905 by decree of King.
The would use the existence of slavery in as one of the major professed motivations for establishing a during the 1880s and 1890s. Main article:In the 1840s sporadic rebellions, slave raids, and movement of refugees throughout the areas that would become modern left whole regions politically and militarily weak. In the was pushing south to incorporate hill peoples into the central administration, at first floods of refugees and later bands of rebels from the pushed into lands. The rebel groups became known by their banners and included the Yellow (or Striped) Flags, Red Flags and the Black Flags. The bandit groups rampaged throughout the countryside, with little response from.During the early and mid-nineteenth century the first including the, and other groups began settling in the higher elevations of province and northeast.
The influx of immigration was facilitated by the same political weakness which had given shelter to the bandits and left large depopulated areas throughout.By the 1860s the first explorers were pushing north charting the path of the, with hope of a navigable waterway to southern. Among the early explorers was an expedition led by, who was killed during an expedition by rebels in. The would increasingly conduct military campaigns against the Haw in both and until the 1880s. Colonialism and the French Protectorate of Laos (1893–1953). First Governor-General of the Origins of French colonialism in Laos colonial interests in began with the exploratory missions of and during the 1860s. France hoped to utilize the as a route to southern. Although the Mekong is unnavigable due to a number of rapids, the hope was that the river might be tamed with the help of French engineering and a combination of railways.
In 1886 secured the right to appoint a representative in, in northern. To counter control in and growing influence in Siam, that same year sought to establish representation in, and dispatched to secure interests.Pavie and French auxiliaries arrived in in 1887 in time to witness an attack on by and bandits who hoped to liberate the brothers of their leader, who were being held prisoner by the. Pavie prevented the capture of the ailing King by ferrying him away from the burning city to safety. The incident won the gratitude of the king, provided an opportunity for to gain control of the as part of in, and demonstrated the weakness of the in Laos. In 1892 Pavie became in, where he encouraged a French policy which first sought to deny or ignore over territories on the east bank of the, and secondly to suppress the slavery of upland and population transfers of by the as a prelude to establishing a in Laos. Reacted by denying trading interests, which by 1893 had increasingly involved military posturing. France and would position troops to deny each other's interests, resulting in a siege of in the south and a series of attacks on French garrisons in the north.
The result was the of 13 July 1893, the (1893) and the ultimate recognition of French territorial claims in Laos. Territories abandoned by Siam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Franco-Siamese War resulted in the cession of Laos (dark blue) to France in 1893.The French were aware that the east-bank territories of the were 'a depopulated, devastated country' - the forced population transfers following the had left only a fifth of the original population on the east bank, the majority of and peoples had been resettled to the areas around the. Territorial gains in 1893 were only a springboard to secure French control of the, to deny as much territorial control as possible by acquiring the Mekong's west-bank territories including the, and by negotiating stable borders with along the former territories which paid tribute to the.
France settled a treaty with in 1895, gaining control of. British control of the and French control of the upper Mekong increased tensions between the colonial rivals. A joint commission completed its work in 1896 and the city of was gained by; in exchange France recognized sovereignty over the areas of the basin. However, the issue of control over the, which was ethnically and historically, was left open for the French, as was control over the which favored British interests. Political events in would shape policy however, and between 1896 and 1904 a new political party took power in Paris which viewed Britain much more as an ally than as a colonial rival.
In 1904 Britain and France signed the, which developed ultimately into part of against and that fought the in 1914-1918. The Entente Cordiale agreement established respective spheres of influence in, although territorial demands would continue until 1907 in.1893-1939 The established two (and at times three) administrative regions governed from in 1893. It was not until 1899 that became centrally administered by a single based in, and later in. The chose to establish as the colonial capital for two reasons, firstly it was more centrally located between the central provinces and, and secondly the were aware of the symbolic importance of rebuilding the former capital of the which the had destroyed.As part of both and were seen as a source of raw materials and labor for the more important holdings in.
Presence in was light; the was responsible for all colonial administration from taxation to justice and public works. The maintained a military presence in the colonial capital under the Garde Indigene made up of soldiers under a commander. In important provincial cities like, and there would be an assistant, police, paymaster, postmaster, schoolteacher and a doctor. Filled most upper level and mid-level positions within the bureaucracy, with being employed as junior clerks, translators, kitchen staff and general laborers.
