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Kingdom of Laos
ພຣະຣາຊອານາຈັກລາວ
Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum
OTL equivalent: Laos
Flag of Laos (1996 Summer Olympics) Emblem of Laos (This is the Dream)
Flag Emblem
Motto: 
ເອກະລາດ ເອກະພາບ ວັດທະນາຖາວອນ (Lao)
("Independence, Unity and Prosperity")
Anthem: 
Pheng Xat Lao

Location of Laos (Myomi Republic)
Location of Laos (in green)
CapitalLuang Prabang
Official languages Lao
Ethnic groups  Lao; Khmu; Hmong
Religion Buddhism; Christianity; Traditional religions
Demonym Laotian; Lao
Government Unitary state; Dominant-party parliamentary monarchy
 -  King Mangkra Souvanna Phouma
 -  Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith
Legislature National Assembly of Laos
Establishment
 -  Formation of Seli Lao September 19, 1945 
 -  Independence from France October 22, 1949 
Population
 -   estimate 6,500,000 
Currency Kip (LAK)
Time zone ICT (Indochina Time) (UTC+7)
Internet TLD .la
Calling code +856

Laos (Lao: ປະເທດລາວ Pathet Lao), officially the Kingdom of Laos (Lao: ພຣະຣາຊອານາຈັກລາວ Phra Ratxa-anachak Lao), is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. The capital of Laos is Luang Prabang and the largest city is Vientiane. Other large cities include Savannakhet and Pakse. Laos is a member of the French Community.

The country's official language is Lao. Laos is a multi-ethnic country with the politically and culturally dominant Lao people making up approximately 60% of the population, mostly in the lowlands. Various Mon-Khmer groups, the Hmong, and other indigenous hill tribes, accounting for 40% of the population, live in the foothills and mountains.

History[]

French Indochina (1893–1949)[]

Colonial consolidation (1893–1930)[]

The French carved Laos from Siam through gunboat diplomacy and military conquests in the 1880s and the 1890s. Following the French-Siamese War in 1893, the French gained control of the eastern bank of the Mekong River and established it as the Protectorate of Laos. In 1893, Laos was formally included into French Indochina along with Cambodia and the Vietnamese regions of Tonkin, Annam and Cochinchina. Luang Prabang was merged into Laos in 1899. In 1903, the western bank of Mekong and Champassak were carved from Siam and merged into Laos.

Flag of French Laos (Myomi Republic)

Flag of French Laos (1893–1949)

Within French Indochina, Laos was administered by a Resident Superieur in Vientiane. Most senior and mid-level positions within the colonial bureaucracy were filled by educated Vietnamese, while Lao was employed in lower-level part of bureaucracy as well as laborers. Luang Prabang remained the seat of the royal court, whose powers were actually took over by the French protectorate government. In 1932, an Indigenous Consultative Assembly was formed, consisted of educated Lao and provincial notables. While the assembly only had advisory role, it was the first ever modern parliamentary institution to be established in Laos.

Throughout the colonial era, Laos was known as the backwater of French colonial empire. After losing interest to acquire Siam, the French mostly neglected Laos and did not develop it in the similar scale that it had in Vietnam. Economic development during the colonial years happened very slowly and economic activities in Laos were mainly self-sufficient and local in scale, maintained by rice cultivation and alcoholic distilleries. Infrastructure development was smaller in scale than in other parts of French Indochina.

Since there was no barrier to migration, many Vietnamese moved and lived in Laos during the colonial era. The cities were dominated by the Vietnamese which getting larger in population, except in Luang Prabang. During the 1930s, this population kept growing which alarmed the Lao nationalist elite. Anti-Vietnamese sentiment soon developed both among the elite and the commoners. This sentiment would eventually exploded into riots during the war years, especially after Thailand and Vietnam entered a military alliance as the part of Axis Powers. Both anti-Thai and anti-Vietnamese sentiments became central elements of Lao nationalism in the 1930s and the 1940s.

Birth of Lao nationalism (1930–41)[]

Ruins in Vientiane, depicted by Louis Delaporte (c

Ruins in Vientiane, depicted by Louis Delaporte during the Mekong Expedition led by Francis Garnier (c. 1867).

French colonial rule contributed to the growth of Laotian national identity. Many Lao believed the French saved them from being absorbed into the Siamese state and preserved their own identity from the Siamese. During 1910s and 1920s, King Vajiravudh in neighboring Siam had incorporated Buddhism as an element of Siamese nationalism. To counter it, in 1931, the French founded the Independent Lao Buddhist Institute in Vientiane to create a unique Lao religious identity apart from the Siamese Buddhism.

In effort to increase tourism in Laos, the French also undertook major archaeological works and renovated ancient ruins of temples and tombs in 1930s. In doing so, the French had restored many Lao national monuments that in part reshaped the national identity of Lao apart from Siam cultural influence. With the institutions such as the École Française d'Extrême-Orient, the French also conducted general research into Lao history, literature, art and architecture. French interest in indigenous history served a dual purpose in Laos it reinforced the image of the colonial mission as protection against Siamese domination.

Through modern Western-style education introduced by the French during the colonial era, the Lao further learned about the concept of a nation state. However, this opportunity was only received by the royal elites, especially from Luang Prabang. Nevertheless, the educated Lao would be the ones who led the nationalist movement. Among of this elite was Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa, the son of Viceroy Bounkhong of Luang Prabang. Educated in France, Phetsarath became the Viceroy of Luang Prabang in 1920 and the head of the Lao Civil Service in 1923, making him the most powerful Lao in the colonial government.

