1.
Champasak Province
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Champasak is a province in southwestern Laos, near the borders with Thailand and Cambodia. It is one of the three principalities that succeeded the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, as of the 2015 census, it had a population of 694,023. The capital is Pakse, but it takes its name from Champasak, Champasak Province covers an area of 15,415 square kilometres. It is bordered by Salavan Province to the north, Sekong Province to the northeast, Attapeu Province to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. The Mekong River forms part of the border with neighboring Thailand and contains Si Phan Don in the south of the province, Champasak has played a central role in the history of Siam and Laos, with frequent battles taking place in and around Champasak. Its rich cultural heritage includes ancient temple ruins and French colonial architecture, Champasak has some 20 wats, such as Wat Phou, Wat Luang, and Wat Tham Fai. Freshwater dolphins and the many waterfalls are tourist attractions. From the 1st to 9th centuries CE, Champasak Province was part of the Funan, between the 10th and 13th centuries it was part of the Khmer Empire. In 1354, the area came under the control of King Fa Ngum, the Angkor empire went into decline between the 15th and 17th centuries when it was annexed by Lan Xang. In 1707, Chamapasak became one of three kingdoms arising from a dissolved Lan Xang Empire, in the 18th century Laos became an independent kingdom. The kingdom had only three emperors, Soi Sisamut, nephew of Suriya Vangas, Sainya Kuman and lastly Fai Na, Pakse, the capital of the province, was established by the French in 1905 as an administrative outpost at the confluence of Xe Don and the Mekong. Champasak Province covers an area of 15,415 square kilometres, the Mekong forms part of the border with neighboring Thailand and, after a sharp bend projecting westward, turns east and flows southeasterly through the province down to Cambodia. Champasak can be reached from Thailand through Sirindhorn Districts Chong Mek border crossing, to Vang Tao on the Lao side, from where the highway leads east towards the provincial capital, Pakse. The capital is on Laos most important highway, Route 13, Si Phan Don is on a stretch of the Mekong north of the border with Cambodia. Of these islands, Don Khong is the largest and has a number of villages, temples. A French-built bridge on the railway line provides the link with two smaller islands, Don Deth and Don Khon. There are many waterfalls in the such as the Liphi Waterfall at Don Khon to the west of Ban Khon village. Below the falls in the waters of the Mekong the fresh water dolphins can be seen
2.
Lao language
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Lao, also referred to as Laotian, Thai Noi, is a tonal language of the Tai–Kadai language family. It is the language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand. The Lao language serves as an important lingua franca as the country of Laos consists of ethnic groups. Spoken Lao is mutually intelligible with the Thai language, Lao, like many languages in Laos, is written in the Lao script, an abugida. Although there is no standard, the Vientiane dialect has become the de facto standard. Oral history of the migrations is preserved in the legends of Khun Borom, Tai speakers in what is now Laos pushed out or absorbed earlier groups of Mon–Khmer and Austronesian languages. These Tai peoples are classified by the Lao government as Lao Loum or lowland Lao, Lao and Thai are also very similar and share most of their basic vocabulary, but differences in many basic words limit inter-comprehension. The Lao language consists primarily of native Lao words, because of Buddhism, however, Pali has contributed numerous terms, especially relating to religion and in conversation with members of the Sangha. Due to their proximity, Lao has influenced the Khmer and Thai languages. Formal writing has an amount of foreign loanwords, especially Pali and Sanskrit terms, much as Latin. For politeness, pronouns are used, plus ending statements with ແດ່ or ເດີ້, negative statements are made more polite by ending with ດອກ. The following are formal register examples, many consonants in Lao make a phonemic contrast between labialized and plain versions. The complete inventory of Lao consonants is as shown in the table below, hence, final /p/, /t/, and /k/ sounds are pronounced as, and respectively. * The glottal stop appears at the end when no final follows a short vowel, All vowels make a phonemic length distinction. The vowels are as shown in the table, Diphthongs are all centering diphthongs with falling sonority. There are six tones in unchecked syllables, that is. The number of tones is reduced to four in checked syllables. The only consonant clusters allowed are syllable initial clusters /kw/ or /kʰw/, any consonant may appear in the onset, but the labialized consonants do not occur before rounded vowels
3.
Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
4.
Monarchy
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The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic, to partial and restricted, to completely autocratic. Traditionally and in most cases, the monarchs post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication, occasionally this might create a situation of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election. Finally, there have been cases where the term of a reign is either fixed in years or continues until certain goals are achieved. Thus there are widely divergent structures and traditions defining monarchy, Monarchy was the most common form of government until the 19th century, but it is no longer prevalent. Currently,47 sovereign nations in the world have monarchs acting as heads of state,19 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. The monarchs of Cambodia, Japan, and Malaysia reign, the word monarch comes from the Greek language word μονάρχης, monárkhēs which referred to a single, at least nominally absolute ruler. In current usage the word usually refers to a traditional system of hereditary rule. Depending on the held by the monarch, a monarchy may be known as a kingdom, principality, duchy, grand duchy, empire, tsardom, emirate, sultanate, khaganate. The form of societal hierarchy known as chiefdom or tribal kingship is prehistoric, the Greek term monarchia is classical, used by Herodotus. The monarch in classical antiquity is often identified as king, the Chinese, Japanese and Nepalese monarchs continued to be considered living Gods into the modern period. Since antiquity, monarchy has contrasted with forms of democracy, where power is wielded by assemblies of free citizens. In antiquity, monarchies were abolished in favour of such assemblies in Rome, much of 19th century politics was characterised by the division between anti-monarchist Radicalism and monarchist Conservativism. Many countries abolished the monarchy in the 20th century and became republics, advocacy of republics is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchies is called monarchism. In the modern era, monarchies are more prevalent in small states than in large ones, most monarchs, both historically and in the modern day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, the centre of the royal household and court. Growing up in a family, future monarchs are often trained for the responsibilities of expected future rule. Different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, and agnatic seniority. While most monarchs have been male, many female monarchs also have reigned in history, rule may be hereditary in practice without being considered a monarchy, such as that of family dictatorships or political families in many democracies. The principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of leadership
5.
French Indochinese piastre
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The piastre de commerce was the currency of French Indochina between 1885 and 1952. It was subdivided into 100 cent, each of 5 sapèque, the name piastre, from Spanish pieces of eight, dates to the 16th century and has been used as the name of many different historical units of currency. There was also a silver milled dragon coin and associated subsidiary coinage in circulation, in the region that is nowadays Cambodia and Laos, the Siamese coinage circulated and Cambodia had its own regional varieties of the Siamese Tical. The French began their Indo-Chinese empire in 1862 with Cochin-China which is the area around the Mekong delta and Saigon, and this empire very quickly expanded to include Cambodia which had been a vassal state of the Kingdom of Siam. In 1875, the French introduced a Cambodian franc to Cambodia, although these francs were minted in Belgium between 1875 and 1885, they always bore the date 1860. The French also began to introduce a subsidiary coinage in cents into Cochin-China in the late 1870s and these cents were actually subsidiary coinage of the Mexican dollar unit as opposed to being subsidiary coinage of the French franc. In 1884, the French Indo-Chinese empire further expanded to incorporate Annam, the piastre was initially equivalent to the Mexican peso. The piastre was therefore a direct descendent of the Spanish pieces of eight that had been brought to the Orient from Mexico on the Manila Galleons. It was initially on a standard of 1 piastre =24.4935 grams pure silver. This was reduced to 24.3 grams in 1895, French Indo-China was one of the last places to abandon the silver standard. The silver standard was restored in 1921 and maintained until 1930, during the World War II Japanese occupation, an exchange rate of 0.976 piastre =1 Japanese yen operated, with the pre-war peg to the franc restored after the war. However, in December 1945, to avoid the French francs devaluation, in 1946, the North Vietnamese đồng was introduced, which replaced the piastre at par. In 1952/1953, the Lao kip, Cambodian riel, and South Vietnamese đồng were introduced at par with the piastre, initially, the paper money bore denominations both in the local currency and the piastre, but coins were denominated in the national units since the beginning. These initially circulated alongside the old piastre currency, the peg of 1 piastre =10 francs was restored in 1953. The dual denominated notes circulated until 1955 in South Vietnam and Cambodia, the coin was first introduced in 1880 then 1883 then in 1885 as so on. In 1885, bronze 1 cent and silver 10,20 and 50 cent and 1 piastre coins were introduced and these were followed in 1887 by holed, bronze 1 sapeque. In 1895, the weights of the coins were reduced. From 1896, the 1 cent was also a holed coin, in 1923, holed, cupro-nickel 5 cent were introduced, followed by holed, bronze ½ cent in 1935
6.
Lan Xang
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The Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Khao existed as a unified kingdom from 1354 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia, the meaning of the kingdoms name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the early kingdom. The kingdom is the precursor for the country of Laos and the basis for the national historic, with the rise of the Sukhothai Kingdom the principal city-states of Muang Sua and south to the twin cities of Vieng Chan Vieng Kham, came increasingly under Tai influence. The cultural memory of the migrations and the mixing of Tai influence with the indigenous, Mon. The cultural, linguistic, and political roots which highlight the commonality of these legends can help to understand Lan Xang. Throughout the history of Lan Xang the legitimacy of the monarchy was tied to the dynasty of Khun Lo. The traditional court histories of Lan Xang begin in the Year of the Nāga 1319 with the birth of Fa Ngum, Fa Ngums Grandfather Souvanna Khampong was king of Muang Sua and his father Chao Fa Ngiao was the crown prince. As a youth Fa Ngum was sent to the Khmer Empire to live as a son of King Jayavarman IX, in 1343 King Souvanna Khampong died, and a succession dispute for Muang Sua took place. In 1349 Fa Ngum was granted an army known as the Ten Thousand to take the crown, the opportunity for the Khmer was to create a friendly buffer state in an area they could no longer effectively control with only a moderately sized military force. Fa Ngums campaign started in southern Laos, taking the towns and cities in the region around Champasak and moving northward through Thakek, from his position on the middle Mekong, Fa Ngum sought assistance and supply from Vientiane in attacking Muang Sua, which they refused. However, Prince Nho of Muang Phuan offered assistance and vassalage to Fa Ngum for assistance in a dispute of his own. Fa Ngum agreed and quickly moved his army to take Muang Phuan and then on to take Xam Neua, the Đại Việt, concerned with their rival Champa to the south sought a clearly defined border with the growing power of Fa Ngum. The result was to use the Annamite Range as both a cultural and territorial barrier between the two kingdoms, continuing his conquests Fa Ngum turned toward the Sip Song Chau Taialong the Red and Black River valleys, which were heavily populated with Lao. Having secured a sizable force of Lao from each territory under his domain Fa Ngum moved down the Nam Ou to take Muang Sua. Despite three attacks the King of Muang Sua, who was Fa Ngums uncle, was unable to deter the size of Fa Ngums army and committed suicide rather than be taken alive. King Phayu of Lanna raised an army which Fa Ngum overwhelmed at Chiang Saen, forcing Lanna to cede some its territory, having secured his immediate borders Fa Ngum returned to Muang Sua. In 1351 Uthong, who was married to a daughter of the Khmer King Suphanburi, however, the remains of the Khmer Empire were in direct conflict with the growing power of Ayutthaya and the two became rivals rather than allies. Throughout the 1350s Ayutthaya expanded over western Khmer territories and the Khorat Plateau, in 1352 Angkor was attacked by Ayutthaya in a failed attempt to take the capital
7.
Kingdom of Laos
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The Kingdom of Laos was a constitutional monarchy that ruled Laos beginning with its independence on 9 November 1953. The Kingdom of Laos was officially proclaimed when the new Constitution was promulgated in 1947, as part of the colonial French Union, following the Franco-Lao Treaty of 1953, which gave Laos independence, the Royal Lao Government took control of the country. This treaty established a monarchy, with Sisavang Vong as King. Many attempts were made by the Three Princes and King Sisavang Vatthana to establish a coalition government, the First Government of National Unity was established in 1958 under Prince Souvanna Phouma, but collapsed after two months. The Prime Minister, who under the constitution appointed his ministers and received advice from the King, Souvanna Phouma gave the Communists two seats in the Cabinet, and in return Souphanouvong would integrate 1,500 of his 6,000 Communist troops into the royal army. Prince Souphanouvong was given the post of Minister of Planning, Reconstruction and Urbanization, while member of the Communist Party was named Minister of Religion. The Kingdom of Laos was divided into five military regions, the United States supplied the Royal Lao Navy with twenty river patrol boats and sixteen amphibious landing craft. Between 1962 and 1971, the United States provided Laos with an estimated US$500 million in military assistance. The Royal Lao Government had close relations with the United States, which gave the country aid and assisted it in the campaign against the Pathet Lao, during 1957, the United States spent more per capita on foreign aid for Laos than it had on any other nation. That worked out as US$150 per Laotian, twice the average annual income. Some of the went to support pro-American candidates in an election, while other money went to a program to support the local currency. King Savang Vatthana visited the United States in 1963 to meet with President Kennedy, Laos was also supported by France, Australia, Burma, Thailand and Japan. The Pathet Lao were backed militarily by the NVA and Vietcong, Laos was also dragged into the Vietnam War since parts of Laos were invaded and occupied by North Vietnam for use as a supply route for its war against the South. It also provided supplies, training and funding to the central government, in 1968, the North Vietnamese Army launched a multi-division attack to help the Pathet Lao fight the Royal Lao Army. The attack resulted in the army largely demobilizing, leaving the conflict to irregular forces raised by the United States, massive aerial bombardment against Pathet Lao and NVA forces was carried out by the United States. It has been reported that Laos was hit by an average of one B-52 bombload every eight minutes,24 hours a day, US bombers dropped more ordnance on Laos in this period than was dropped during the whole of the Second World War. Of the 260 million bombs that rained down, particularly on Xiangkhouang Province on the Plain of Jars, some 80 million failed to explode, Laos is the most heavily bombed country, per capita, in the world. In 1975, the Pathet Lao, along with Vietnam Peoples Army and backed by the Soviet Union, overthrew the royalist Lao government, a ceasefire was finally attained in February 1973, following the Paris Peace Accords between the United States and North Vietnam
8.
Laos
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Present day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to the kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Khao, which existed for four centuries as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Due to Lan Xangs central geographical location in Southeast Asia, the kingdom was able to become a hub for overland trade. After a period of conflict, Lan Xang broke off into three separate kingdoms— Luang Phabang, Vientiane and Champasak. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three territories uniting to form what is now known as the country of Laos and it briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a civil war ended the monarchy. Laos is a one-party socialist republic and it espouses Marxism and is governed by the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party, in which the party leadership is dominated by military figures. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam Peoples Army continue to have significant influence in Laos, other large cities include Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Pakse. Laos is a country with the politically and culturally dominant Lao people making up approximately 60 percent of the population. Mon-Khmer groups, the Hmong, and other hill tribes, accounting for 40 percent of the population, live in the foothills. It is a member of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, East Asia Summit, Laos applied for membership of the World Trade Organization in 1997, on 2 February 2013, it was granted full membership. According to the anti-corruption non-governmental organisation Transparency International, Laos remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world and this has deterred foreign investment and created major problems with the rule of law, including the nations ability to enforce contract and business regulation. This has contributed to a third of the population of Laos currently living below the poverty line. Laos has an economy, with one of the lowest annual incomes in the world. In 2014, the country ranked 141st on the Human Development Index, according to the Global Hunger Index, Laos ranks as the 29th hungriest nation in the world out of the list of the 52 nations with the worst hunger situation. Laos has also had a human rights record. In the Lao language, the name is Muang Lao or Pathet Lao. Stone artefacts including Hoabinhian types have been found at sites dating to the Late Pleistocene in northern Laos, archaeological evidence suggests agriculturist society developed during the 4th millennium BC
9.
Thailand
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
10.
Cambodia
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Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population, the countrys minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, the kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name Kambuja. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, after the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north, the Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the king gave his support to his former enemies. Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission, the UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian Peoples Party, important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall, Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, the Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country. The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge, which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer Kampuchea, Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the countrys official name in Khmer, Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name Kambujadeśa, composed of देश, desa and कम्बोज, Kambujas, colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer, meaning Khmers Land, or the slightly more formal Prateh Kampuchea, literally Country of Kampuchea. The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more used in the East. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of dates as of 6000 BC
11.
Vietnam
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Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants as of 2016, it is the worlds 14th-most-populous country, and its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976, with Ho Chi Minh City as a historical city as well. The northern part of Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, an independent Vietnamese state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished, in 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnams path towards integration into the world economy. By 2000, it had established relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnams economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world and its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. It is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Vietnam remains one of the worlds four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism. The name Việt Nam is a variation of Nam Việt, a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC. The word Việt originated as a form of Bách Việt. The form Vietnam is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình, the name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558. Then, as recorded, rewarded Yuenan/Vietnam as their nations name, to also show that they are below the region of Baiyue/Bach Viet. Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long and it was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Bội Châus History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the government in Huế and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age, Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can, and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu, Lang Gao and Lang Cuom. The Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, in 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương
12.
History of Laos
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Laos emerged from the French Colonial Empire as an independent country in 1953. Laos exists in truncated form from the thirteenth century Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, the borders of the modern state of Laos were established by the French colonial government in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Mekong River valley region is one of the cradles of human civilization, anatomically modern humans have inhabited the regions around modern Laos since the late Pleistocene to early Holocene eras. The first archaeological explorations of Laos began with French explorers acting under the auspices of the École française dExtrême-Orient, however, due to the Lao Civil War it is only since the 1990s that serious archaeological efforts have begun in Laos. Archaeological evidence suggests that agriculture and later developed in Laos during the Middle Holocene. During this period the first evidence of ceramics, and farming practices emerged, hunting and gathering Hoabinhian societies began to settle and rice cultivation was introduced from southern China. The earliest inhabitants of Laos belonged to the Austro-Asiatic Language Family, the Plain of Jars was nominated to the tentative list as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, and unexploded ordnance has continued to be removed from the site since 1998. The jars are stone sarcophagi dating from the early Iron Age and contained evidence of remains, burial goods. Some sites contain more than 250 individual jars, the tallest jars are more than 3 meters in height. Funan was part of Greater India, and was influenced by early Hindu civilization. By the 2nd century CE, Malayo-Polynesian settlers in what is today south Vietnam had established a rival indic kingdom known as Champa, the Cham people established the first settlements near modern Champasak, Laos. Funan forced the Cham people out of the Champasak region by the sixth century CE, the capital of early Chenla was Shrestapura which was located in the vicinity of Champasak and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wat Phu. By the 8th century CE Chenla had divided into “Land Chenla” located in Laos, Land Chenla was known to the Chinese as “Po Lou” or “Wen Dan” and dispatched a trade mission to the Tang Dynasty court in 717 CE. Water Chenla, would come under repeated attack from Champa, the Medang sea kingdoms in Indonesia based in Java, from the instability the Khmer emerged, and under the king Jayavarman II the Khmer Empire began to take shape in the 9th century CE. In what is modern northern and central Laos, and northeast Thailand the Mon people established their own kingdoms during the 8th century CE, by the 6th century in the Chao Phraya River Valley, Mon peoples had coalesced to create the Dvaravati kingdoms. In the north, Haripunjaya emerged as a power to the Dvaravati. By the 8th century the Mon had pushed north to city states, known as “muang, ” in Fa Daet, Sri Gotapura near modern Tha Khek, Laos, Muang Sua. In the 8th century CE, Sri Gotapura was the strongest of these city states
13.
Muang Phuan
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Muang Phuan was a historical principality on the Xiangkhoang Plateau, which constitutes the modern territory of Xiangkhouang Province, Laos. Among the Lao, Phuan, and Thai muang has a meaning of “city” or more broadly “country of” and xieng means “walled. ”The two terms were often used together for major city states under the Southeast Asian mandala model. The Xiangkhouang Plateau is semi-arid but has important iron ore resources and has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, the region is an important area for trade as it occupies the major passes along the Annamite Cordillera to access Vietnam and the coast. The Tai Phuan or Phuan people are a Buddhist Tai-Lao ethnic group that migrated to the area which is now Laos during the 13th century, according to legend the Phuan people were led by Chet Chuong, the second son of Khun Borom who founded the city-state of Muang Phuan. In the mid-14th century Muang Phuan was incorporated into the Lan Xang Kingdom under King Fa Ngum, under the Mandala model, cities or even kingdoms would enter into tributary relationships with their neighbors depending on regional power, in exchange the tribute would maintain local autonomy. It was not uncommon to pay tribute to more than one power even concurrently, in 1434, Muang Phuan entered into a tributary relationship with the Dai Viet. However, by 1478 the Dai Viet attempted to annex Muang Phuan as a prefecture, the Dai Viet army ultimately withdrew during that conflict, and Muang Phuan returned as a tributary to Lan Xang. However, the peace was short-lived and by 1531 Muang Phuan rebelled against King Photisarath who put down the rebellion after two years, throughout the 16th and 17th century Muang Phuan remained part of Lan Xang. During the 16th century, expressive Buddhist art and architecture flourished. The capital was dotted with temples in a distinct Xieng Khouang style, by the 1720s Muang Phuan was supporting the Kingdom of Luang Prabang in wars against the Burmese, and Siamese. Under Chao Kham Sattha again Muang Phuan went to war against the Governor of Thakhek, in 1751 Chao Ong Lo went so far as to directly attack the Kingdom of Vientiane and was totally defeated, retreating to Houa Phan where he began to raise another army. The Kingdom of Vientiane named Chao Ong Lo’s brother Ong Bun as regional governor of Muang Phuan, the armies of Muang Phuan split between the brothers in civil war, and ultimately Chao Ong Lo prevailed. However the conflict drained the region so much so that for the next 37 years Muang Phuan remained a tributary to Vientiane, Siam was severely depopulated from the history of warfare with the Burmese in the 18th century, and the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767. Chao Somphou, the son of Chao Ong Lo, set about restoring and rebuilding the temples and defenses of Muang Phuan, according to some accounts his palace grew to rival that of the King of Vientiane. In 1789 or 1790 King Nanthasen of Vientiane believed rebellion was possible, Chao Somphou fled to Hua Phan, King Nanthasen continued north to capture Luang Prabang in 1792. In 1793 Chao Somphou was captured by King Nanthasen and imprisoned in Vientiane, Muang Phuan appealed to the Dai Viet, and a combined force of 6,000 Phuan and Vietnamese crossed into Xiengkhouang and began to march toward Vientiane. Chao Somphou returned to Muang Phuan where he began another building campaign, by 1800 King Inthavong of Vientiane feared a resurgence of power in Muang Phuan, and sent his brother Chao Anouvong to capture Chao Somphou. Chao Somphou died as a prisoner in Vientiane around 1803, Chao Somphou’s nephew Chao Noy took control of Muang Phuan in 1803
14.
Haw wars
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The Haw Wars were fought against Chinese quasi-military forces invading parts of Tonkin and the Siam from 1865–1890. Forces invading Lao domains were ill-disciplined and freely plundered Buddhist temples, not knowing these were remnants of the aftermath of the Taiping Rebellion led by Hong Xiuquan, a heterodox Christian convert, the invaders were confused with Chinese Muslims from Yunnan called Haw. Forces sent by King Rama V failed to suppress the various groups, during the latter half of the 19th century, bands of Chinese warriors known as flag gangs ravaged large areas of northern Laos. Outlaws and freebooters, the gangs were fleeing the suppression of the Taiping rebellion in China. Tonkin was invaded first, when units of the Black Flags and these new bands, distinguished by Red Flag and Striped Flag banners, moved south to occupy nearly all of northern Laos. The Red Flags sacked Dien Bien Phu in 1873, and the Striped Flags seized control of Muang Phuan and the Plain of Jars that same year. Responding to this challenge, in 1874 Chao Oun Kham, ruling prince of Luang Prabang. The force was routed, and Chao Ung, prince of Phuan, was killed, the victorious Haw moved south to sack Vientiane, while Chao Unkham sent urgent appeals for assistance to the Thai monarch, King Chulalongkorn. In the spring of 1875, Siamese forces crossed the River Mekong at Nong Khai, in the first Thai military expedition of the Haw Wars, they advanced to capture the main Haw base at Chiangkham. The expedition failed to achieve its objective, since the Haw refused to give battle. When the Siamese left later that year, armed Haw bands emerged to loot, eight years later, in 1883, faced with a renewed Haw threat to his capital at Luang Prabang, Chao Unkham again appealed to Bangkok for assistance. King Chulalongkorn dispatched a Siamese army composed largely of Isan and northern Thai levies, the resulting expedition, in which the British surveyor James McCarthy participated, was ill-conceived, inadequately planned, and ultimately unsuccessful. Thanks to McCarthys presence, the 1884-1885 expedition is unusually well-documented, McCarthys personal accounts provide descriptions of the effort, suffering and incompetence of the Haw Wars which are more evocative than those in official Siamese accounts. During this journey he travelled widely through territories subject to attack by the flag gangs. He noted that as we went on, tales of the Haw were brought in, agonizing accounts of their raiding on villages, whose inhabitants they had slaughtered, mutilated or carried into captivity. McCarthy was greatly impressed by the beauty and natural wealth of the regions, as in Vientiane ten years before, the Buddhist temples had been plundered and desecrated in a search for loot. McCarthy wrote that the wats had been destroyed, and piles of palm-leaf records lay heaped together. Subsequently, McCarthy travelled to Luang Prabang to consult with the Siamese military commanders, there he learned the Haw had advanced to Muang You, which should have been defended by troops under Phraya Sukhothai
15.
Franco-Siamese War
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The Franco-Siamese War of 1893 was a conflict between the French Third Republic and the Kingdom of Siam. Auguste Pavie, French vice consul in Luang Prabang in 1886, was the agent in furthering French interests in Laos. His intrigues, which took advantage of Siamese weakness in the region and periodic invasions by Vietnamese rebels from Tonkin, following the conflict, the Siamese agreed to cede Laos to France, an act that led to the significant expansion of French Indochina. The conflict started when French Indochinas Governor-General Jean de Lanessan sent Auguste Pavie as consul to Bangkok to bring Laos under French rule, shortly afterwards, the French consul in Luang Prabang, M. Massie, feverish and discouraged, committed suicide on his way back to Saigon. Back in France, these incidents were used by the lobby to stir up nationalistic anti-Siamese sentiment. The death of Massie left Auguste Pavie as the new French Consul, in March 1893 Pavie demanded that the Siamese evacuate all military posts on the east side of the Mekong River south of Khammuan, claiming that the land belonged to Vietnam. To back up these demands, the French sent the gunboat Lutin to Bangkok, when Siam rejected the French demands, de Lanessan sent three military columns into the disputed region to assert French control in April 1893. Eight small Siamese garrisons west of the Mekong withdrew upon the arrival of the central column, in the north, the French came under siege on the island of Khoung, with the capture of an officer, Thoreaux. In the south the occupation proceeded smoothly until an ambush by the Siamese on the village of Keng Kert resulted in the killing of French police inspector Grosgurin, inspector Grosgurin was a French inspector and commander of a Vietnamese militia in Laos. Like Auguste Pavie, he had engaged in several exploratory expeditions in the region. He was a member of one of the French armed columns dispatched in April 1893 by de Lassenan to cross the Annamite Range into the Lao area of Khammuan, the column was at first successful in evicting the Siamese commissioner at Khammuan by 25 May. Shortly afterwards on 5 June, the Siamese commissioner organized an ambush on the village of Kien Ket. The commissioner had apparently been instructed by Siamese government representatives to compel their retirement, by fighting, if necessary, the ambush resulted in the razing of the village and the killing of Grosgurin and 17 Vietnamese. The incident and the death of Grosgurin became known as the Affair of Kham Muon and was used as a pretext for strong French intervention. As a result, relations between Bangkok and the West soured, with France demanding reparations, the British sent three navy ships to the mouth of the Chao Phraya, in case evacuation of British citizens became necessary. They came under fire from the fort at Paknam on 13 July 1893, the French returned fire and forced their way to Bangkok. When Siam did not immediately comply unconditionally to the ultimatum, the French blockaded the Siamese coast, in the end the Siamese submitted fully to the French conditions, finding no support from the British. In addition, the French demanded as guarantees the temporary occupation of Chantaburi and the demilitarisation of Battambang, Siem Reap, the conflict led to the signature of the Franco-Siamese Treaty, on 3 October 1893
16.
French Protectorate of Laos
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The French protectorate of Laos was a French protectorate forming part of the French Colonial Empire in Southeast Asia. It consisted of much of the territory of the kingdom of Lan Xang and was part of French Indochina from 1893 until it was granted self-rule within the French Union in 1946. The Franco-Lao Treaty of 1953 establishing Laos as an independent member of the French Union, under the Geneva Conference following Frances withdrawal from Indochina after the First Indochina War, Laos was granted independence in 1954. In 1885, a French consulate was established in Luang Prabang, by the end of 1886, Auguste Pavie was named vice-consul to Luang Prabang and was in charge of expeditions occurring in Laotian territory, with the possibility of turning Laos into a French territory. In 1888, Chinese forces known as the Black Flags declared war on Siam, Pavie and French forces later intervened and evacuated the Lao royal family to safety. Additional French troops from Hanoi later arrived to expel the Black Flags from Luang Prabang, following his return to the city, King Oun Kham requested a French protectorate over his kingdom. Pavie later sent Oun Khams request to the French government in Paris, the bill designating Luang Prabang a protectorate of France was signed on 27 March 1889 between both sides despite a Siamese protest. The kingdom was forced to recognise French control over the side of the Mekong River. Pavie continued to support French expeditions in Laotian territory and gave the territory its name of Laos. In January 1896, France and the United Kingdom signed an accord recognising the border between French Laos and British Burma, in 1898, Laos was fully integrated into the French Indochina union that was created in 1887 by unifying French possessions in Vietnam and Cambodia. A colonial governor was installed in Vientiane and Laos was reorganised from two provinces to ten provinces. The royal seat at Luang Prabang was still seen as the ruler of the province and a royal court still remained. The remaining nine provinces were ruled under the French government in Vientiane, with each province having a resident governor. To financially support the government, taxes were introduced and imposed on the population. In 1904, a treaty with Siam forced the kingdom to also surrender lands on the side of the Mekong River. These lands now form the province of Sainyabuli and the half of Champasak Province. In 1905, the present border between Laos and Cambodia was established after Siam ceded Preah Vihear Province to the French. Officially, the Kingdom of Luang Phrabāng remained a protectorate with internal autonomy, King Sisavang Vong, who became King of Luang Phrabāng in 1904, remained conspicuously loyal to the French through his 55-year reign
17.
Franco-Thai War
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The Franco-Thai War was fought between Thailand and France over certain areas of French Indochina. The German military occupation of a part of France made Frances hold on its overseas possessions, including Indochina. The colonial administration was now cut off from help and outside supplies. After the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in September 1940, the French were forced to allow Japan to set up military bases and this seemingly subservient behaviour convinced the Phibun regime that France would not seriously resist a confrontation with Thailand. The most obvious deficiency of the French army was its shortage of armour and it could field only 20 Renault FT tanks against the nearly one hundred armoured vehicles of the Royal Thai Army. The French navy in Indochina had one light cruiser and four Avisos, the Armée de lAir had approximately 100 aircraft, of which about 60 could be considered front line. The slightly larger Thai Army was a relatively well-equipped force, consisting of 60,000 men, it was made up of four armies. The largest was the Burapha Army with five divisions and the Isan Army with three divisions, the artillery was a mixture of Krupp guns and modern Bofors guns and Howitzers, while 60 Carden Loyd tankettes and 30 Vickers 6-ton tanks made up the bulk of the armys tank force. The Royal Thai Navy included two coastal ships,12 torpedo boats, and four Japanese-made submarines. The Thai navy was inferior to the French naval forces, while nationalist demonstrations and anti-French rallies were being held in Bangkok, several border skirmishes erupted along the Mekong frontier. The superior Royal Thai Air Force then conducted daytime bombing runs over targets in Vientiane, Phnom Penh, Sisophon. The French retaliated with their own air attacks, but the damage caused was less than equal. On 5 January 1941, following the report of a French attack on the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet, French response was instantaneous, but many units were simply swept along by the better-equipped Thai forces. The Thai army swiftly overran Laos, but the French forces in Cambodia managed to rally, at dawn on 16 January 1941 the French launched a large counterattack on the Thai-held villages of Yang Dang Khum and Phum Preav, initiating the fiercest battle of the war. Due to poor co-ordination and non-existent intelligence against the entrenched and prepared Thai forces, however, the Thais were unable to pursue the retreating French, as their forward tanks were kept in check by the gunnery of French Foreign Legion artillery. With the situation on land rapidly deteriorating for the French, Admiral Decoux ordered all available French naval forces into action in the Gulf of Thailand. In the early morning of 17 January, a French naval squadron caught a Thai naval detachment by surprise at anchor off Ko Chang island, fearing the war would turn in Frances favour, the Japanese intervened, proposing an armistice be signed. On 24 January, the air battle took place when Thai bombers raided the French airfield at Angkor
18.
Laotian Civil War
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The Laotian Civil War was fought between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government, with both sides receiving heavy external support in a proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers. It is called the Secret War among the CIA Special Activities Division, the Kingdom of Laos was a covert theatre for other belligerents during the Vietnam War. The Franco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association transferred remaining French powers to the Royal Lao Government, However, this government did not include representatives from the Lao Issara anti-colonial armed nationalist movement. Several attempts were made to establish coalition governments, and a government was finally seated in Vientiane. The actual fighting in Laos involved the North Vietnamese Army, U. S. Thai, the North Vietnamese Army occupied the area to use for its Ho Chi Minh Trail supply corridor and as staging area for offensives into South Vietnam. There was a major theater of action on and near the northern Plain of Jars. The North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao eventually emerged victorious in 1975, the Geneva Conference established Laotian neutrality. The Peoples Army of Vietnam, however, continued to operate in northern and southeastern Laos. North Vietnam established the Ho Chi Minh Trail as a highway in the southeast of Laos. The Trail was designed to allow North Vietnamese troops and supplies to infiltrate the Republic of Vietnam, North Vietnam also had a sizable military effort in northern Laos, while sponsoring and maintaining an indigenous communist rebellion, the Pathet Lao, to put pressure on the Royal Lao Government. The U. S. S. interests in the war in Vietnam, the status of the war in the north throughout the year generally depended on the weather. When the rainy season six months later rendered North Vietnamese supply lines inoperable, other air strikes were planned ahead. Overall coordination of the air campaign was directed by an Airborne Command and Control Center, the denials were seen as necessary considering that the North Vietnamese government and the U. S. had both signed agreements specifying the neutrality of Laos. U. S. involvement was considered necessary because the DRV had effectively conquered a large part of the country and was equally obfuscating its role in Laos, despite these denials, however, the Civil War was actually the largest U. S. The end of World War II left Laos in political chaos, the French, who had been displaced from their protectorate by the Japanese, wanted to resume control of Laos, and sponsored guerrilla forces to regain control. The Japanese had proclaimed Laos independent even as they lost the war, though King Sisavang Vong thought Laos was too small for independence he had proclaimed the end of the French protectorate status though he favored the French return. He let it be known he would accept independence if it should occur, thus there was a nascent movement for independence amid the turmoil. Underlying all this was an undercurrent of Vietnamese involvement
19.
North Vietnamese invasion of Laos
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North Vietnam supported the Pathet Lao to fight against the Kingdom of Laos between 1958–1959. Control over Laos allowed for the construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that would serve as the main supply route for enhanced NLF. It also helped the Pathet Lao win the Kingdom of Laos, phoui, less scrupulous about preserving Laoss neutrality than his predecessor, angered Moscow and Hanoi by admitting diplomats from Taipei and Saigon. The Soviet Union and North Vietnam, already upset by the departure of the ICC, the Laos government immediately protested the flying of the North Vietnamese flag on Laotian territory. Hanoi claimed the villages had historically been part of Vietnam, phoui received extraordinary powers from the National Assembly to deal with the crisis. But the failure to regain their lost territory rankled the Laotian nationalists, one of Washingtons major preoccupations was the danger that the Royal Lao Army would integrate the Pathet Lao troops without the safeguard of screening and reindoctrinating them. The embassy was instructed to tell the government that it would be difficult to obtain approval of aid to Laos with communists in the Royal Lao Army. Before the final integration of 1,500 Pathet Lao troops into the Royal Lao Army could take place as planned in May 1959, the Pathet Lao used a quibble about officer ranks to delay the final ceremony. As monsoon rains swept over the Plain of Jars one night, the event signaled a resumption of hostilities. Fighting broke out all along the border with North Vietnam, North Vietnamese Army regular units participated in attacks on July 28–31,1959. The tactic had the advantage of concealing the North Vietnamese presence from view, rumors of North Vietnamese in the vicinity often had a terrifying effect. Among the men who heard rumors in the mountains of Houaphan Province that summer was a young Royal Lao Army captain named Kong Le. Kong Le had two companies of the Second Paratroop Battalion out on patrol almost on the North Vietnamese border, when they returned to Xam Nua without encountering the enemy, they found that the garrison had decamped, leaving the town undefended. Direct North Vietnamese involvement in Laos began taking another form wherein aggression was difficult to prove, two months after the 1954 Geneva Conference on Indochina, the North Vietnamese established a small support group known as Group 100, on the Thanh Hoa-Houaphan border at Ban Namèo. This unit provided logistical and other support to Pathet Lao forces, in view of the reversion to a fighting strategy, the North Vietnamese and Lao parties decided to establish an upgraded unit. The new unit, known as Group 959, headquartered at Na Kai, just inside the Houaphan border and its establishment coincided with a major effort to expand the hitherto small Pathet Lao forces. These actions were in violation of the obligation Ho Chi Minhs government had assumed as a participant in the 1954 Geneva Conference to refrain from any interference in the affairs of Laos. The Vietnamese partys strategy was by now decided with regard to South Vietnam, at the same time, the party outlined a role for the LPP that was supportive of North Vietnam, in addition to the LPPs role as leader of the revolution in Laos
20.
Insurgency in Laos
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The North Vietnamese invaded Laos in 1958-59 and supported the communist Pathet Lao. The running time for the Insurgency in Laos has outlasted the previous Second World War, First Indochina War, Laotian Civil War, the Hmong people had, for over half a century been closely allied with the French, who treated them as equals of the Lao people. This action was part of larger First Indochina War and they saw Laos as one of dominoes in their Domino Theory. Under the leadership of the General Vang Pao, Hmong forces with US support prevented the Pathet Lao and they also rescued downed American pilots, and helped the US, from their base in the Secret City of Long Tieng to coordinate bombing missions over Vietnam and Laos. By 1975, with the collapse of the South in the Vietnam War and loss of American support, Hmong people, especially those who had participated in the military conflict were singled out for retribution. Of those Hmong people who remained in Laos, over 30,000 were sent to re-education camps as political prisoners where they served indeterminate, enduring hard physical labor and difficult conditions, many people died. Thousands more Hmong people, mainly soldiers and their families, escaped to remote mountain regions - particularly Phou Bia. At first, these loosely organized groups staged attacks against Pathet Lao, others remained in hiding to avoid conflict. Most casualties occur while people are gathering food from the jungle, in December 2009 a group of 4,500 refugees were forcibly repatriated to Laos from camps in Thailand despite the objections of, amongst others, the United Nations and the USA. Some Hmong fled to California in the United States after the U. S. military withdrew from Vietnam and Laos, in June 2005 as part of Operation Tarnished Eagle U. S. FBI and anti-terrorism officials allegedly uncovered a conspiracy to murder thousands and thousands of people at one time, army Rangers, former Green Berets and other guns for hire. Vang Pao had reportedly built up a network of contacts within the U. S. government. Some speculated that the new government would be much more accepting of large foreign business. The defendants lawyers argued that the case against all of their clients was spurious at best, during this time, Laos was allied with the Soviet-backed communist Vietnamese government. During the early 1980s, the Khmer Rouge had largely abandoned communist ideals and were focused primarily on exuding Cambodian nationalist fervor. The Royalist insurgency gradually fell into disrepair and in terms of its 1970s and 1980s-era form, while the movement managed to proclaimed their own provisional or liberation government, this insurgency proved to be as by chance less effective than the lesser-trained Royalist-focused insurgency. This insurgency has no reported standing in terms of force within Laos today, the LNLF proved successful in recruiting fair numbers of rural militiamen from Champassak and Savannaket provinces. Clips from Hunted like animals - a documentary by Rebecca Sommer on the plight of the Hmong in Laos and problems faced by those facing repatriation from Thai refugee camps
21.
History of Laos since 1945
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This article details the history of Laos since 1945. Note, this follows the system for transliterating Lao names used in Martin Stuart-Foxs History of Laos. It may differ from systems used in other articles, on 27 August 1945 Prince Phetxarāt took charge of Viang Chan from the Japanese, although as Prime Minister of Luang Phrabāng he had no authority outside the Kingdoms borders. The French were already in control of Luang Phrabāng, and with the support of the Prince of Champāsak they were regaining control in the south. In September the Chinese Army arrived to find that a Lao government of sorts was in command of Viang Chan, uncertain what to do, the Chinese commander recognised Phetxarāt, and in Luang Phrabāng the Chinese disarmed the French forces. But the Allied governments refused to recognise Phetxarāts government, and in October de Gaulle advised the King by telegram to him as Prime Minister of Luang Phrabāng. In retaliation, Phetxarāt declared the King deposed, Phetxarāt put his younger half-brother Suphānuvong in charge of organising the defence of the new independent Laos with the titles Minister of Defence and Interior. Suphānuvong was married to a Vietnamese and had spent most of the war in Vietnam, on his advice Hos forces supported Phetxarāts government, but they could spare few forces from the struggle against the French in Vietnam, which was always their first priority. Phetxarāts brother Suvannaphūmā became Minister for Public Works, thus by the end of 1945 all the leaders of the next 30 years of political conflict were in place. But the pretensions of the Lao Issara government were largely illusory, only the presence of the Chinese army in occupation of the northern half of the country was preventing the French from attacking Viang Chan from their base in the south of the country. Thailand and the Allies were suspicious of the apparent role of communists in the government, in March 1946 the Chinese were finally persuaded to stop plundering the country and go home, and this was the signal for the French to advance to Savannakhēt. Suphānuvong led his forces to meet the French before they got to Viang Chan, but at Thākhaek they were routed. The Lao Issara government fled to Thailand and set up a government in exile in Bangkok, on 24 April the French occupied Viang Chan, and in mid May they arrived in Luang Phrabāng to rescue the grateful King. As a reward for his loyalty, in August the French proclaimed him King of Laos, the Principality of Champāsak was abolished, and Prince Bunūm na Champāsak compensated with the title Inspector-General of the Kingdom. The French now made an effort to give Laos the institutions of a modern state. The Garde Indigène was replaced by a Lao National Guard, a senior high school was opened in Viang Chan, and new schools opened in Pākxē, Savannakhēt and Luang Phrabāng. New hospitals and clinics were established, although there was an acute shortage of qualified staff for them. A crash program to train more Lao civil servants was also instituted, in August 1947 elections were held for the National Assembly, and 35 deputies were elected
22.
History of Isan
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The history of Isan has been determined by its geography, situated as it is on the Korat Plateau between Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. The national government claimed that the name Isan was derived from Sanskrit Īśāna and this interpretation was intended to reinforce Isans identity as the northeast of Thailand, rather than as part of the Lao kingdom because of the fear of the Lao people seceding. The Thai king Vajiravudh reinvoked the ancient name, designating the northeast sector of the Rattanakosin Kingdom Isan. Later, the term Isan came into wide, if unofficial, use as a term for the northeastern region, Isan has been dominated by each of its neighbors in turn, although its relative infertility meant it was more often a battleground than a prize. Rather than being incorporated into the empires of each power. The majority of people in present-day Isan speak the Lao language known as Isan, many Khmer speakers live in the southern half and substantial minorities of Katuic speakers also exist. Most Isan people are both conversant and to some degree literate in Central Thai, before the central government introduced the Thai alphabet and language in regional schools, the people of Isan wrote in the Lao alphabet, a very similar script that Thai adopted. Most people still speak the Isan language, a dialect of the Lao language, a significant minority in the south also speak Northern Khmer. The Kuy people, an Austrosiatic people concentrated around the core of what was once the Chenla Kingdom, professor Phillip V. Pha Taem cliff paintings alongside the Mekong in Udon Thani Province date to around 1500 BC. In Fine Arts, the site is remarkable for its pottery, further investigation into ancient skeletal remains raised serious questions about transitions to sedentism, the question as to why the site was abandoned until resettled by 19th–century Lao émigrés remains to be settled. The Bronze Age site of Ban Non Wat in the southeast of the plateau is also under investigation The first major civilisation to occupy Isan was considered, by the study of artifacts, to be Dvaravati. The remains of walled and moated towns scattered the region, in the valleys of Chi, the remains often show the Buddhist and Hinduist influence, perhaps expanding from the western part or the coastal and the Chao Phraya River basin. And, I would add, we can increase our understanding of these societies through systematic research on a number of the indigenous legends of the Thai-Lao people of northeastern Thailand. From the 11th century, the Dvaravati or Mon culture from the Chao Phraya River basin was gradually displaced by the Khmer Empire of Angkor, many principal centers became Angkors tributary states. Inscriptions found also told the connections between vassal towns and the court of Angkor, the Sukhothai Kingdom broke free from the Angkor Empire around the 13th century. The Lao kingdom of Lan Xang was established in Luang Prabang in the 14th century by Fa Ngum, the kingdoms name means Million Elephants, echoing the name of the neighboring northern kingdom of Lan Na Million Rice Paddies. As the Khmer Empire continued to retreat under pressure from the neighboring Tai kingdoms of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Ayutthaya established a presence at Nakhon Ratchasima and Phimai. However, the bulk of the Khorat Plateau fell into the mandala of Lan Xang, Lao settlers began gradually moving across the Mekong into Isan between the 14th and 16th centuries
23.
