4. A divided nation conquered by foreigners
Vientiane and Champassak kingdoms were conquered by Siam. Luang
Prabang was took weak and was unable to fight against the Siam for the reunification of the country. When the French came and established a colony in Indochina, Luang Prabang kingdom asked for French protection in 1893. Facing with the French threat, the Siam withdrew from the kingdoms of Vientiane and Champassak. Then all of three Kingdoms Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champassak were placed under the oppression of the French protectorate. The Lao heroic people continued to fight against the French. Like the rest of Southeast Asia, the country was shortly occupied by the Japanese during the World War II. The French came back after the Japanese defeat and they were faced with the Lao people’s resistance.
In 1945, the Lao people proclaimed its independence from France. Some years later, this proclamation of independence was recognized by the United Nations. The end of the French colonial rule did not bring peace to the Lao people. The US bombing campaign over the portion of the Hochiminh trail crossing the Lao PDR during the “ Vietnam War ” obliged the Lao patriotic people to fight against the US and their local
followers to protect the Lao Independence.
