History of Laos

Laos has only existed within its geographical boundaries for little more than a hundred years. However its history stretches back over six centuries to the legendary kingdom of Lan Xang. Lao legends talk of a prince named Fa Ngum, who was cast out of Xiang Dong Xiang Thong (present day Luang Prabang), and taken in by the Khmers at Angkor. He married a Khmer princess and brought an army back to Xiang Dong Xiang Thong whereupon he conquered the landscape and ascended the throne. He named his new kingdom Lan Xang Hom Khao, the “Kingdom of a Million Elephants and the White Parasol”. During his reign he expanded his borders into Northern Thailand and Southern China. Over the coming centuries border invasions by Vietnamese, Burmese and Siamese brought much conflict to the region.

In the late 1880’s France conquered the Mekong area and subsequently held control of Laos for half a century. The Japanese then occupied the area during World War 2. However, in 1946 the French marched on Laos in order to regain occupation. By early 1947 the Kingdom of Laos had begun to take shape as Laos as we know it today – under French control. By the time full independence was granted in October 1953, Laos was a divided country. Large areas were under control of the RLG (Royal Lao Government), and the rest controlled by the resistance group Pathet Laos.

By 1962 Laos had been drawn into the Second Indochina War. Even though it was internationally declared a neutral state, its close proximity to Vietnam meant the country was at war. Unknown to many people internationally at the time, from 1964 until 1973 America dropped 2,093,100 tons of bombs on Laos, the equivalent of one plane load of bombs every 8 minutes for 9 years – making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in the history of warfare.

A ceasefire was declared in 1973 and in 1975 Pathet Laos forces took control of Laos. In 1986 a new economic mechanism was implemented which meant less government intrusion in peoples lives and the beginnings of a market economy. However, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure. It has no railroads, an undeveloped road system and limited telecommunications. Electricity is only available in a select few urbanised areas. Subsistence agriculture, dominated by rice, accounts for about half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment.