The Best of Cambodia & Laos

182
LAOS IN DEPTH
9
LOOKING BACK
The Emergence of French Indochina
In this modern age, rampant imperialism is something that we would find very
hard to justify. Good coffee, however, is not. France’s interest in the Indochina
region began in the 17th century with the mission of the Jesuit priest, Father
Alexandre de Rhodes. Involvement was confined to trade during the 18th century.
The French became more proactive during the 19th century, aiding Catholic
missionaries in Vietnam who were under pressure from the ruling Nguyen
dynasty. In September 1858, 14 French gunships, 3,000 men, and 300 Filipino
troops provided by the Spanish under the command of Charles Rigault de
Genouilly attacked the port of Tourane (present-day Da Nang), causing a lot of
damage, and occupying the city. Heading south, De Genouilly then attacked and
occupied the poorly defended city of Sai Gon (present-day Ho Chi Minh City). On
April 11, 1862, the Vietnamese government was forced to cede the territories of
Biên Hòa, Gia Dinh and Dinh Tuong to France. In 1862, France obtained further
concessions from Vietnamese Emperor Tu Duc, ceding huge amounts of territory
to this newly rapacious aggressor. In 1863, the Cambodian King Norodom had
requested the establishment of a French protectorate over his country. French
Indochina came into being in October 1887, consisting of Annam, Tonkin, Cochinchina
(which together form modern Vietnam), and the Kingdom of Cambodia
following the Sino-French War of 1884. Laos was added after the Franco-Siamese
War of 1893. The union continued until 1954, when the French were forcibly
ejected by the heroic efforts of the forces of Ho Ch Minh under the command of
military genius General Giap at Dien Bien Phu. Although the French occupation
of Indochina was short and often brutal, they left their mark in culture, food, language,
and architecture. It was the French who recognized the beauty of Luang
Prabang and enhanced it. It was they who rebuilt Vientiane after its was
destroyed by the Thais, and it was they who attempted to restore many ancient
monuments. Above all, it was the French who bought the humble baguette
sandwich to Asia and some of the best coffee in the world. The Lao call baguette
Khao ji, and this French legacy of superb breakfasts continues to this day.
WORLD WAR II & AFTER
With the advent of World War II, Siam
was allied to Japan and went for an opportunistic
land grab, taking western Cambodia
and Xainaburi and Champasak in
Laos. In response, the French actively
encouraged Lao nationalism (even though
Vichy France was pro-Axis after the fall of
Paris), thus letting a genie out of the bottle
that they would never be able to return. It
prompted a massive and punitive response
from the Japanese in 1945. After the
defeat of the Japanese, there was turmoil as
King Sisavang Vong veered wildly between
independence and supporting a return of
the French. After sacking his prime minister
and cousin, Prince Phetsarath, he was
deposed by the National Assembly. The
French were largely behind this as part of
De Gaulle’s push to regain the lost colonies
of Indochina. The British who were
administering these countries acquiesced,
not wishing to create a precedent in terms
of their own colonial upheavals, particularly
in India.
There had been contacts between the
Lao freedom movement, or Lao Issara, and
the Communist Viet Minh since 1945. In