Lao people
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The Lao are an ethnic group native to Laos and northeastern Thailand. The Lao are the majority group of Laos at 53. 2%. Today, significant Lao populations can be found in the United States, France, Cambodia, Canada, Myanmar, Thailand and they belong to the family of Tai-Kadai peoples. The etymology of the word Lao is uncertain, although it may be related to known as the Ai Lao who appear in Han Dynasty records in China. Tribes descended from the Ai Lao included the Tai tribes that migrated to Southeast Asia, according to Michel Ferlus, ethnonym and autonym of the Lao people, nationality of the inhabitants of Laos is formed by the monosyllabization of the Austroasiatic etymon for human being *k. raw. The peoples named Lao, supposed to be the ancestors of Lao and some other Tai-Kadai populations, settled in the upper Tonkin and in parts of Yúnnán and this reconstruction of the pronunciation for the phonogram 獠 confirms that ‘Lao’ originates in the etymon *k. raːw. The English word Laotian, used interchangeably with Lao in most contexts, in Laos, little distinction is made between the Lao and other closely related Tai peoples with mutually intelligible languages who are grouped together as Lao Loum or Lowland Lao. The possible reasons for Tai migration include pressures from Han Chinese expansion, Mongol invasions, suitable land for wet rice cultivation, the Tai assimilated or pushed out indigenonus Austroasiatic Mon–Khmer peoples, and settled on the fringes of the Indianised kingdoms of the Mon and Khmer Empire. The Tai states took advantage of the waning Khmer Empire and emerged independent, the Lao reckon the beginnings of their national history to this time, as many important monuments, temples, artwork, and other aspects of classical Lao culture harken back to this time period. From this point, one can refer to the Tai states of the Chao Phraya River valley as Siam and, albeit quite anachronistically, Lan Xang as Laos. The Kingdom of Lanxang, the Land of One Million Elephants, began in 1354 AD, the powerful Kingdom of Lan Xang had wealth and influence due to the location of its capital along the Silk Route and also serving as the center of Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Numerous temples, especially in Xieng Thong and Vientiane, attest this, during this time, the legends of Khun Borom were recorded on palm-leaf manuscripts and the Lao classical epic Sin Xay was composed. Therevada Buddhism was the religion, and Vientiane was an important city of Buddhist learning. Cultural influences, besides Buddhism, included the Mon outposts later assimilated into the kingdom, the libraries of Lannathai were copied, including much religious literature. This may have led to the adoption, or possibly re-adoption, of the Mon-based Tua Tham, the kingdom split into three rival factions, ruling from Luang Phra Bang, Vientiane, and Champasak. The kingdoms quickly fell under Siamese rule, during both these periods, Vientiane and other cities were looted and their Buddha images and artwork moved to Thailand. By the time the French reached Laos in 1868, they had found a depopulated region with even the great city of Vientiane disappearing into the forest. The area of Laos, then annexed by Siam, was explored by the French and, under Auguste Pavie, the French, as overlords of Vietnam, wanted all the tributaries of Vietnam, including the remnant territories of Lanxang
24.
Attapeu
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Attapeu, also written as Attopu or Attapu, is the capital of Attapeu Province, Laos. It is the southernmost among provincial capitals in Laos opposite Phongsali in the north, Attapeu International Airport is located about 28 kilometres from Attapeu. The airport opened in May 2015 but did not receive flights until April 2016, however, the airline withdrew from the market in October 2016 because of low passenger demand. TTR Weekly attributed the condition to the lack of nearby tourist attractions
25.
Stung Treng
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Stung Treng is the capital of Stung Treng Province, Cambodia. It is located in the part of the Virachey National Park. It is the city of both the district and province and has a population of 29,665. In Lao, the name is known as Xieng Teng. Stung Treng is located on a sandy bank overlooking the Mekong River. It lies along the National Highway 7, about 400 km from Phnom Penh and 50 km south of the Laos border, the city has two main brides the Stung Treng Bridge on the Mekong and the Sekong bridge on the Sekong river. The population is made up of a mix of Khmer and Lao peoples and it contains a hospital, the Acleda Bank, Kong Ratana Sambath Guesthouse, Ou Dynak Red Guesthouse, Sok Sambath Hotel and Sorya Restaurant and an old settlement nearby called Thala Borivat. The city is served by Stung Treng Airport, but currently there are no commercial services. Kingdom of Champasak Media related to Stung Treng at Wikimedia Commons Stung Treng travel guide from Wikivoyage
26.
Mandala (political model)
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Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means circle. The mandala is a model for describing the patterns of political power distributed among Mueang or Kedatuan in early Southeast Asian history. It is employed to denote traditional Southeast Asian political formations, such as federation of kingdoms or vassalized polity under a center of domination and it was adopted by 20th century European historians from ancient Indian political discourse as a means of avoiding the term state in the conventional sense. In some ways similar to the system of Europe, states were linked in suzerain–tributary relationships. Any particular area, therefore, could be subject to several powers, other metaphors such as S. J. Tambiahs original idea of a galactic polity describe political patterns similar to the mandala. The historian Victor Lieberman prefers the solar polity metaphor, referencing the gravitational pull the sun exerts over the planets, China occupies a special place in that the others often in turn paid tribute to China, although in practice the obligations imposed on the lesser kingdoms were minimal. The most notable tributary states were post-Angkor Cambodia, Lan Xang, ancient Tondo was a kingdom which was located in the Manila Bay area, specifically north of the Pasig River, on Luzon island. Medieval Cambodia in particular was described by the Vietnamese emperor Gia Long as an independent country that is slave of two, the system was eventually ended by the arrival of the Europeans in the mid-19th century. Culturally, they introduced Western geographical practices, which assumed that area was subject to one sovereign. Practically, the colonisation of French Indochina, Dutch East Indies, British Malaya, the tributary states were then divided between the colonies and Siam, which exercised much more centralised power, but over a smaller area than thitherto. The obligations on each side of the relationship varied according to the strength of the relationship, in general, the tributary was obliged to pay bunga mas, a regular tribute of various valuable goods and slaves, and miniature trees of gold and silver. The overlord ruler reciprocated with presents often of value than those supplied by the tributary. However, the also had to provide men and supplies when called on. For further information, see Kinship - Recognition of fluidity in kinship meanings, the tributary ruler was subordinate to the overlord ruler, rather than to the overlord state in the abstract. A strong ruler could attract new tributaries, and would have strong relationships over his existing tributaries, a weaker ruler would find it harder to attract and maintain these relationships. This was put forward as one cause of the rise of Sukhothai under Ramkhamhaeng, for example. The tributary ruler could repudiate the relationship and seek either a different overlord or complete independence, the overlord was owed allegiance by the tributary ruler, or at most by the tributarys main town, but not by all the people of a particular area. The tributary owner in turn had power either over tributary states further down the scale, or directly over his people, no ruler had authority over unpopulated areas
27.
