Short history of laos pdf Continue Tim Lambert Ancient Laos The earliest residents of Laos were hunter-gatherers. Later they were farmers, growing rice and legumes. The first farmers used stone tools, but from about 2000 BC bronze was used in Laos and from about 500 BC iron. Unlike Vietnam, however, the people of Laos were influenced by Indian rather than Chinese culture. Since the 1st century AD, Indian merchants introduced Theravada Buddhism to Laos. From the 9th to the 13th century, the Khmer Rouge from Cambodia ruled most of what is now Laos. However, in the 14th century, the ancestors of modern Laotians founded a kingdom called Lan Sang. The first king was the ambitious Chao Fa Ngum, who was succeeded by his son Faya Samsentay in 1373. He ruled until 1421 and under him Lan Sang became a prosperous kingdom. Unfortunately, his successors were less skilful rulers. In the 16th century, Lan Xan was threatened by Burma, but managed to maintain its independence. In the 17th century, greatness was restored to Lan Sang Suriyawongs (1637-1694). His long reign is seen as a golden age. During his Lan Xang was powerful and prosperous. However, when Suriyawongs died in 1694, he did not leave an heir. In the early 18th century, Lan Sang divided into three regions, centered on Luang Prang in the north, Vientiane in the middle and Champasake in the south. When it was divided in this way Laos was weakened and fell victim to Siam (Thailand). In 1779, Siamese troops occupied Vientiane. Subsequently, three Lao states were dominated by Siam (Thailand). In 1804, Anuvong became King of Vientiane. By 1825, Anuvong was determined to overthrow Siamese rule and restore the kingdom of Lan Sang. In 1827 he advanced to Siam, but was defeated and forced to retreat. Anuvong fled to Vietnam. A few months later he returned to Vientiane, but was captured by the Siamese (Thais), putting an end to all hope for the restored Lan Xan. Frenchmen in Laos In 1867-68 a Frenchman named Francis Garnier traveled to Laos. However, the French left Laos alone for two decades. Then, in the late 1880s and early 1890s, French influence in the area grew. Finally, in 1893, the Siamese officially surrendered the entire territory east of the Mekong River to the French. Laos became part of the French Empire in southeast Asia. However, the French had little interest in Laos, and few French people lived there. In 1941, the French waged a war with the Thais for Laotian territory. The Japanese forced a truce and parts of Laos were handed over to Thailand. Then in April 1945, the Japanese forced the pro-French King SisavanGa to declare independence from France. After Japan's surrender in September 1945, Prince Fetsarat was prime minister of Laos. He headed a government called Lao Isara (Free Laos). However, Lao's independence does not last long. In March 1946, the French invaded Laos and by the time of 1946 once again, they took control of the country. Modern Modern Then in 1950, the pro-communist Prince Supthanuwong founded an organization that became known as Papet Lao (Land of Laos). At first it was a relatively small organization supported by Vietmin. At the same time, the French lost control of southeast Asia and in 1953 they withdrew from Laos, which became an independent constitutional monarchy. However, Laos was a divided country in the 1950s. Most were ruled by the U.S.-backed royals while parts ruled the pro-communist Papet Lao with the help of their VietMin allies. All attempts to find a political solution failed, and in the 1960s Laos became embroiled in a wider Asian war. From 1964 to 1973, the United States bombed Papet Lao, but failed to defeat them. Then in 1975 the Communists came to South Vietnam and Cambodia. Seeing how things go Royalists have fled Laos allows Papkhet Lao to take over. The Lao People's Democratic Republic was founded on 2 December 1975. A full communist regime was introduced. In 1988, however, the Government of Laos introduced market reforms. As a result, Laos' economy began to grow rapidly. Today, Laos is still a poor country, but it is growing rapidly and poverty is shrinking. Laos also has great potential for tourism. Meanwhile, Laos joined ASEAN in 1997. She joined the WTO in 2013. Today, Laos has a population of 7 million people. A Brief History of Thailand A Brief History of Vietnam A Brief History of Myanmar A Brief History of Indonesia A Brief History of Cambodia A Brief History of Malaysia Home Last Revised 2020 Grant Evans is an anthropologist currently teaching at the University of Hong Kong. He has written extensively on South East Asia.Series editor Milton Osborne has been associated with the Asian region for more than 40 years as an academic, public servant and independent writer. He is the author of eight books on Asian