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Evidence of modern human presence in the northern and central highlands ofIndochina, which constitute the territories of what later is Laos, dates back to theLower Paleolithic.[1] These earliest human migrants areAustralo-Melanesians—associated with theHoabinhian culture—and have populated the highlands and the interior, less accessible regions of Laos and all of Southeast Asia. The subsequentAustroasiatic andAustronesian marine migration waves affected landlocked Laos, and direct Chinese and Indian cultural contact had a greater impact on the country.[2][3]
Laos exists in truncated form from the thirteenth-century Lao kingdom ofLan Xang, which existed as a unified kingdom from 1357 to 1707, divided into the three rival kingdoms ofLuang Prabang,Vientiane, andChampasak, from 1707 to 1779. It fell toSiamese suzerainty from 1779 to 1893 and was reunified under theFrench Protectorate of Laos in 1893. The borders of Laos were established by the French colonial government in the 19th and 20th centuries.[4][5][6]
Anatomically modern human hunter-gatherer migration into Southeast Asia before 50,000 years ago has been confirmed by the fossil record of the region.[7] These immigrants might have, to a certain extent, merged and reproduced with members of the archaic population ofHomo erectus, as the 2009 fossil discoveries in theTam Pa Ling Cave suggest. Dated to between 46,000 and 63,000 years old, it is the oldest fossil found in the region that bears modern human morphological features.[8]Recent research also supports more accurate understanding of migration patterns of early humans, who migrated in successive waves moving west to east following the coastlines, but also used river valleys further inland and further north than previously theorized.[9]
A tradition is discernible in theHoabinhian, the name given to an industry and cultural continuity of stone tools and flaked cobble artifacts that appears around 10,000 BP in caves and rock shelters first described inHòa Bình, Vietnam and later in Laos.[10][11]
Some societies contributed to the ancestral gene pool of the upland Lao ethnicities known collectively as "Lao Theung," with the largest ethnic groups being theKhamu of northern Laos, and theBrao andKatang in the south.[12]
SubsequentNeolithic immigration waves are considered dynamic, very complex and are intensely debated. Researchers resort to linguistic terms and argumentation for group identification and classification.[12]
Wet-rice and millet farming techniques were introduced from the Yangtze River valley in southern China since around 2,000 years BC. Hunting and gathering was an aspect of food provision; particularly in forested and mountainous inland areas.[13] Earliest known copper and bronze production in Southeast Asia has been confirmed at the site ofBan Chiang in north-east Thailand and among thePhung Nguyen culture of northern Vietnam since around 2000 BCE.[14]
From the 8th century BCE to as late as the 2nd century CE, an inland trading society emerged on theXieng Khouang Plateau, around themegalithic site called thePlain of Jars. The plain, nominated as aUNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, is being cleared from unexploded ordnance, since 1998. The jars, stonesarcophagi dating from the earlyIron Age (500 BCE to 800 CE), contained evidence of human remains, burial goods, and ceramics. Some sites contain more than 250 individual jars. The tallest jars are more than 3 m (9.8 ft) in height. The jars and the existence of iron ore in the region suggest that the creators of the site engaged in profitable overland trade.[15][16]
The first indigenous kingdom to emerge inIndochina was referred to in Chinese histories as theKingdom of Funan and encompassed an area of what later is Cambodia, and the coasts of southern Vietnam and southern Thailand since the 1st century CE. Funan was anIndianised kingdom,that had incorporated central aspects of Indian institutions, religion, statecraft, administration, culture, epigraphy, writing and architecture and engaged in profitable Indian Ocean trade.[18][19]
Funan expanded and incorporated the Champasak region by the sixth century CE, when it was replaced by its successor polityChenla. Chenla occupied areas of what later is Laos as it accounts for the earliest kingdom on Laotian soil.[19][20]