Villages remained under the traditional authority of the local headmen or chao muang. Throughout the colonial administration in the presence never amounted to more than a few thousand. The concentrated on the development of infrastructure, the abolition of slavery and indentured servitude (although was still in effect), trade including production, and most importantly the collection of taxes.Under the French rule, the Vietnamese were encouraged to migrate to Laos, which was seen by the French colonists as a rational solution to a practical problem within the confines of an Indochina-wide colonial space. By 1943, the Vietnamese population stood at nearly 40,000, forming the majority in the largest cities of Laos and enjoying the right to elect their own leaders.As a result, 53% of the population of, 85% of and 62% of were Vietnamese, with only an exception of where the population was predominantly Lao. As late as 1945, the French even drew up an ambitious plan to move massive Vietnamese population to three key areas, i.e.
The Vientiane Plain, which was only discarded by Japanese invasion of Indochina. Otherwise, according to, the Lao might well have lost control over their own country.The response to was mixed, although the were viewed as preferable to the by the nobility, the majority of, and were burdened by regressive taxes and demands for to establish colonial outposts. The first serious resistance to the presence began in southern Laos, as the Holy Man’s Rebellion led by, and would last until 1910. The rebellion began in 1901 when a commissioner in was attempting to pacify tribes for taxation and, provoked anti-French sentiment and in response the burned a local temple. The commissioner and his troops were massacred and a general uprising began throughout the. Would be killed by forces, but for several years his harassment and protests gained popularity in the southern. It was not until the movement spread to the and threatened to become an international incident involving that several columns of the Garde Indigene converged to put down the rebellion.
In the north groups from the areas around and also began to rebel against attempts at taxation. Market in Luang Prabang c. 1900 CE.In 1914 the king had fled to the portions of the, where he began a two-year guerilla campaign against the in northern, which required three military expeditions to suppress and resulted in direct control of. In northeast, and rebelled against attempts to tax the trade which resulted in another rebellion from 1914–1917.
By 1915 most of northeast was controlled by and rebels. The dispatched the largest military presence yet to which included 160 officers and 2500 troops divided in two columns. The drove the led rebels across the border and placed under direct colonial control. Yet northeastern was still not entirely pacified and a shaman named attempted to establish a homeland through a rebellion (pejoratively termed the ) which lasted from 1919–1921.By 1920 the majority of was at peace and colonial order had been established. In 1928 the first school for the training of civil servants was established, and allowed for the upward mobility of to fill positions occupied by the. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s attempted to implement Western, particularly, education, modern healthcare and medicine, and public works with mixed success. The budget for was secondary to, and the worldwide further restricted funds.
It was also in the 1920s and 1930s that the first strings of nationalist identity emerged due to the work of Prince and the French to restore ancient monuments, temples, and conduct general research into history, literature, art and architecture. Interest in indigenous history served a dual purpose in it reinforced the image of the colonial mission as protection against domination, and was also a legitimate route for scholarship. World War II Developing national identity gained importance in 1938 with the rise of the ultranationalist prime minister in. Renamed to, a name change which was part of a larger political movement to unify all under the central of. The viewed these developments with alarm, but the was diverted by events in.
Despite a non-aggression treaty signed in June 1940, took advantage of the position and initiated the. The war concluded unfavorably for interests with the Treaty of Tokyo, and the loss of trans-Mekong territories of Xainyaburi and part of. The result was distrust of the and the first overtly national cultural movement in, which was in the odd position of having limited support. Charles Rochet the French Director of Public Education in, and Lao intellectuals led by Nyuy Aphai and began the Movement for National Renovation.Yet the wider impact of had little effect on until February 1945, when a detachment from the moved into. The preempted that the administration of under Admiral Decoux would be replaced by a representative of the loyal to and initiated ('bright moon').
The succeeded in the of the living in and, but in the remote areas of the were able with the help of the and Garde Indigene to establish jungle bases which were supplied by airdrops from. However, control in had been sidelined. Lao Issara and Independence 1945 was a watershed year in the history of, under Japanese pressure King declared independence in April.
The move allowed the various independence movements in including the Lao Seri and Lao Pen Lao to coalesce into the or “Free Lao” movement which was led by Prince and opposed the return of to the. The surrender on 15 August 1945 emboldened pro-French factions and Prince was dismissed by King. Undeterred Prince staged a coup in September and placed the royal family in under house arrest. On 12 October 1945 the government was declared under the civil administration of Prince. In the next six months the rallied against the and were able to reassert control over in April 1946. The government fled to, where they maintained opposition to the until 1949, when the group split over questions regarding relations with the and the was formed. With the in exile, in August 1946 France instituted a in headed by King, and agreed to return territories seized during the in exchange for a representation at the.
