Editing Laos (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Laos}}

=== Prehistory ===
[[File:Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pha That Luang]] in [[Vientiane]] is the national symbol of Laos.]]
A human skull was recovered in 2009 from the [[Tam Pa Ling Cave]] in the [[Annamite Range|Annamite Mountains]] in northern Laos; the skull is at least 46,000 years old, making it the oldest modern human fossil found to date in [[Southeast Asia]].<ref>{{Cite journal|pmid = 22908291|pmc = 3437904|year = 2012|last1 = Demeter|first1 = F|display-authors=et al.|title = Anatomically modern human in Southeast Asia (Laos) by 46 ka|journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume = 109|issue = 36|pages = 14375–14380|doi = 10.1073/pnas.1208104109|bibcode = 2012PNAS..10914375D|doi-access = free|issn = 0027-8424 }}</ref> Stone artifacts including [[Hoabinhian]] types have been found at sites dating to the [[Pleistocene]] in northern Laos.<ref>{{Cite journal|year = 2009|last1 = White|first1 = J.C.|title = Archaeological Investigations in northern Laos: New contributions to Southeast Asian prehistory|journal = Antiquity|volume = 83|issue = 319|last2 = Lewis|first2 = H.|last3 = Bouasisengpaseuth|first3 = B.|last4 = Marwick|first4 = B.|last5 = Arrell|first5 = K|url = http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/white/|access-date = 18 September 2016|archive-date = 10 October 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171010191403/http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/white/|url-status = live}}</ref> Archaeological evidence suggests an agriculturist society developed during the 4th millennium BC.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marwick|first1=Ben|last2=Bouasisengpaseuth|first2=Bounheung|chapter=History and Practice of Archaeology in Laos|editor1-last=Habu|editor1-first=Junko|editor2-last=Lape|editor2-first=Peter|editor3-last=Olsen|editor3-first=John|title=Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology|publisher=Springer|date=2017|chapter-url=https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/75zhc/|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=6 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706125232/https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/75zhc/|url-status=live}}</ref> Burial jars and other kinds of sepulchers suggest a society in which bronze objects appeared around 1500 BC, and iron tools were known from 700 BC. The proto-historic period is characterised by contact with Chinese and Indian civilisations. According to linguistic and other historical evidence, [[Tai languages|Tai-speaking]] tribes migrated southwestward to the territories of Laos and [[Thailand]] from [[Guangxi]] sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries.<ref name="PittayawatPittayaporn">[http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2014). Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627063518/http://www.manusya.journals.chula.ac.th/files/essay/Pittayawat%2047-68.pdf |date=27 June 2015 }}. ''MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities'', Special Issue No 20: 47–64.</ref>

=== Lan Xang ===
{{Main|Lan Xang}}
Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang ('million elephants'), which was founded in the 13th century by a Lao prince, [[Fa Ngum]],<ref name="Coedes">{{cite book|last= Coedès|first= George|author-link= George Coedès|editor= Walter F. Vella|others= trans. Susan Brown Cowing|title= The Indianized States of Southeast Asia|year= 1968 |publisher= University of Hawaii Press |isbn = 978-0-8248-0368-1}}</ref>{{rp|223}} whose father had his family exiled from the [[Khmer Empire]]. Fa Ngum, with 10,000 [[Khmer people|Khmer]] troops, conquered some Lao principalities in the [[Mekong]] river basin, culminating in the capture of [[Vientiane]]. Ngum was descended from a line of Lao kings that traced back to Khoun Boulom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fa-Ngum|title=Fa Ngum|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=23 December 2019|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308050252/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fa-Ngum|url-status=live}}</ref> He made [[Theravada|Theravada Buddhism]] the state religion. His ministers, unable to tolerate his ruthlessness, forced him into exile to what is later the Thai province of [[Nan Province|Nan]] in 1373,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.history.com/topics/fa-ngum |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100308201136/http://www.history.com/topics/fa-ngum |archive-date = 8 March 2010 |title = Fa Ngum |publisher=History.com |access-date = 23 January 2011}}</ref> where he died. Fa Ngum's eldest son, Oun Heuan, ascended to the throne under the name [[Samsenethai]] and reigned for 43&nbsp;years. Lan Xang became a trade centre during Samsenthai's reign, and after his death in 1421 it collapsed into warring factions for nearly a century.<ref>Sanda Simms, ch. 3, "Through Chaos to a New Order", in ''The Kingdoms of Laos'' (London: Taylor & Francis, 2013). {{ISBN|9781136863370}}</ref>

