Laos

   Known as Lan Xang or “land of a million elephants,” Laos was founded as a unified state by Prince Fa Ngoum (1353–1373), a Lao, in the year 1353. After the state’s disintegration, a long duel between Vietnam and Thailand began over suzerainty of the various kingdoms of Laos. The coming of the French formed an important chapter in the history of the country. The French interest in Laos was subordinate to its interest in Vietnam, and the conquest of Laos was the last stage of French imperialism in Indochina. There was fierce rivalry among France, Thailand, and Britain for control of the Mekong valley between 1866 and 1893. It was Auguste Pavie, who was responsible for bringing Laos under the French colonial hold. The Franco-Siamese treaty of October 3, 1893, established the French protectorate over Laos. Thailand gave up its claim on the territories of the left bank of the Mekong River. The 1904 Anglo-French treaty spelled out in explicit terms the respective spheres of influence of Britain and France. In exchange for a 25-kilometer neutral zone along the Mekong’s west bank, Thailand gave Champassak and Sayaboury provinces to the French in 1904 and 1907, respectively. France had thus completed the conquest of Indochina over a period of 50 years ending in 1907. In the same year, the Indochinese Union was created out of four protectorates, Annam, Tonkin, Laos, and Cambodia.

   French colonial policy was formulated from Hanoi and Laos functioned as a colony of Vietnam. A system of “cross racial administration” was applied, pitting various ethnic groups against each other. Education and health sectors were neglected. Taxation system was oppressive. The response of the Lao to French administrative measures was not passive. In the beginning of twentieth century, resistance movements led by individuals and tribes developed, and the rebellion of a district chief of Savannakhet, Phocodout, in 1901, took two years suppress. Resistance by the Alec and Loven tribes of Bolovens plateau was provoked by French attempts to collect taxes and regulate commerce. In 1908, Va Nam Phoum led a revolt in Phong Saly and Nam Tha provinces. As they were isolated, the insurrections were unsuccessful; however, they generated a tradition that later helped in fostering Lao nationalism.

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   FURTHER READING:

    Mishra, Patit Paban. A Contemporary History of Laos. New Delhi: National Book Organization, 1999;

    Stuart-Fox, Martin. A History of Laos. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997;

    Toye, Hugh. Laos: Buffer State or Battleground. London: Oxford University Press, 1968.

   PATIT PABAN MISHRA