By the 8th century CE, Chenla had divided into "Land Chenla" located in Laos, and "Water Chenla [km]" founded by Mahendravarman nearSambor Prei Kuk in Cambodia. Land Chenla was known to the Chinese as "Po Lou" or "Wen Dan" and dispatched a trade mission to theTang dynasty court in 717 CE. Water Chenla, would come under repeated attack from Champa, theMataram sea kingdoms in Indonesia based in Java, and finally pirates. From the instability the Khmer emerged.[21]
In the area that later is northern and central Laos and northeast Thailand, theMon people established their own kingdoms during the 8th century CE, outside the reach of the contracting Chenla kingdoms. By the 6th century in theChao Phraya River Valley, Mon peoples had coalesced to create theDvaravati kingdoms. In the north,Haripunjaya (Lamphun) emerged as a rival power to the Dvaravati. By the 8th century the Mon had pushed north to create city states, known as "muang," in Fa Daet (northeast Thailand), Sri Gotapura (Sikhottabong) near modernTha Khek, Laos,Muang Sua (Luang Prabang), and Chantaburi (Vientiane). In the 8th century CE, Sri Gotapura (Sikhottabong) controlled trade throughout the middle Mekong region. The city states introducedTherevada Buddhism from Sri Lankan missionaries throughout the region.[15][16]
There have been theories proposing the origin of theTai peoples—of whichthe Lao are a subgroup—including an association of the Tai people with theKingdom of Nanzhao that has been proven to be invalid.[24]
James R. Chamberlain (2016) proposes that Tai-Kadai (Kra-Dai) language family was formed as early as the 12th century BCE in the middle Yangtze basin, coinciding roughly with the establishment of theChu and the beginning of theZhou dynasty.[25] Following the southward migrations ofKra andHlai (Rei/Li) peoples around the 8th century BCE, the Be-Tai people started to break away to the east coast inZhejiang, in the 6th century BCE, forming thestate of Yue.[25] After the destruction of the state of Yue by Chu army around 333 BCE, Yue people (Be-Tai) began to migrate southwards along the east coast of China to what later are Guangxi, Guizhou and northern Vietnam, formingLuo Yue (Central-Southwestern Tai) andXi Ou (Northern Tai).[25] The Tai peoples, fromGuangxi and northern Vietnam began moving south—and[clarification needed] westwards in the first millennium CE, eventually spreading across the whole of mainland Southeast Asia.[26] Based on layers of Chineseloanwords in proto-Southwestern Tai and other historical evidence, Pittayawat Pittayaporn (2014) proposes that the southwestward migration of Tai-speaking tribes from Guangxi and northern Vietnam to the mainland of Southeast Asia must have taken place sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries.[2] Tai speaking tribes migrated southwestward along the rivers and over the lower passes into Southeast Asia, perhaps prompted by the Chinese expansion and suppression. Chinese historical texts record that, in 722, 400,000 'Lao'[a] rose in revolt behindMai Thúc Loan, who declared himself the king ofNanyue inGuangdong.[27][28] After the 722 revolt, some 60,000 were beheaded.[27] In 726, after the suppression of a rebellion by a 'Lao' leader in thepresent-day Guangxi, over 30,000 rebels were captured and beheaded.[28] In 756, another revolt attracted 200,000 followers and lasted four years.[29] In the 860s, many local people in what is now north Vietnam sided with attackers fromNanchao, and in the aftermath some 30,000 of them were beheaded.[29][30] In the 1040s, a matriarch-shamaness by the name ofA Nong, her chiefly husband, and their son,Nong Zhigao, raised a revolt, tookNanning, besiegedGuangzhou for 57 days, and slew the commanders of five Chinese armies sent against them before they were defeated, and some of their leaders were killed.[29] As a result of these three centuries, the Tai began to migrate southwestward.[29] A 2016 mitochondrial genome mapping of Thai and Lao populations supports the idea that both ethnicities originate from the Tai–Kadai (TK) language family.[31]