In 1520, [[Photisarath]] came to the throne and moved the capital from [[Luang Prabang]] to Vientiane to avoid a Burmese invasion. [[Setthathirath]] became king in 1548, after his father was killed, and ordered the construction of [[Pha That Luang|That Luang]]. Settathirath disappeared in the mountains on his way back from a military expedition into [[Cambodia]], and [[Lan Xang]] fell into more than 70 years of "instability", involving Burmese invasion and civil war.<ref>Sanda Simms, ch. 6, "Seventy Years of Anarchy", in ''The Kingdoms of Laos'' (London: Taylor & Francis, 2013). {{ISBN|9781136863370}}; see also P.C. Sinha, ed., ''Encyclopaedia of South East and Far East Asia'', vol. 3 (Anmol, 2006).</ref>

In 1637, when [[Sourigna Vongsa]] ascended the throne, Lan Xang further expanded its frontiers. When he died without an heir, the kingdom split into three principalities. Between 1763 and 1769, Burmese armies overran northern Laos and annexed [[Luang Prabang]], while [[Kingdom of Champasak|Champasak]] eventually came under Siamese [[suzerainty]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Askew, Marc.|title=Vientiane : transformations of a Lao landscape|year=2010|orig-year= 2007|publisher=Routledge|others=Logan, William Stewart, 1942–, Long, Colin, 1966–|isbn=978-0-415-59662-6|location=London|oclc=68416667}}</ref>

[[Anouvong|Chao Anouvong]] was installed as a vassal king of Vientiane by the Siamese. He encouraged a renaissance of Lao fine arts and literature and improved relations with [[Luang Prabang|Luang Phrabang]]. Under Vietnamese pressure, [[Lao rebellion (1826–1828)|he rebelled against the Siamese in 1826]]. The rebellion failed, and Vientiane was ransacked.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?sec=3&id=15718 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126004328/http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=15718&sec=3 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=26 November 2010 |title=Let's hope Laos hangs on to its identity |publisher=Asianewsnet.net |access-date=23 January 2011 }}</ref> Anouvong was taken to [[Bangkok]] as a prisoner, where he died.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Imperial Wars 1815–1914 | series = Encyclopedia of Warfare Series |editor-last=Showalter | editor-first =  Dennis | editor-link = Dennis Showalter |date= 2013|isbn=978-1-78274-125-1|publisher = Amber Books | location=London|oclc=1152285624}}</ref>

In a time period where the acquisition of humans was a priority over the ownership of land, the warfare of pre-modern Southeast Asia revolved around the seizing of people and resources from its enemies. A Siamese military campaign in Laos in 1876 was described by a British observer as having been "transformed into [[Slavery in Asia|slave-hunting raids]] on a large scale".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-10-12 |title=The New Kyoto Review of South East Asia Website |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012011239/http://kyotoreviewsea.org/slavery3.htm |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=web.archive.org}}</ref>

=== French Laos (1893–1953) ===
{{Main|French protectorate of Laos|First Indochina War}}
[[File:Local Lao in the French Colonial guard.png|thumb|Local Lao soldiers in the French Colonial guard, {{circa| 1900}}]]

In the 19th century, Luang Prabang was ransacked by the Chinese [[Black Flag Army]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Librios Semantic Environment |url = http://www.culturalprofiles.net/laos/Directories/Laos_Cultural_Profile/-1064.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070718125054/http://www.culturalprofiles.net/laos/Directories/Laos_Cultural_Profile/-1064.html |archive-date = 18 July 2007 |title = Laos: Laos under the French |publisher = Culturalprofiles.net |date=11 August 2006 |access-date = 23 January 2011}}</ref> France rescued King [[Oun Kham]] and added Luang Phrabang to the protectorate of [[French Indochina]]. The [[Kingdom of Champasak]] and the territory of Vientiane were added to the protectorate. King [[Sisavangvong]] of Luang Phrabang became ruler of a unified Laos, and Vientiane once again became the capital.<ref>Carine Hahn, ''Le Laos'', Karthala, 1999, pp. 69–72</ref>

Laos produced [[tin]], rubber, and coffee, and never accounted for more than 1% of French Indochina's exports. By 1940, around 600 French citizens lived in Laos.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.lonelyplanet.com/laos/history |title = History of Laos |website = Lonely Planet |date = 9 August 1960 |access-date = 23 January 2011 |archive-date = 25 February 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210225100345/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/laos/history |url-status = dead }}</ref> Under French rule, the Vietnamese were encouraged to migrate to Laos, which was seen by the French colonists as a rational solution to a labour shortage within the confines of an Indochina-wide colonial space.<ref name="SørenIvarsson">{{Cite book |last=Ivarsson |first=Søren |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FsXjlJF_fokC&pg=PA102 |title=Creating Laos: The Making of a Lao Space Between Indochina and Siam, 1860-1945 |date=2008 |publisher=NIAS Press |isbn=978-87-7694-023-2 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410140148/https://books.google.com/books?id=FsXjlJF_fokC&pg=PA102 |archive-date=10 April 2023}}</ref> By 1943, the Vietnamese population stood at nearly 40,000, forming the majority in some cities of Laos and having the right to elect its own leaders.<ref name="MartinStuart-FoxA">{{Cite book |last=Stuart-Fox |first=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8VvvevRkX-EC&dq=A+History+of+Laos&pg=PA51 |title=A History of Laos |date=1997-09-28 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-59746-3 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405045254/https://books.google.com/books?id=8VvvevRkX-EC&dq=A+History+of+Laos&pg=PA51 |archive-date=5 April 2023}}</ref> As a result, 53% of the population of Vientiane, 85% of [[Thakhek]], and 62% of [[Pakse]] were Vietnamese, with the exception of [[Luang Prabang]] where the population was predominantly Lao.<ref name="MartinStuart-FoxA"/> As late as 1945, the French drew up a plan to move a number of Vietnamese to three areas, i.e., the Vientiane Plain, [[Savannakhet Province|Savannakhet region]], and the [[Bolaven Plateau]], which was derailed by the Japanese invasion of Indochina.<ref name="MartinStuart-FoxA"/> Otherwise, according to [[Martin Stuart-Fox]], the Lao might well have lost control over their own country.<ref name="MartinStuart-FoxA"/>

During [[French Protectorate of Laos#Laos during World War II|World War II in Laos]], [[Vichy France]], [[Thailand]], [[Empire of Japan|Imperial Japan]] and [[Free France]] occupied Laos.<ref>Paul Lévy, ''Histoire du Laos'', PUF, 1974.</ref> On 9 March 1945, a nationalist group declared Laos once more independent, with [[Luang Prabang]] as its capital; on 7 April 1945, two battalions of Japanese troops occupied the city.<ref name="A Country Study: Laos">Savada, Andrea Matles (editor) (1994). "Events in 1945". [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/latoc.html ''A Country Study: Laos''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721090309/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/latoc.html |date=21 July 2015 }}. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.</ref> The Japanese attempted to force [[Sisavang Vong]] (the king of Luang Phrabang) to declare Laotian independence, and on 8 April he instead declared an end to Laos's status as a French protectorate. The king then secretly sent Prince [[Kindavong]] to represent Laos to the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] and [[Sisavang Vatthana|Prince Sisavang]] as representative to the Japanese.<ref name="A Country Study: Laos"/> When Japan surrendered, some Lao nationalists (including Prince [[Phetsarath Ratanavongsa|Phetsarath]]) declared Laotian independence, and by 1946, French troops had reoccupied the country and conferred autonomy on Laos.<ref name="britannica" />

