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Laos: History
Pre-20th-Century History
The country has long been occupied by migrating Thais (including
Shans, Siamese and Lao) and Hmong/Mien hill tribes. The first Lao
principalities were consolidated in the 13th century following the
invasion of southwest China by Kublai Khan's Mongol hordes. In the
mid-14th century, a Khmer-sponsored warlord, Fa Ngum, combined a
number of scattered principalities around Luang Prabang to form his
own kingdom, Lan Xang ('a million elephants'). The kingdom
initially prospered, but internal divisions and pressure from
neighbours caused it to split in the 17th century into three warring
kingdoms centred on
Luang Prabang, Wieng
Chan (Vientiane) and Champasak.
By the end of the 18th century, most of Laos came under Siamese
(Thai) suzerainty but the territory was also being pressured by
Vietnam. Unable or unwilling to serve two masters, the country went
to war with Siam in the 1820s. This disastrous ploy led to all three
kingdoms falling under Thai control. By the late 19th century,
France had established French Indochina in the Vietnamese provinces
of Tonkin and Annam. The Thais eventually ceded all of Laos to the
French, who were content to use the territory merely as a buffer
between its colonial holdings and Siam.
Modern History
During WWII, the Japanese occupied Indochina and a Lao resistance
group, Lao Issara, was formed to prevent the return of the French.
Independence was achieved in 1953 but conflict persisted between
royalist, neutralist and communist factions. The USA began bombing
North Vietnamese troops on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in eastern Laos in
1964, escalating conflict between the royalist Vientiane government
and the communist Pathet Lao, who fought alongside the North
Vietnamese. By the time a ceasefire was negotiated in 1973, Laos had
the dubious distinction of being the most bombed country in the
history of warfare.
A coalition government was formed, but when Saigon fell in 1975,
most of the royalists left Laos. The Pathet Lao peacefully took
control of the country and the Lao People's Democratic Republic came
into being in December 1975. Laos remained closely allied with the
Vietnamese communists throughout the 1980s. Laos cemented ties with
its neighbours when it was welcomed into ASEAN in July 1997.
By the late 1990s, the economy was in such poor shape - having
experienced inflation of over 100% and a depreciation of the kip by
more than 500% - that the resolutely socialist country did something
they'd never done before. They devised a 'Visit Laos' campaign in
order to attract the tourist dollar. Although it was not a huge
success, the kip was dragged back from its death bed and inflation
was reined in a little.
The economic crisis sparked some political unrest. A small student
demonstration against the monopoly of political power by the LPRP
was ruthlessly crushed and its leaders given long prison sentences.
Lao dissidents in Thailand attacked a border customs post, provoking
a swift Lao military response. A series of small bombings in
Vientiane and southern Laos was also blamed on expatriate
dissidents, while Hmong 'brigands' attacked transport in the north.
The government responded by increasing security, and by 2004 the
Hmong insurgency had all but collapsed.
Recent History
Meanwhile the Lao tourist industry continued to grow. In 1995
Luang
Prabang was placed on the Unesco World Heritage list, and
Wat Phu, the ancient Khmer temple near Champasak, followed. Other
parts of the country are opening up to ecotourism, including the
Bolaven Plateau, the Plain of Jars, and the far north. An added
attraction is that many of the country's colourful minority tribes
live in these regions. Laos now attracts over a million tourists a
year (well over half of them Thai), and the figure is likely to
rise.
Laos
does not suffer severe population pressure, but there is a
steady migration into the cities due to increasing disparities
between urban and rural living standards. The government has shown
little inclination to address this problem, or the abysmally low
education standards, or poor health facilities for a rural
population faced with diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. Some
NGOs and foreign aid programs are trying to help, but human
resources remain poorly developed.
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