History
Lan Xang — The Land of a Million Elephants (1354–1707)
The history of Laos as an independent nation begins in 1354, when King Fa Ngum founded the Kingdom of Lan Xang (ລ້ານຊ້າງ, "Land of a Million Elephants") — one of the largest and most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. At its peak, it extended over present-day Laos, northeastern Thailand (Isan), and parts of Cambodia and Vietnam.
Fa Ngum brought Theravada Buddhism to Laos and the sacred Phra Bang — a golden Buddha statue that gave the city of Luang Prabang its name. The kingdom experienced its golden age under King Setthathirath (1548–1571), who moved the capital to Vientiane and built the national symbol Pha That Luang.
In 1707, Lan Xang split into three rival kingdoms: Luang Prabang, Vientiane, and Champasak — which were used as pawns by the more powerful neighbors Thailand (Siam) and Vietnam.
French Indochina (1893–1953)
In 1893, Laos became part of French Indochina. The French treated Laos as a buffer zone between British Burma and the ever-expanding Siam — the country held little economic value for them. However, they left their mark: baguettes, coffee, colonial architecture, and an education system that was accessible only to a tiny elite.
The French reunited the three kingdoms and installed the King of Luang Prabang as a constitutional monarch. Vientiane was expanded into a colonial capital — the boulevards, the Patuxai, and the villas date from this period.
The Secret War (1964–1973) — The Most Bombed Country in the World
The Secret War is the darkest and least known chapter of the Vietnam War. While the world focused on Vietnam, the USA conducted a secret bombing campaign against Laos — without a declaration of war, without the knowledge of the US Congress:
- For 9 years (1964–1973), US bombers dropped an average of a bomb every 8 minutes on Laos — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- 2 million tons of bombs in total — more than on Germany and Japan combined during World War II. Laos is the most bombed country per capita in the world.
- 270 million cluster bombs were dropped. Each bomb broke into hundreds of small "bombies" — tennis ball-sized explosives. An estimated 80 million of them did not explode and remain as deadly time bombs in the ground to this day.
- The goal was to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through which North Vietnam transported supplies to the south. The trail ran through Laotian territory.
- At the same time, the CIA supported the Hmong guerrilla under General Vang Pao in their fight against the communist Pathet Lao.
The consequences are devastating to this day: More than 20,000 people have been killed or maimed by unexploded cluster munitions (UXO) since the end of the war — many of them children who mistake the small "bombies" for toys.
Laos Today
Since 1975, Laos has been a socialist one-party republic under the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The last king was sent to a re-education camp (where he died in the 1980s). The economy was only opened to the market in 1986 under the "New Economic Mechanism." Today, Laos is one of the poorest countries in Asia, but with steady growth — mainly through hydropower (dams on the Mekong), mining, and tourism.