A Short History Of Laos Pdf Free
The Franco-Lao General Convention of 1949 provided most members of the with a negotiated amnesty and sought appeasement by establishing the a quasi-independent constitutional monarchy within the. In 1950 additional powers were granted to the including training and assistance for a national army. On October 22, 1953, the Franco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association transferred remaining French powers to the independent. By 1954 the defeat at brought eight years of fighting with the, during the, to an end and abandoned all claims to the colonies of.
The Kingdom of Laos and the Lao Civil War (1953–1975). King ofElections were held in 1955, and the first coalition government, led by Prince, was formed in 1957. The coalition government collapsed in 1958. In 1960 Captain staged a coup when the cabinet was away at the royal capital of Luang Prabang and demanded reformation of a neutralist government. The second coalition government, once again led by Souvanna Phouma, was not successful in holding power.
Rightist forces under General drove out the neutralist government from power later that same year. The North Vietnamese invaded Laos between 1958–1959 to create the.A second Geneva conference, held in 1961–62, provided for the independence and, but the agreement meant little in reality and the war soon resumed. Growing North Vietnamese military presence in the country increasingly drew Laos into the (1954–1975). As a result, for nearly a decade, eastern Laos was subjected to some of the heaviest bombing in the history of warfare, as the U.S. Sought to destroy the that passed through Laos and defeat the Communist forces. The North Vietnamese also heavily backed the and repeatedly invaded Laos.
The government and army of Laos were backed by the USA during the conflict. The United States trained both regular Royal Lao forces and irregular forces among whom many were the Hmong and other ethnic minorities.Shortly after the led to the withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Vietnam, a ceasefire between the Pathet Lao and the government led to a new coalition government. However, North Vietnam never withdrew from Laos and the Pathet Lao remained little more than a proxy army for Vietnamese interests. After the fall of South Vietnam to communist forces in April 1975, the Pathet Lao with the backing of North Vietnam were able to take. On December 2, 1975, the king was forced to abdicate his throne and the Lao People's Democratic Republic was established.
Around 300,000 people out of a total population of 3 million left Laos by crossing the border into Thailand following the end of the civil war. The Lao People's Democratic Republic (1975–present). Main article:The new communist government led by imposed centralized economic decision-making and incarcerated many members of the previous government and military in 're-education camps' which also included the Hmongs. While nominally independent, the communist government was for many years effectively little more than a puppet regime run from Vietnam.The government's policies prompted about 10 percent of the Lao population to leave the country. Laos depended heavily on Soviet aid channeled through Vietnam up until the Soviet collapse in 1991.
In the 1990s the communist party gave up centralised management of the economy but still has a monopoly of political power. Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2017), Cambridge University Press,.
Baker, Chris (2002), (PDF), Journal of the Siam Society, 90 (1–2): 1–26. Taylor, Keith W. (1991), University of California Press,.Further reading. Gunn, Geoffrey C.
Rebellion in Laos: Peasant and Politics in a Colonial Backwater (Boulder, CO.: Westview Press, 1990). Stuart-Fox, Martin. 'The French in Laos, 1887–1945.' Modern Asian Studies (1995) 29#1 pp: 111-139. Stuart-Fox, Martin. A history of Laos (Cambridge University Press, 1997)External links.
Andrea Matles Savada, ed. Retrieved August 8, 2011. Christopher Buyers (August 2001 – October 2009). The Khun Lo Dynasty Genealogy &c.
The Royal Ark. Retrieved March 3, 2012. All materials contained in this site are the subject of copyright. Many items are in use under licence. Therefore, on no account may copies be made of text, photographs, graphics or any other materials, without the express written consent of the site owner.
Laos, perhaps the least known country in mainland Southeast Asia, stands at the region's crossroads. This small 'land in between' is surrounded by China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma-countries that, in pre-modern times, provided Lao kings with a field for territorial expansion.
But more often, Laos has been a bridge between these powerful neighbours, and an arena in which they and their allies have interfered.Here, Grant Evans brings Lao history vividly into focus. From ancient times when the dynastic states of the region waxed and waned, to the 20th century and the turmoil of independence from France and the Vietnam War and its aftermath, Evans traces the compelling story of the emergence of Laos as a modern nation.A Short History of Laos is an ideal introduction to Laos for travellers, businesspeople and students. For those familiar with Lao history, Evans investigates key events in new ways and presents serious challenges to conventional views about Laos' intriguing history. Country's past.
Grant Evans is an anthropologist currently teaching at the University of Hong Kong. He has written widely on Southeast Asia.Series Editor Milton Osborne has had an association with the Asian region for over 40 years as an academic, public servant and independent writer. He is the author of eight books on Asian topics, including Southeast Asia: An introductory history, first published in 1979 and now in its eighth edition, and, most recently, The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future, published in 2000.