Phetsarath Ratanavongsa

Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa (1890–1959), the father of Lao nationalism.

As the head of civil service, Phetsarath established the system of ranks and titles of the civil service as well as promotion and pension plans. With this capacity, he traveled throughout the country for inspection tours, making contacts with local population, and establishing political patronage. Phetsarath also led the effort for the standardization of the written Lao language. In 1935, the first modern Lao grammar book was published by the Vientiane Buddhist Institute with Phetsarath as its head with the help of Sila Viravong. At this point, Phetsarath’s powers and prestiges had surpassed the reigning monarch of Luang Prabang, Sisavang Vong.

Following the Fall of France in June 1940, Laos and the rest of French Indochina faced a danger of invasion from the north and the west. Under the rule of ultranationalist Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram, Siam, which had renamed as Thailand, aimed to unite Thai-speaking people nearby into the “Great Thai Empire”. On December 12, 1940, Thailand invaded French Indochina; the French colonial forces were quickly defeated and retreated to French India. King Sisavang Vong and his royal entourage were also evacuated by the French Army to Madras.

As the French defeat had became more obvious by January 1941, many Lao nationalists at that time had disillusioned with France who they perceived as "mighty protector" before. On February 5, 1941, Laos was formally annexed into Thailand and was divided into provinces of Nakhon Champassak, Wiangchan and Luangphabang. Phetsarath resigned from the civil service and retired to Luang Prabang. The Thai government offered Phetsarath to be reinstated to his old position and enter the rank of Thai nobility with the title of Somdet Phra, similar to Sisowath Monireth in Cambodia. However, Phetsarath refused and rather dedicated himself for the Lao cultural causes. He remained non-cooperative with the Thais throughout the occupation.

World War II (1940–45)[]

Thai military parade in Bangkok 9 May 1941

The tank division of Thai Army entered Luang Prabang, January 7, 1941.

During the occupation, Thailand imposed the assimilation policy upon the Laotians. They banned the publications in the Lao alphabets and regarded the Lao language as a Thai dialect instead of a separate language. People were forced to speak and communicate in the "standard Thai" language. This policy had reversed the long-time efforts by the nationalists to develop separate Lao national identity from Thai cultural sphere and forced the Lao to assimilate with the Thai culture and society. Phetsarath strongly protested the Thai authority against the assimilation policies and was eventually put under house arrest in 1942.

On January 15, 1943, the Lao nationalists, led by Prince Souphanouvong, Phetsarath's younger half-brother, organized a resistance movement against the Thai occupation called the Free Lao (ເສຣີລາວ Seri Lao). It was modeled after anti-Phibun resistance Seri Thai in Thailand. Phetsarath, still under house arrest, was chosen as the titular leader of the movement, while Souphanouvong and Souvanna Phouma became its vice leaders. As a resistance movement, the Seri Lao established contacts with the Allies, including Japan and the United States, but not with France, as they determined to prevent the French return at all cost. With the founding of the Seri Lao, Lao nationalism had entered a new phase from a cultural-focused movement which transformed into a political one.

Lao Issara leaders

Prince Phetsarath (M), Prince Souphanavong (3L) and Prince Souvanna Phouma (3R) and members of Seri Lao government, 1945.

As the war turned to the Allies' side by 1944, the Thai Prime Minister, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, was ousted by the parliamentary coup planned by the Seri Thai. Khuang Aphaiwong, now became new Prime Minister, quickly organized immediate cessation of hostilities with the Allied forces. On September 14, 1944, when the armistice was declared, Khuang transferred the power in Laos to local native bureaucrats and issued amnesty to Prince Phetsarath. Six days later, the Seri Lao formed a provisional government in Luang Prabang with Phetsarath as its head. The Thai government recognized the Seri Lao's de facto authority in three Laotian provinces although Laos officially remained within Thailand until 1945.

In May 1945, the Japanese 1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Fukudome Shigeru, landed in Bangkok, signaled the start of Allied occupation of Thailand. In accordance with the Postdam Conference, the Allies agreed Thailand should be restored to its pre-1941 borders. The Seri Lao government in Luang Prabang quickly declared the independence of Laos on August 29, 1945 although the French intended to restore their rule in Indochina after the war. On September 20, 1945, the Japanese 38th Army and the Korean Fourth Army, under the joint command of Lieutenant General Tsuchihashi Yuitsu, landed in Hanoi.

Allied occupation of Laos (1945–46)[]

Lt. Gen. Tsuchihashi was ordered by Tokyo that the Japanese would occupied Vietnam in the north of 16th parallel line, while the Korean Army would marched into Laos. On September 25, 1945, the Koreans arrived in Laos and received a welcoming ceremony organized by the Seri Lao. Major General Kim Hong-il, the Allied military governor for Laos, met Prince Phetsarath and guaranteed the Korean Army's recognition of Lao independence. The Fourth Army treated the Seri Lao as a legitimate representative of the Lao people albeit the French protest. Korea would later became the first nation that recognized Laos as an independent country in 1946.

Union of Indochina (1946–49)[]

Independent Laos (1949–present)[]

References[]

Further readings[]

This article is part of Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum

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