General Information

Facts & History

Humans began living in present day Laos more than 10,000 years ago. Stone tool implements and skulls discovered in Huaphan and Luang Prabang provinces certify the existence of such settlements. The Plain of Jars in Xieng Khouang province and stone columns in Huaphan province date from the Neolithic period.
The rural communities slowly formed into Muang (townships) between the 4th and 8th centuries on either side of the Mekong River and along its tributaries. Between 1349 and 1357 a movement emerged to concentrate the Muang into a unified Lane Xang Kingdom under the command of great King Fa Ngoum, a national hero. The capital stood at Xiengdong Xiengthong, now Luang Prabang. Fa Ngum’s ancestors strengthened Luang Prabang in the face of both Burmese and Vietnamese invasions. The constant attacks led to King Settathirat switching the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in 1563. He was responsible for the building of the That Luang Stupa, a venerated religious shrine and the national symbol of Laos. Following Settahirat’s death in 1574 the country was raided numerous times by the Burmese while a series of ineffectual monarchs ruled Lane Xang.

In the 17th century, under the reign of King Souliyavongsa, the Kingdom entered its most stable era. European merchants and traders of the late 16th century spoke of rich and beautiful palaces and temples and splendid religious ceremonies, declaring Vientiane was the most magnificent city in Southeast Asia. At the end of the reign of King Souliyavongsa, the feudal lords of Lane Xang each contested the throne leading to the division of the country into three Kingdoms in 1713: Luang Prabang, Vientiane, and Champassak.

Over the next two centuries the Thais sphere of influence steadily grew until Laos became little more than a satellite state. In a rebellion by King Anou in 1827 Vientiane was liberated from the Thais. Towards the end of the 19th century the Thais were forced to give up large parts of their territory, including Laos and Cambodia to France. Lane Xang was renamed Laos and became part of French Indochina in 1893.

Unlike Vietnam and Laos was seen as the least important part of Indochina and as a result received less attention from the French authorities. Few roads, schools, hospitals or universities were created and most of the country’s administration was left in the hands of Vietnamese civil servants. This coupled with the imposition of various taxes led to rebellion, especially in the highland areas.

In 1945 the Japanese briefly took control of Laos and when they left later that same year a power vacuum was created. The Lao Issara, or Free Laos movement, led by Prince Phetsareth quickly moved into this breach to declare independence from France. Unfortunately for the Prince, King Sisavang Vong sided with the French and the Prince was forced into exile in Thailand. This resulted in the dissolution of the Lao Issara and the crowning of King Sisavang Vong as King of all Laos in 1946. In the wake of Lao Issara, the Pathet Lao was formed in the northeast of the country. The Pathet Lao received support from the Viet Minh of communist northern Vietnam and continued the struggle. Although France granted Laos sovereignty in 1953, the Pathet Lao was not convinced that government with a constitutional monarch was the answer.

After France’s defeat at the hands of the Vietnamese at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the United States began to take an active interest in Laos and in particular in supporting the Royal Lao Government. The government tried unsuccessfully to integrate Pathet Lao in the political arena. By 1962 the lines had been drawn; Pathet Lao had the backing of the North Vietnamese and the Royal Lao Government was receiving aid and arms from the US and Thailand. Almost inevitably the country was dragged into the wider conflict in Vietnam and was effectively split into four parts. The Chinese in the north, the Vietnamese in the east using the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the Thais in the West with the aid of the US-backed government and the Khmer Rouge in the south. During this time, known as the ‘Dirty War’ Laos was subjected to intense and prolonged saturation bombing by the US in an attempt to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

In 1973 Pathet Lao finally gained the advantage as the US began its withdrawal from Vietnam. In 1975 both Saigon and Phnom Penh fell and Vientiane soon followed with little opposition as the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was established.