Laos History has been under the dominance of its neighboring nations at various points of time in its history. As a consequence, Laos had to surmount many impediments before it could establish its identity as an independent nation.
Therefore the history of Laos is bound to be full of interesting twists, turns and power shifts.
The History of Laos can be traced back to the initial inhabitants who had migrated from southern China.
The 11 th century saw Laos come under the influence of the Sukhothai dynasty. It was Fan Ngum, a Lao prince who unified and carved out a new empire and named it ‘Lan Xang'. Fa Ngum became the king in 1353.
It was in mid 16 th century that King Setthathirat, declared Vientienne the capital of ‘Lan Xang'.
The intermediate period had seen incursions by the Vietnamese and the Burmese.
King Setthathirat was venerated and looked up to as a ruler capable of warding off foreign invasions.
After his disappearance, the kingdom started to decline rapidly. Peace and stability was restored during the rule of King Souligna Vongsa.
King Souligna Vongsa died heirless and the nation broke up into three kingdoms ruled respectively by China, Burma and Vietnam.
The Thais began to extend their influence of the major portion of Laos until it was virtually reduced to being a Siamese satellite state.
France incorporated Laos History into French Indochina following its occupation of Vietnam. Indochina was occupied by the Japanese during the course of the World War II.
Following the surrender of Japan, the Lao nationalists declared Laos independent. But the road to independence was not supposed to be that easy.
The French troops reoccupied Laos and conferred limited autonomy. Laos gained absolute independence after the defeat of the French at the hands of the Vietnamese communists and the subsequent Geneva peace conference held in 1954.
Historical background of Laos background of Laos offer travelers is a slew of lush mountainsides, limestone caves and ancient Buddhist temples to explore. With its relatively isolated way of life, Laos is a great place to experience the tranquility of traditional Southeast Asian culture.
We suggest that everyone traveling to Southeast Asia take a map and guidebook. Whether it is for an all-inclusive one-week holiday or a three-month on-a-shoestring adventure.
The security of knowing where you are and where you are going makes having a map well worthwhile. Often the advice on restaurants and hotels contained in a guide book will save you many times the price of the book, not to mention the joy of finding just the right restaurant.
World Travel 4 Indians is an international travel site and a repository of useful information on history of Laos and other countries around the world.
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