During the [[First Indochina War]], the [[Indochinese Communist Party]] formed the [[Pathet Lao]] independence organisation. The Pathet Lao began a war against the French colonial forces with the aid of the Vietnamese independence organisation, the [[Viet Minh]]. In 1950, the French were forced to give Laos semi-autonomy as an "associated state" within the [[French Union]]. France remained in de facto control until 22 October 1953, when Laos gained full independence as a [[constitutional monarchy]].<ref name=bbc>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15355605|title=Laos profile|date=9 January 2018|access-date=26 April 2019|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308064338/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15355605|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/330219/Laos/52500/People?anchor=ref509292 |title=Laos – Overview |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=23 January 2011 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511175031/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/330219/Laos/52500/People?anchor=ref509292 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Independence and communist rule (1953–) ===
{{Main|History of Laos since 1945|3 = Laotian Civil War}}
[[File:FrenchLaos1953.png|thumb|French general [[Raoul Salan]] and [[Sisavang Vatthana|Prince Sisavang Vatthana]] in Luang Prabang, 4 May 1953]]
The First Indochina War took place across French Indochina and eventually led to French defeat and the signing of a peace accord for Laos at the [[1954 Geneva Conference|Geneva Conference of 1954]]. In 1960, amidst a series of rebellions in the [[Kingdom of Laos]], fighting broke out between the [[Royal Lao Army]] (RLA) and the communist [[North Vietnam]]ese and [[Soviet Union]]-backed Pathet Lao guerillas. A second [[Provisional Government of National Unity]] formed by Prince [[Souvanna Phouma]] in 1962 was unsuccessful, and the situation turned into [[Laotian Civil War|civil war]] between the Royal Laotian government and the Pathet Lao. The Pathet Lao were backed militarily by the [[People's Army of Vietnam]] (PAVN) and the [[Viet Cong]].<ref name="bbc" /><ref name="britannica" />

[[File:Muang Khoun - Laos - 01.JPG|thumb|right|Ruins of [[Khoune district|Muang Khoun]], former capital of [[Xiangkhouang Province|Xiangkhouang province]], destroyed by the [[CIA activities in Laos|American bombing of Laos]] in the 1960s]]
Laos was a part of the [[Vietnam War]] since parts of Laos were [[North Vietnamese invasion of Laos|invaded and occupied]] by [[North Vietnam]] since 1958 for use as a supply route for its war against [[South Vietnam]]. In response, the [[United States]] initiated a bombing campaign against the PAVN positions, supported regular and irregular anti-communist forces in Laos, and supported [[CIA activities in Laos|incursions into Laos]] by the [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam]].<ref name=bbc /><ref name=britannica />

Aerial bombardments against the PAVN/[[Pathet Lao]] forces were carried out by the [[United States]] to prevent the collapse of the [[Kingdom of Laos]] central government, and to deny the use of the [[Ho Chi Minh trail|Ho Chi Minh Trail]] to attack US forces in [[South Vietnam]].<ref name=bbc /> Between 1964 and 1973, the US dropped 2 million tons of bombs on Laos, nearly equal to the 2.1&nbsp;million tons of bombs the US dropped on Europe and Asia during all of World War II, making Laos the most heavily bombed country in history relative to the size of its population; ''[[The New York Times]]'' notes this was "nearly a ton for every person in Laos".<ref>{{cite web|author-link1=Ben Kiernan|last1=Kiernan|first1=Ben|last2=Owen|first2=Taylor|url=http://apjjf.org/2015/13/16/Ben-Kiernan/4313.html|title=Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications|work=The Asia-Pacific Journal|date=26 April 2015|access-date=18 September 2016|archive-date=1 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301041322/http://apjjf.org/2015/13/16/Ben-Kiernan/4313.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some 80 million bombs failed to explode and remain scattered throughout the country. [[Unexploded ordnance]] (UXO), including [[cluster munitions]] and mines, kill or maim approximately 50 Laotians every year.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wright|first=Rebecca|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/05/asia/united-states-laos-secret-war/|title='My friends were afraid of me': What 80 million unexploded US bombs did to Laos|work=[[CNN]]|date=6 September 2016|access-date=18 September 2016|archive-date=17 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/05/asia/united-states-laos-secret-war/|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to the impact of cluster bombs during this war, Laos was an advocate of the [[Convention on Cluster Munitions]] to ban the weapons and was host to the First Meeting of States Parties to the convention in November 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=Disarmament|url=http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/B3F3E37A2838630FC125772E0050F4F7?OpenDocument|work=The United Nations Office at Geneva|publisher=United Nations|access-date=20 September 2013|date=November 2011|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060643/http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/B3F3E37A2838630FC125772E0050F4F7?OpenDocument|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Vientianne1973.jpg|thumb|[[Pathet Lao]] soldiers in [[Vientiane]], 1973]]
In 1975, the [[Pathet Lao]] overthrew the royalist government, forcing King [[Sisavang Vatthana|Savang Vatthana]] to abdicate on 2 December 1975. He later died in a [[Re-education camp (Vietnam)|re-education camp]]. Between 20,000 and 62,000 Laotians died during the civil war.<ref name=bbc /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Obermeyer|first1=Ziad|last2=Murray|first2=Christopher J. L.|last3=Gakidou|first3=Emmanuela|year=2008|title=Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme|journal=[[BMJ]]|volume=336|issue=7659|pages=1482–1486|doi=10.1136/bmj.a137|pmid=18566045|pmc=2440905}} See Table 3.</ref>

