History

Archaeologists have uncovered stone tools signalling the presence of hunter-gatherers in Laos 40,000 years ago. Human remains dating back 10,000 years have been unearthed around Luang Prabang, and the Neolithic Period is represented by Xieng Khouang’s giant jars. Signs of agriculture appear in the 4th millennium BC.

The first inhabitants were a nomadic hodgepodge, wandering into Laos from the north and west, many with contacts with Indian and Chinese civilisations. Bronze and iron objects from 1500-700 BC indicate organised settlements throughout the country’s northern river basin, with scattered tribes converging along the Mekong’s banks between the 4th and 8th centuries AD. Mongol invasions in the 1200s drove clans from southeast China and northern Vietnam into what would become Lane Xang, the land of a million elephants.

Over centuries, rural settlements grew slowly to from muang (townships) along the Mekong River. King Fa Ngoum began grouping the muang into a unified Lane Xang Kingdom in the middle of the 14th century, basing the capital at Xiengdong Xiengthong, now known as Luang Prabang.

King Fa Ngoum was also a warrior, and during his reign he invaded and conquered territories that include all of present-day Laos and much of what makes up northern and eastern Thailand. Under his rule, construction, development and a national defence was established. Buddhism from the Khmer Kingdom was officially established, and remains the religion of the majority of Lao people today.

The capital was moved to Vientiane in 1560 during the reign of King Setthathirath, who erected the That Luang Stupa, a venerated religious shrine and symbol of the Lao nation. The warring Burmese occupied the capital for seven years from 1575, reflecting their dominance over Southeast Asia at that time. In 1591, the two Laotian kingdoms in Luang Prabang and Vieng Chan were reunited under King Nokeo Koumane.

In the 17th  century, under King Souliyavongsa, the kingdom entered its “Golden Age”, and gained increasing attention from Europe. Reports written by Dutch merchants from the East Indian Company describe a land of magnificent palaces, temples and awe-inspiring religious ceremonies. Vientiane was then considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Southeast Asia.

At the end of the reign of King Souliyavongsa, feudal lords challenged the throne, which in 1713 led to the division of the country into three kingdoms: Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champasak. This disunity created opportunities for invasion, particularly from Siam (Thailand). By the end of the 18th century, most of Laos was under Siamese domination, leading to a costly war with Siam in the 1820s that ended with all three kingdoms being ceded to the Thais.

However, with the expansion of French Indochina in the late 19th century, the Thais eventually relinquished Laos to the French, and in 1893 Laos became a French colony. The French organised this territory as a protectorate, with its administrative centre at Vientiane, and allowed it autonomy in local matters.

The catalyst for change was Japanese occupation of Indochina during World War 2 when a Lao resistance group, Lao Issara, was formed to prevent a return of the French. Independence was granted in 1953, but internal feuding continued for several years. The Pathet Lao took control of the country and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was established in December 1975.