History Of Laos

The first history of Laos was recorded in 1353 about King Fa Ngum who ruled the Kingdom of Lao Lanexang (Million Elephants) and established Luang Prabang as his capital city.

During his rule his Kingdom was very strong, powerful and prosperous. Its huge territories is believed to be the size of Thailand and Laos combined.

In the 16th century his successors King Setthathirat continued to bring peace and stability to the country, he then introduced Buddhism to his people and it became the predominant religion of the country.

Thereafter, the conflict with Siam (now Thailand), Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia in 18th century brought the country to chaos; thus weakening the kingdom.

Siam took control over Laos in the 19th century and established hegemony over much of the country. The country was divided into three principalities centered in the North; Luang Prabang, the center; Vientiane and the South; Champassak. In the northwest, in Xieng Khouang province was influenced by the Vietnamese. Late in the century, the French defeated Siam and took control over Laos and signed the Franco-Siamese treaty in 1907 which defined the present Lao-Thai border.

Japan occupied French Indochina including Laos during World War II in 1945. After the Japanese surrendered in 1946 French troops reoccupied Laos again. In 1954 the Geneva PeaceTreaty was signed and France formally recognized the independence of Laos. This was the first time in the history of Laos that the country had enjoyed the freedom. Then the first coalition government led by Prince Souvanna Phouma was formed. Four years later the coalition government collapsed, the rightist forces took over the government and the communist moved to the jungle and resumed fighting.

Kong Le a paratroop captain seized Vientiane in a coup in 1960 and demanded formation of a neutralist government to end the fighting. The neutralist government was once again led by Souvanna Phouma, but was driven from power later that same year by rightist forces under General Phoumi Nosavan.

In 1961-1962 a second Geneva Conference was held to provide peace, independence and neutrality of Laos. But with no success, both sides accused each other of violating the terms of the agreement and with super-power support on both sides the fighting continued.

In 1975 the Lao's People Revolutionary Party came into power, renaming the country "Lao People's Democratic Republic", declared National Day on 2nd December 1975 and created a new flag for the new era. Since then that date became the public holiday of Laos. Today, Laos still remains under the communist government.

Since coming into power, the new government has opened the new chapter in the history of laos by accelerating the development of the basic infrastructure with financial aid and joint ventures with both communist and capitalist countries. But social development is still inadaquate in areas such as medical care, education, job, training and welfare.

Although Laos is a communist country, religion and traditional festivals are still practice in all part of the country and many capitalist ideas such as private land and business ownership are encouraged. In major cities and surrounding areas, full and partially state-owned joint-ventures still exist. Many hydroelectric power projects financed by World Bank and foreign aid contribute significantly to Lao's GDP and income from export. Currently, most of Lao's electricity is mainly sold to Thailand.

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