Laos History by Mekong Delta Travel

Though archaeologists have discovered stone tools and other artifacts at many sites around Laos that indicate that human settlement in the region dates back as far as 10,000 years, the history of country as it is today truly begins with the first unified kingdom to be established there.

Lane Xang - established by the returning prince, Fa Ngoum, in 1349 - brought together the disparate townships that had grown up across the land. Fa Ngoum also installed Theravada Buddhism as the principle religion of the country. From his capital at Luang Prabang, the charismatic king and brilliant tactician spread the power of his rule throughout present-day Laos and into northern and eastern Thailand.

Under threat from both Siamese, Burmese and Chinese invaders in the sixteenth century, the capital of the faltering Lane Xang was moved to Vieng Chan (Vientiane) by King Setthathirat in 1560. The Burmese were not to be put off by this tactical move and finally occupied the city in 1575, holding it for seven years and finally bringing an end to the once great Lane Xang.

In the wake of the Burmese retreat, at the end of the sixteenth century, the kingdoms of Luang Prabang and Vieng Chan took the place once filled by Lane Xang. These were once again united in 1591, under the leadership of King Nokeo Koumane. The seventeenth century saw the new kingdom enter its golden age with European traders exclaiming the capital, Vieng Chan, to be one of the most beautiful cities in southeast Asia. However, this was all to come to an end in less than a century as feudal lords fought over an empty throne and eventually brought about the kingdom's downfall. An unstable three way division of the kingdom, into Luang Prabang, Vieng Chan, and Champasak, left none with sufficient power to repel the ambitions of the new Siamese kingdom of King Thaksin. Luang Prabang fell to Siamese rule and Vien Chang and Champasak were reduced to vassal status. After years of paying homage to the Siamese kings, an ill-fated war against their rule in 1820 was the undoing of both these kingdoms, and also brought about the total destruction of the once beautiful city of Vieng Chan.

European ambitions in the region, at the end of the nineteenth century, were of serious concern to the Siamese kings for many years. In 1893, to guarantee that the French colonialists would not challenge the country's sovereignty, Siam gave them Laos. The French - soon realising that the colony was not quite the grand acquisition they had hoped, and that the Mekong River's potential as a backdoor trade route into China had been vastly over estimated - made Laos a protectorate and left much of the running of the country to the Lao people.

The fall of France to Germany and the Japanese occupation of Indochina during World War II, helped to foment a new breed of nationalism among the Lao people. The situation was exacerbated when Japanese troops forced the pro-French King Sisavang Vong to declare independence from the French in the waning months of the war. With the August 14 1945 surrender of Japan, a power vacuum was left in Laos that the French were at that time unable to refill. For a little over six months Laos was independent, but, with the help of British and Pro-French Lao forces, the colonialists were able to re-occupy Vientiane in April 1946. However, the seeds of liberty had already been sown. In October 1953, the French - their resources already seriously stretched by the war in Vietnam - finally ceded full independence to Laos.

The political situation, however, was to remain unstable for many years, eventually leading to civil war between the North Vietnamese backed Pathet Lao (Land of the Lao) and the US-financed Royalist forces.

The January 1973 Paris Accords - which saw the end of US involvement in the Vietnam conflict was followed a month later by a cessation of hostilities between the opposing Lao factions, leading at last to the formation of a coalition government. It was not to last.

With the fall of Phnom Penh and Saigon to Communist forces in April 1975, many Royalists saw the eventual takeover of the country by the Pathet Lao as a forgone conclusion and fled to France. That August, in a symbolic gesture, a force of fifty female Pathet Lao soldiers marched into and liberated Vientiane. The Lao People's Democratic Republic was born on December 2, 1975.

Laos entered a period of isolation throughout the rest of the seventies, maintaining diplomatic and economic relations with only Vietnam and the USSR. After failing to establish a successful socialist state modeled on Eastern Bloc collectivization, the Lao government moved towards a more flexible form of socialism - dismantling agricultural co-operatives in 1979, and installing economic reforms in 1986 that opened the way for the introduction of a market economy.

In the last few years, Laos has made further strides towards international acceptance and integration into the global economy. The 1994 opening of the Australian-financed Friendship Bridge - linking Vientiane with Nong Khai in Thailand - and the country's 1997 ASEAN membership are both seen as positive moves towards this goal.