topics, including on Southeast Asia: An Opening Story, first published in 1979 and now in its eighth edition, and, most recently, Mekong: A Turbulent Past, An Uncertain Future, published in 2000. Grant Evans is an anthropologist currently teaching at the University of Hong Kong. He wrote a lot about Southeast Asia. The series' editor Milton Osborne has been in touch with the Asian region for more than 40 years as an academic, civil servant and independent writer. He is the author of eight books on Asian topics, including on Southeast Asia: An Opening Story, first published in 1979 and now in its eighth edition, and, most recently, Mekong: A Turbulent Past, An Uncertain Future, published in 2000. Aspect of Southeast Asian History Part series on the history of Laos Lan Xang Era Lan Xang 1353-1707 Regional Era of the Kingdom of Vientiane 1707-1828 Kingdom Luang Prabang1707-1893 Muang Fuan 1707-1899 Kingdom of Champasak 1713-1904 Colonial-era Laos uprising 1826-1828 Wars Haw Wars Haw Wars Franco-Siamese War 1893 French protectorate of Laos 1893-1953 Franco-Thai war 1940-1941 Free Lao (Lao Isara) 1945-1949 Modern era of the Kingdom of Laos 1946-1975 Lao Civil War 1953-19531975 North North-Vietnam invasion of Laos 1958-1959 Anti-Communist Uprising 1975-2007 Laos Laos 1975-1991 Laos after Soviet domination 1991-present See also History of Laos History Isan vte Evidence of modern human presence in the northern and central Highlands of Indochina , which make up the territory of the modern Lao national state dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. These earliest human migrants are Australo-Melanese, associated with the Hoaben culture and inhabited the highlands and interior of Laos and all of southeast Asia to this day. Subsequent Austro-Asian and Austronesian waves of maritime migration have affected landlocked Laos only marginally, and direct Chinese and Indian cultural contacts have a greater impact on the country. The modern nation state of Laos emerged from the French colonial empire as an independent country in 1953. Laos exists in a truncated form from the Lao kingdom of Lan Sang of the 13th century. Lan Sang existed as a single kingdom from 1357 to 1707, divided into three rival kingdoms Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champasac from 1707 to 1779, fell on the Siamese suzerenti from 1779 to 1893 and was led by the French protectorate of Laos 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. The limitations and current state of research Archaeological research in Laos have been limited due to the enduring and remote topography, the history of twentieth-century conflicts that have left more than two million tons of unexploded ordnance across the country, and local sensitivity to the history that are associated with the Communist government of Laos, the village authorities and rural poverty. The first archaeological research of Laos began with the fact that French researchers operated under the auspices of the French French School of the East. However, because of the civil war in Laos, serious archaeological work began only in the 1990s. Since 2005, one such effort, the Middle Mekong Archaeological Project (MMAP) has excavated and surveyed numerous sites along the Mekong and its tributaries around Luang Prabang in northern Laos, with the aim of studying the early human settlement of the Mekong Valley and its tributaries. Backstory in Laos Main article: Hama Ancient human fossil remains from the cave Tam Pa Ling Anatomically modern human hunter-gatherer migration in southeast Asia up to 50,000 years ago has been confirmed by the region's fossil record. These immigrants may have been in a certain united and reproduced with The archaic population of Homo erectus, as suggested by the fossil discoveries of 2009 in the cave Tam Pa Ling. Dated between 46,000 and 63,000 years, it is the oldest fossil found in the region that carries modern human morphological features. Recent studies also support a more accurate understanding of the patterns of migration of early humans who migrated in successive waves moving from west to east after the coastline, but also used river valleys further inland and further north than previously thought. An early tradition can be traced in Hoabinhian, the name given to the industry and cultural continuity of stone tools and flakes of cobblestone artifacts that appear about 10,000 BP in caves and rock shelters first described in Hea Ben, Vietnam, and then in Laos. The earliest residents of Laos , Australasian-Melanesians - followed members of the Austro-Asian language family. These early societies contributed to the gene pool of ancestors of lao ethnic groups known as Lao Thang, with the largest ethnic groups being the ham of northern Laos and brao and katang in the south.