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forces captured and sacked Xiang Dong<br />
Xiang Thong. Xainya Chakkaphat took to<br />
the mountains and jungles with his<br />
remaining forces and, in a precursor to<br />
modern events, mounted a successful<br />
guerrilla campaign against the invaders<br />
who were beaten not only by the force <strong>of</strong><br />
arms but also by malaria.<br />
Renewal came under the rule <strong>of</strong> King<br />
Visoun, who arrived on the throne in<br />
1501 having previously been governor <strong>of</strong><br />
Viang Chan. This renewal gained momentum<br />
under his son Pothisarat, and reached<br />
its peak under his grandson Setthathirat. It<br />
was his reign that saw construction <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Laos</strong>’s most beautiful wats, including Wat<br />
Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang.<br />
LAND IN TURMOIL<br />
Around this time, the Burmese became a<br />
new and predatory power on the scene and<br />
the region was plunged into turmoil. King<br />
Setthathirat had cultivated ties with Lanna<br />
and Ayutthaya, both <strong>of</strong> which came under<br />
attack from the Burmese. He moved his<br />
capital to Vieng Chan in 1560. War<br />
against the Burmese was to be his downfall,<br />
eventually bringing in an era <strong>of</strong> defeat<br />
and turmoil for the next 60 years. Lan<br />
Xang became resurgent in 1638, with the<br />
ascent to the throne <strong>of</strong> King Suriya<br />
Vongsa. His 57-year reign marked a<br />
golden age <strong>of</strong> Lao history during which<br />
Lan Xang was not only politically and<br />
militarily powerful but was also a center <strong>of</strong><br />
Buddhist learning and the arts.<br />
In 1695, toward the end <strong>of</strong> Suriya<br />
Vongsa’s reign, a succession crisis ensued.<br />
His son and heir was found guilty <strong>of</strong> adultery<br />
and the king made no effort to prevent<br />
a sentence <strong>of</strong> execution being carried out.<br />
After the king died, the fact that there was<br />
no heir caused Lang Xang to fracture into<br />
three disempowered kingdoms. All <strong>of</strong> them<br />
eventually came under the suzerainty <strong>of</strong> the<br />
now all-powerful empire <strong>of</strong> Ayutthaya. <strong>The</strong><br />
Burmese sacked Ayutthaya in 1767, but<br />
under General and then King Taksin, they<br />
were driven out. By 1779, all the Lao king-<br />
doms were once again paying fealty to the<br />
Siamese. In 1826, the new king <strong>of</strong> Vieng<br />
Chan, Chao Anou (who was originally<br />
Siamese educated and Siam sponsored),<br />
attacked the Siamese but was quickly driven<br />
back. Chao Anou died a captive in Bangkok<br />
and Vieng Chan was sacked while its<br />
population was driven into exile en masse<br />
east <strong>of</strong> the Mekong to Siam, large parts <strong>of</strong><br />
which remain heavily Lao in character to<br />
this day. All <strong>of</strong> <strong>Laos</strong> was now under the<br />
Thai thumb, but there was also a new factor<br />
to be considered: the French.<br />
THE FRENCH STEP IN<br />
In 1863, France declared <strong>Cambodia</strong> a<br />
protectorate and shortly afterward the new<br />
colonial power sent boats up the Mekong<br />
on an exploratory expedition. Twenty<br />
years later, Luang Prabang became the<br />
epicenter <strong>of</strong> an anarchic battle between<br />
Chinese warlords, Siam, and the French.<br />
<strong>The</strong> town was looted and burned by these<br />
Chinese interlopers and their allies in<br />
1887. <strong>The</strong> King fled further into the arms<br />
<strong>of</strong> the French and they <strong>of</strong>fered him their<br />
protection. At this time, confrontation<br />
between French colonial interest and Siamese<br />
power got nasty. <strong>The</strong> French sent<br />
gunboats to Bangkok. <strong>The</strong> Thais ceded all<br />
the lands east <strong>of</strong> the Mekong River to<br />
France and thus <strong>Laos</strong> became part <strong>of</strong> a<br />
new empire.<br />
As with <strong>Cambodia</strong>, the French were<br />
most interested in using <strong>Laos</strong> as a buffer<br />
state to insulate their lucrative interests in<br />
Vietnam. <strong>The</strong>y established their capital in<br />
Viang Chan, which they changed to the<br />
Francophone name <strong>of</strong> Vientiane. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
certainly had their eyes set on further conquest,<br />
but that was checked by the buildup<br />
to World War I and a realignment in their<br />
old colonial rivalry with the British. Over<br />
the next 5 decades, the French built many<br />
<strong>of</strong> the things that give <strong>Laos</strong> so much <strong>of</strong> its<br />
character today. It also saw an influx <strong>of</strong><br />
Vietnamese who actually outnumbered<br />
locals in some places and still define the<br />
character <strong>of</strong> towns along the Mekong.<br />
181<br />
LAOS IN DEPTH 9<br />
LOOKING BACK