|
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.
|