Mekong
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The Mekong is a trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia. It is the worlds 12th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia and its estimated length is 4,350 km, and it drains an area of 795,000 km2, discharging 475 km3 of water annually. From the Tibetan Plateau the river runs through Chinas Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, in 1995, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam established the Mekong River Commission to assist in the management and coordinated use of the Mekongs resources. In 1996 China and Myanmar became dialogue partners of the MRC, the extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. Even so, the river is a trade route between western China and Southeast Asia. The English name Mekong derives from a form of Thai. In Thai and Lao, mae nam is used for any major river, as such, Thai and Lao locals often refer to it in English as the River Khong. In Khmer, Mékôngk is itself glossed as mother of water, from mé and taking kôngk as a form of kôngkea. The local names for the river include, Burmese, မဲခေါင်မြစ်, IPA, Chinese, 加果空桑贡玛曲, 扎那曲 and 扎曲 Zā Qū, upper reaches, 澜沧江, 瀾滄江 Láncāng Jiāng, middle and lower reaches, Khmer, មេគង្គ Mékôngk, ទន្លេមេគង្គ Tônlé Mékôngk, ទន្លេធំ Tônlé Thum. Tai of Sipsong Panna, น้ำแม่ของ, น้ำของ, the Mekong Basin has one of the worlds largest and most productive inland fisheries. An estimated two million tonnes of fish are landed a year, in addition to almost 500,000 tonnes of aquatic animals. Aquaculture yields about two tonnes of fish a year. Hence, the lower Mekong basin yields about 4.5 million tonnes of fish, the total economic value of the fishery is between US$3.9 and US$7 billion a year. Wild capture fisheries alone have been valued at US$2 billion a year and this value increases considerably when the multiplier effect is included, but estimates vary widely. An estimated 2.56 million tonnes of fish and other aquatic animals are consumed in the lower Mekong every year. Aquatic resources make up between 47 and 80 percent of protein in rural diets for people who live in the Lower Mekong Basin. Fish are the cheapest source of protein in the region and any decline in the fishery is likely to significantly impact nutrition. Fisheries contribute significantly to a diversified livelihood strategy for many people, particularly the poor and they provide a principal form of income for numerous people and act as a safety net and coping strategy in times of poor agricultural harvests or other difficulties
28.
Khong Chiam District
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Khong Chiam is the easternmost district of Ubon Ratchathani Province of Thailand. The area of the district was the central district Khwaeng of Mueang Khong Chiam, on January 1,1957 the three tambon Khong Chiam, Huai Yang and Pho Klang were split off from Khong Chiam to form the Ban Dan minor district. On December 11,1959 it was elevated to a full district, neighboring districts are Sirindhorn, Phibun Mangsahan and Si Mueang Mai. To the east across the Mekong river are the Laotian provinces of Salavan, Khong Chiam is the easternmost point of Thailand. The Pak Mun Dam stops the Mun River before tributes the Mekong River in this district, also the Kaeng Tana and Pha Taem national parks are located in Khong Chiam district. The district is subdivided into 5 subdistricts, which are subdivided into 50 villages. The township Ban Dan covers parts of tambon Khong Chiam, there are further 5 Tambon administrative organizations. Amphoe. com Kaeng Tana National Park Pha Taem National Park
29.
Mun River
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The Mun River, sometimes spelled Moon River, is a tributary of the Mekong River. It carries approximately 26 cubic kilometres of water per year, the river begins in the Khao Yai National Park area of the Sankamphaeng Range, near Nakhon Ratchasima in northeast Thailand. It flows east through the Khorat Plateau in southern Isan for 750 kilometres, the Mun Rivers main tributary is the Chi River, which joins it in the Kanthararom District of Sisaket Province. Thanks to the Andy Williams hit song, the Mun River was called Moon River by US Air Force personnel stationed at Ubon Ratchathani airbase during the Vietnam War, the spelling is still fairly common. The controversial Pak Mun Dam, which is charged with causing damage, is near the rivers confluence with the Mekong. Dom Noi River Chi River Lam Takhong River Media related to Mun River at Wikimedia Commons
30.
Bassac River
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The Bassac River is a distributary of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong River. The river starts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows southerly, in Vietnam it is known as the Hậu River. The Bassac River is an important transportation corridor between Cambodia and Vietnam, with barges and other crafts plying the waters, a city of the same name was once the west-bank capital of the kingdom of Champasak. USS Satyr, a repair ship originally built for the United States Navy during World War II. Two bridges span the Bassac, the Monivong Bridge in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and the Cần Thơ Bridge in Cần Thơ in Vietnam
31.
Phnom Penh
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Phnom Penh, formerly known as Chaktomuk, is the capital and most populous city of the Southeastern Asian country of Cambodia. Once known as the Pearl of Asia, it was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina in the 1920s, Phnom Penh, along with Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, are significant global and domestic tourist destinations for Cambodia. Founded in 1434, the city is noted for its beautiful and historical architecture, there are a number of surviving French colonial buildings scattered along the grand boulevards. Situated on the banks of the Tonlé Sap, Mekong and Bassac rivers, Phnom Penh takes its name from the present Wat Phnom. Legend has it that in 1372, a widow named Lady Penh found a Koki tree floating down the Tonle Sap river after a storm. Inside the tree were four bronze Buddha statues and a statue of Vishnu. The temple became known as Wat Phnom Daun Penh, which is now known as Wat Phnom, Phnom Penhs official name, in its short form, is Krong Chaktomok meaning City of Four Faces. This loosely translates as The place of four rivers that gives the happiness and success of Khmer Kingdom, the highest leader as well as impregnable city of the God Indra of the great kingdom. First recorded a century after it is said to have taken place, the legend of the founding of Phnom Penh tells of a woman, Penh, living at Chaktomuk. It was the late 14th century and the Khmer capital was still at Angkor near Siem Reap 350 km to the north, gathering firewood along the banks of the river, Lady Penh spied a floating koki tree in the river and fished it from the water. Inside the tree she found four Buddha statues and one of Vishnu, the discovery was taken as a divine blessing, and to some a sign that the Khmer capital was to be brought to Phnom Penh from Angkor. To house the new found sacred objects, Penh raised a small hill on the west bank of the Tonle Sap River and crowned it with a shrine, now known as Wat Phnom at the north end of central Phnom Penh. Phnom is Khmer for hill and Penhs hill took on the name of the founder, and the area around it became known after the hill. Phnom Penh first became the capital of Cambodia after Ponhea Yat, king of the Khmer Empire, there is a stupa behind Wat Phnom that house the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family as well as the remaining Buddhist statues from the Angkorean era. In the 17th century, Japanese immigrants also settled on the outskirts of present-day Phnom Penh, a small Portuguese community survived in Phnom Penh until the 17th century, undertaking commercial and religious activity in the country. Phnom Penh remained the capital for 73 years, from 1432 to 1505. It was abandoned for 360 years by subsequent kings due to fighting between the royal pretenders. Later kings moved the capital several times and established their capitals at various locations in Tuol Basan, Pursat, Longvek, Lavear Em
32.
Dark ages of Cambodia
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The term Dark ages of Cambodia, also the Middle Period refers to the historical era from the early 15th century to 1863, the year that marks the beginning of the French Protectorate of Cambodia. In recent years focus has shifted increasingly towards human–environment interactions. Recording of the Royal Chronology discontinues with King Jayavarman IX Parameshwara, there exists not a single contemporary record of even a king’s name for over 200 years. Construction and maintenance of monumental temple architecture had come to a standstill after Jayavarman VIIth reign, historians relate the event to the shift of Cambodias political centre southward to the river port region of Phnom Penh and later Longvek. Sources for the 16th century are more numerous, although coming from outside of Cambodia. The kingdom is centred at the Mekong, prospering as an part of the Asian maritime trade network. Wars with the Siamese resulted in loss of territory in the West, the Vietnamese on their Southward March reached Prei Nokor/Saigon at the Mekong Delta in the 17th century. This event initiates the process of Cambodia losing access to the seas. Both powers alternately demanded subservience and tribute from the Cambodian court, in the early 19th century with dynasties in Vietnam and Siam firmly established, Cambodia was placed under joint suzerainty, having lost its national sovereignty. British agent John Crawfurd states. the King of that ancient Kingdom is ready to throw himself under the protection of any European nation, the Khmer Empire had steadily gained hegemonic power over most of mainland Southeast Asia since its early days in the 8th and 9th centuries. Rivalries and wars with its neighbour, the Pagan Kingdom of the Mon people of modern-day Burma were less numerous. The Sukhothai Kingdom and later the Ayutthaya kingdom were established and. conquered the Khmers of the upper and central Menam valley, other authors criticise this rigid overall assessment, though. Linguist Jean-Michel Filippi concludes, The chronology of Cambodian history itself is more a chrono-ideology with a role offered to Angkor. Similarities apply to Thai chronological records, with the example of the Ramkhamhaeng controversy. According to the Siamese Royal chronicles of Paramanuchitchinorot, clashes occurred in 1350, Author Michael Vickery debates the degree of importance of this subject in his publication, Two Historical Records of the Kingdom of Vientiane - Land or People. It is not at all certain that Angkor desired manpower in central Thailand, and. whether the political economy of early Southeast Asia resulted in rulers being more concerned with control of land or control of people. And. both sides of this discussion have offered ad hoc, case-by-case pronunciamentos, which are then repeated like mantra, critical discussion of the question is long overdue. Contrary views, Author Akin Rabibhadana, who quotes Ram Khamhaeng, the need for manpower is well illustrated by events following each war between Thailand and her neighbours
33.
