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60 Hotels in Laos
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Laos Hotels
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History of Laos
Laos’ history includes the origins of modern-day Cambodia and ancient tribes that also have roots here include the Khmer, Brao and the Katang. Most contemporary records trace its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang, founded in the 15th century by Fa Ngum, himself descended from a long line of Lao kings, tracking back to Khoun Boulom. Lan-Xang prospered until the 18th century, when the kingdom was divided into three principalities, which eventually came under Siamese suzerainty. In the 19th century, various territories such as Luang Prabang, the Kingdom of Champasak and Vientiane were incorporated into the French Protectorate of Indochina.
Under French rule, Vientiane was the capital of the unified Lao state in 1900. In terms of colonization, the French believed they had found a passage into Asia, but by early 20th century, this policy had shifted towards Europe. This didn’t stop the French exerting their authority, though in some areas much more than others. The outbreak of war in Europe weakened the French position in Indochina. A new aggressively nationalist government in Bangkok took advantage of this to try to regain territory ‘lost’ 50 years before. It renamed Siam Thailand, and opened hostilities. A Japanese-brokered peace agreement deprived Laos of its territories west of the Mekong, much to Lao anger. Although Japanese rule lasted only six months before the atomic bombing which brought their involvement in World War II to an end, they incited fundamental changes including forcing Lao independence and with it a nationalist resistance movement. Despite returning to French rule, the country only achieved full independence as a constitutional monarchy until 1954.
Due to impending war tensions from which Lao was dragged into the Vietnam War and warring factions, Laos became a war-zone throughout the 60s and a Civil War between the Royal Laotian Government of home and the North Vietnamese Army-inspired communist Pathet Lao ensued. It was reported at the time that an average of one B-52 bomb load hit Laos every eight minutes, 24 hours a day between 1964-73 – US bombers dropped more ordinance on Laos than was dropped during the whole of World War II. This also resulted in over 80 million bombs failing to explode, leaving a deadly legacy for future generations. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao, backed by the Soviet Union and the North Vietnamese Army overthrew the Royalist government and took control of the country.
Lao was renamed to its current title, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and signed agreements allowing Vietnam the right to station armed forces and exude heavy influence over the dynamics of the country by appointing advisors to assist in overseeing the country. Laos was ordered in the late 70s to cut all ties with the People’s Republic of China, which effectively stopped all trade other than with Vietnam. Since those hostile times, restrictions have been slowly relaxed and in 2005 the United States established Normal Trade Relations with Laos.