On 2 December 1975, after taking control of the country, the Pathet Lao government under [[Kaysone Phomvihane]] renamed the country as the ''Lao People's Democratic Republic'' and signed agreements giving [[Vietnam]] the right to station armed forces and to appoint advisers to assist in overseeing the country. The ties between Laos and [[Vietnam]] were formalised via a treaty signed in 1977, which has since provided direction for Lao foreign policy, and provides the basis for Vietnamese involvement at levels of Lao political and economic life.<ref name=bbc /><ref name="Martin Stuart-Fox">{{Cite journal |last=Stuart-Fox |first=Martin |date=1980 |title=LAOS: The Vietnamese Connection |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27908403?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents |journal=Southeast Asian Affairs |pages=191–209 |issn=0377-5437 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013074847/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27908403?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents |archive-date=13 October 2021}}</ref> Laos was requested in 1979 by [[Vietnam]] to end relations with the [[China|People's Republic of China]], leading to isolation in trade by [[China]], the [[United States]], and other countries.<ref name="DamienKingsbury">{{Cite book |last=Kingsbury |first=Damien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CQlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |title=Politics in Contemporary Southeast Asia: Authority, Democracy and Political Change |date=2016-09-13 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-49628-1 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410140218/https://books.google.com/books?id=8CQlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |archive-date=10 April 2023}}</ref> In 1979, there were 50,000 PAVN troops stationed in Laos and as many as 6,000 civilian Vietnamese officials including 1,000 directly attached to the ministries in [[Vientiane]].<ref name="Savada">Savada, Andrea M. (1995). ''[http://www.public-library.uk/dailyebook/Laos%20-%20a%20country%20study.pdf Laos: a country study] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419183125/http://www.public-library.uk/dailyebook/Laos%20-%20a%20country%20study.pdf |date=19 April 2018 }}''. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, p. 271. {{ISBN|0-8444-0832-8}}</ref><ref name="Prayaga">Prayaga, M. (2005). ''[http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/103010/8/08_chapter-iv.pdf Renovation in Vietnam since 1988 a study in political, economic and social change] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419122734/http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/103010/8/08_chapter-iv.pdf |date=19 April 2018 }} (PhD thesis)''. Sri Venkateswara University. Chapter IV: The Metamorphosed Foreign Relations, pg. 154.</ref>

The [[Insurgency in Laos|conflict]] between [[Hmong people|Hmong]] rebels and Laos [[Insurgency in Laos|continued in areas]] of Laos, including in Saysaboune Closed Military Zone, Xaisamboune Closed Military Zone near Vientiane Province and [[Xiangkhouang Province]]. From 1975 to 1996, the [[United States]] resettled some [[Indochina refugee crisis|250,000 Lao refugees]] from Thailand, including 130,000 Hmong.<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2770.htm Laos (04/09)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024185208/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2770.htm |date=24 October 2020 }}. U.S. Department of State.{{failed verification|date=January 2021}}</ref> On 3 December 2021, the 422-kilometre [[Boten–Vientiane railway]], a flagship of the [[Belt and Road Initiative]] (BRI), was opened.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Completed China-Laos Railway |url=https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/the-completed-china-laos-railway/ |website=ASEAN Business News |language=en |date=21 December 2021 |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512130726/https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/the-completed-china-laos-railway/ |url-status=live }}</ref>