Khorat Plateau
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The Khorat Plateau also Korat Plateau, is a plateau in the northeastern Isan region of Thailand. The plateau forms a region, named after the short form of Nakhon Ratchasima. The average elevation is 200 m and it covers an area of about 155,000 km², the saucer-shaped plateau is divided by a range of hills called the Phu Phan Mountains into two basins, the northern Sakhon Nakhon Basin, and the southern Khorat Basin. The plateau is tilted towards the southeast, and drained by the Mun and Chi Rivers, the difference between the dry and wet seasons is much greater, which makes the area less optimal for rice. The portion known as Tung Kula Rong Hai was once exceptionally arid, oxisols of the type called rhodic ferralsols, or Yasothon soils, formed under humid tropical conditions in the early Tertiary. When portions of the plain uplifted as a plateau, these soils, characterized by a bright red color. These soils overlie associated gravel horizons cleared of sand by field termites, in a prolonged, many prehistoric Thailand sites are located on the plateau, with some bronze relics of the Dong Son culture having been found. The site appears to have once been part of a culture, until abandoned c.200 CE. None Nok Tha in the Phu Wiang District of Khon Kaen yielded evidence of an Iron Age settlement dating from about 1420 to 50 BCE, the region was once under the suzerainty of the Dvaravati Kingdom, and later under the Khmer Empire. It is dotted with the ruins of Khmer resthouses located about 25 km apart, the chapels were not just places of rest, but also were hospices and libraries, and typically included a baray. Though Higham states. we remain largely unaware of the relationships between sites and the presence or otherwise of states on the Khorat plateau during the 7th to 11th centuries. Muang Sema and Muang Fa Daet are notable though for their religious structures, there is a paucity of information from the centuries known as the Dark ages of Cambodia, but the plateau seems to have been largely depopulated. Bai sema History of Isan Khorat Plateau, A selection of related to Khorat Plateau from Global Oneness. Global Species, Northern Khorat Plateau moist deciduous forests WWF, Southeastern Asia, Northeastern Thailand, extending into Laos
34.
Suwannaphum District
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Suwannaphum is a district of Roi Et Province, in eastern Thailand. Named after the country of Suwannaphum, which according to Thai tradition was on the Chao Phraya plain. It was the seat of a small Lao mandala kingdom until the Laotian Rebellion of 1826-1829 ended vestiges of Lao independence west of the Mekong, the district is in southern Roi Et Province. Neighboring districts are Kaset Wisai, Mueang Suang, At Samat, Phanom Phrai, Nong Hi, and Moei Wadi of Roi Et Province, the district is divided into 15 sub-districts, which are further subdivided into 195 villages. Suwannaphum itself has township status and covers part of the tambon Sa Khu, each of the tambon is administered by a tambon administrative organization
35.
Chi River
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The Chi River is the longest river flowing wholly within Thailand. It is 765 kilometres long but carries less water than the second longest river, the name of the river is Mae Si in the Isan and Lao languages of the region, being transliterated as Chi in Bangkok-Thai. In wet seasons there are often flash floods in the floodplain of the Chi River basin, the river carries approximately 9.3 cubic kilometres of water per annum. The river was an 18th-century migration route for the re-peopling of the Khorat Plateau by ethnic Lao people from the bank of the Mekong resettling on the right bank. Their descendants are now regarded as an ethnic group from the Lao to the north. Pawattana, N. K. Tripathi, S. Weesakul, floodwater retention planning using GIS and hydrodynamic model, a case study for the Chi River Basin, Thailand. ISEIS – International Society for Environmental Information Sciences, civil Society in the Chi River, Northeast Thailand. Abstract, This paper aims to examine the concept of society in the rural communities in the Chi River. It focuses on the questions of civil society means in the Thai rural context, what factors make civil society proactive. By using participatory action research as the methodology to answer the inquiries. The paper addresses the new term of ‘grounded civil society’ which was created through the process in two case studies. The research determines that two elements activated grounded civil society are from outside and inside factors, the outside factors included the negative effect of government development projects and the intervention of the participatory action research, which stimulate local people to engage in civil society. The inside factors are the economic conditions of the villagers. The paper concludes with an analysis of the links between social capital and civil society which claims that social capital facilitated the creation of civil society. Ostracods from floodplain of the Chi River basin
36.
Year Without a Summer
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The year 1816 is known as the Year Without a Summer because of severe climate abnormalities that caused average global temperatures to decrease by 0. 4–0.7 °C. This resulted in food shortages across the Northern Hemisphere. The Earth had already been in a period of global cooling that started in the 14th century. Known today as the Little Ice Age, it had caused considerable agricultural distress in Europe. The Little Ice Ages existing cooling was aggravated by the eruption of Tambora, the Year Without a Summer was an agricultural disaster. Post has called this the last great subsistence crisis in the Western world, the unusual climatic aberrations of 1816 had the greatest effect on most of New England, Atlantic Canada, and parts of western Europe. Typically, the spring and summer of central and northern New England and southeastern Canada are relatively stable. In the spring and summer of 1816, a persistent dry fog was observed in parts of the eastern U. S, the fog reddened and dimmed the sunlight, such that sunspots were visible to the naked eye. Neither wind nor rainfall dispersed the fog and it has been characterized as a stratospheric sulfate aerosol veil. At higher elevations, where farming was problematic in good years, in May 1816, frost killed off most crops in the higher elevations of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont as well as upstate New York. On June 6, snow fell in Albany, New York, sarah Snell Bryant, of Cummington, Massachusetts, wrote in her diary, Weather backward. At the Church Family of Shakers in upstate New York, near New Lebanon, Nicholas Bennet wrote in May 1816, all was froze, temperatures went below freezing almost every day in May. The ground froze solid on June 9, on June 12, the Shakers had to replant crops destroyed by the cold. On July 7, it was so cold, everything had stopped growing, the Berkshire Hills had frost again on August 23, as did much of the upper northeast. A Massachusetts historian summed up the disaster, Severe frosts occurred every month, June 7th and 8th snow fell, in the early Autumn when corn was in the milk it was so thoroughly frozen that it never ripened and was scarcely worth harvesting. Breadstuffs were scarce and prices high and the class of people were often in straits for want of food. In Cape May, New Jersey, frost was reported five nights in a row in late June, in July and August, lake and river ice was observed as far south as northwestern Pennsylvania. Frost was reported as far south as Virginia on August 20 and 21, rapid, dramatic temperature swings were common, with temperatures sometimes reverting from normal or above-normal summer temperatures as high as 95 °F to near-freezing within hours
37.
French Indochina
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French Indochina, officially known as the Indochinese Union after 1887 and the Indochinese Federation after 1947, was a grouping of French colonial territories in Southeast Asia. A grouping of the three Vietnamese regions of Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina with Cambodia was formed in 1887, Laos was added in 1893 and the leased Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan in 1898. The capital was moved from Saigon to Hanoi in 1902 and again to Da Lat in 1939, in 1945 it was moved back to Hanoi. After the Fall of France during World War II, the colony was administered by the Vichy government and was under Japanese occupation until March 1945, beginning in May 1941, the Viet Minh, a communist army led by Hồ Chí Minh, began a revolt against the Japanese. In August 1945 they declared Vietnamese independence and extended the war, known as the First Indochina War, in Saigon, the anti-Communist State of Vietnam, led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, was granted independence in 1949. On 9 November 1953, the Kingdom of Laos and the Kingdom of Cambodia became independent, following the Geneva Accord of 1954, the French evacuated Vietnam and French Indochina came to an end. France–Vietnam relations started as early as the 17th century with the mission of the Jesuit missionary Alexandre de Rhodes, at this time, Vietnam was only just beginning to occupy the Mekong Delta, former territory of the Indianised kingdom of Champa which they had defeated in 1471. European involvement in Vietnam was confined to trade during the 18th century, pigneau died in Vietnam but his troops fought on until 1802 in the French assistance to Nguyễn Ánh. France was heavily involved in Vietnam in the 19th century, protecting the work of the Paris Foreign Missions Society in the country was presented as a justification. In 1858, the period of unification under the Nguyễn dynasty ended with a successful attack on Da Nang by French Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly under the orders of Napoleon III. Diplomat Charles de Montignys mission having failed, Genouillys mission was to stop attempts to expel Catholic missionaries and his orders were to stop the persecution of missionaries and assure the unimpeded propagation of the faith. In September 1858, fourteen French gunships,3,000 men and 300 Filipino troops provided by the Spanish attacked the port of Tourane, causing significant damage, after a few months, Rigault had to leave the city due to supply issues and illnesses. Sailing south, de Genouilly then captured the poorly defended city of Saigon on 18 February 1859, on 13 April 1862, the Vietnamese government was forced to cede the three provinces of Biên Hòa, Gia Định and Định Tường to France. French policy four years saw a reversal, with the French continuing to accumulate territory. In 1862, France obtained concessions from Emperor Tự Đức, ceding three treaty ports in Annam and Tonkin, and all of Cochinchina, the latter being formally declared a French territory in 1864. In 1867 the provinces of Châu Đốc, Hà Tiên and Vĩnh Long were added to French-controlled territory, in 1863, the Cambodian king Norodom had requested the establishment of a French protectorate over his country. France obtained control over northern Vietnam following its victory over China in the Sino-French War, French Indochina was formed on 17 October 1887 from Annam, Tonkin, Cochinchina and the Kingdom of Cambodia, Laos was added after the Franco-Siamese War in 1893. The federation lasted until 21 July 1954, French troops landed in Vietnam in 1858 and by the mid-1880s they had established a firm grip over the northern region
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