History of Cambodia

Cambodia rose to glory in the early ninth century, when the Khmer Empire came to power. For more than 500 years, Angkor (the capital of the Khmer Empire) controlled a vast territory across Southeast Asia. In 1594 the Cambodian capital city fell to the Thai’s, and from this time on Thailand and Vietnam would continually encroach upon Cambodia until the late 1800’s when the whole Mekong Delta would come under French control.

World War 2 meant Japanese occupancy for Cambodia, but as the war came to an end in 1945 Cambodia had their sights on independence. However, it was not until the Geneva Conference in May 1954 that full independence from France was granted. King Sihanouk held power from 1945. In 1955 he abdicated from the throne, installing his Father as the reigning monarch, and created the “Peoples Socialist Community party” to fight the general elections. His party won and communist opposition, known as the “Khmers Rouge”, fled to the countryside to avoid arrest.

As the war in Vietnam progressed Cambodia publicly declared neutrality, whilst harbouring Vietcong Soldiers on Cambodian soil. This changed when in 1969 Sihanouk began negotiating with the US Government. The US Army was granted permission to bomb Cambodia’s Eastern side (where Vietcong soldiers were hiding), killing and maiming hundreds of Cambodian civilians.

With the country in disarray the Khmer Rouge regrouped and began to take control of large swathes of the countryside. 12th April 1975 marks the day when the Khmer Rouge marched on Phnom Penh, gaining control of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge was a Communist party, controlled by Pol Pot, which tried to transform the country into an agrarian collective, eradicating life as it had been known before. The entire population of Phnom Penh was moved into the countryside and forced to work as peasants. At the same time the mass murder of educated people, intellectuals, teachers, and their families was carried out under the order of Pol Pot. The regime continued until 1979 when Vietnam invaded and took control, by which point it is estimated that between one and three million people had died. Pol Pot and his supporters fled to the Thai borders and would wage war against the reigning government until 1998, when Pol Pot died.

Vietnam occupied Cambodia until 1989. In 1991 the Paris Peace Accords granted power to the “United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia” (UNTAC) who were meant to organise and operate fair elections, set to take place in 1993. A coalition government was formed, similar to the government which rules today.

After decades of war Cambodia currently has an extreme demographic imbalance, more than 50% of the population is 20 years old or younger. The countryside is lacking from much basic infrastructure and 75% of the population works in subsistence farming.