The Tai, from their new home in Southeast Asia, were influenced by the Khmer, the Mon and Buddhist India. The Taikingdom of Lanna was founded in 1259 (in the north of what later is Thailand). TheSukhothai Kingdom was founded in 1279 (in what later is Thailand) and expanded eastward to take the city ofChantaburi and renamed it toVieng Chan Vieng Kham and northward to the city ofMuang Sua which was taken in 1271 and renamed the city toXieng Dong Xieng Thong or "City of Flame Trees beside the River Dong". The Tai peoples had established control in areas to the northeast of theKhmer Empire. Following the death of the Sukhothai kingRam Khamhaeng, and internal disputes within the kingdom of Lanna,Vieng Chan Vieng Kham (Vientiane) andXieng Dong Xieng Thong (Luang Prabang) were independent city-states until the founding of thekingdom of Lan Xang in 1354.[15][16][32] The Sukhothai Kingdom and later theAyutthaya kingdom were established and "...conquered the Khmers of the upper and centralMenam valley and greatly extended their territory."[33]
The history of the Tai migrations into Laos were preserved in myth and legends. TheNithan Khun Borom or "Story ofKhun Borom" recalls the origin myths of the Lao, and follows the exploits of his seven sons to found the Tai kingdoms of Southeast Asia. The myths recorded the laws of Khun Borom, which set the basis of common law and identity among the Lao. Among theKhamu the exploits of their folk hero Thao Hung are recounted in theThao Hung Thao Cheuang epic, which dramatizes the struggles of the indigenous peoples with the influx of Tai during the migration period. In later centuries the Lao themselves would preserve the legend in written form, becoming a depiction of life in Southeast Asia prior to Therevada Buddhism and Tai cultural influence.[15][16]
Lan Xang recovered and reached the apex of its political and economic power during the seventeenth century under KingSourigna Vongsa, who became the longest reigning of Lan Xang's monarchs (1637–1694) after defeating four rival claimants to the throne. In the 1640s the first European explorers to leave a detailed account of the kingdom arrived looking to establish trade and secure Christian converts. These European visitors reported on the capital's (Vientiane) prosperity and imposing religious buildings. King Sourigna Vongsa was known to uphold the law stricty, an episode exemplified this when he did not intervene when his son (and successor) was sentenced to death when it was found that he seduced the wife of a senior court official. Upon the death of Sourigna Vongsa a succession dispute and exploitation by Ayutthaya and Dai Viet, led to the kingdom of Lan Xang being ultimately divided into constituent kingdoms in 1707.[15][16][34]
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Throughout the 1760s and 1770s, the kingdoms of Siam andBurma competed against each other in an armed rivalry, and sought out alliances with the Lao kingdoms to strengthen their relative positions by adding to their own forces and denying them to their enemy. As a result, the use of competing alliances would further militarize the conflict between the northerly Lao kingdoms of Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Between the two Lao kingdoms if an alliance with one was sought by either Burma or Siam, the other would tend to support the remaining side. The network of alliances shifted with the political and military landscape throughout the latter half of the eighteenth century.[15][16]
Siribunnyasan the last independent king of Vientiane had died by 1780, and his sons Nanthasen, Inthavong, andAnouvong had been taken toBangkok as prisoners during the sack of Vientiane in 1779. The sons would become successive kings of Vientiane (under Siamese suzerainty), beginning with Nanthasen in 1781. Nanthasen was allowed to return to Vientiane with thePhra Bang, thepalladium ofLan Xang, the Emerald Buddha remained in Bangkok and became a symbol to theLao of their captivity. One of Nanthasen's first acts was to seize Chao Somphu aPhuan prince fromXieng Khouang who had entered into a tributary relationship withVietnam, and released him when it was agreed that Xieng Khouang would acknowledge Vientiane as suzerain. In 1791, Anuruttha was confirmed byRama I as king ofLuang Prabang. By 1792 Nanthasen had convinced Rama I that Anuruttha was secretly dealing with theBurmese, and Siam allowed Nanthasen to lead an army and besiege and capture Luang Prabang. Anuruttha was sent to Bangkok as a prisoner, and through diplomatic exchanges facilitated by China, Anuruttha was released in 1795. After Anuruttha's release it was alleged that Nanthasen had been plotting with the governor ofNakhon Phanom to rebel against Siam. Rama I ordered the arrest of Nanthasen, and after he died in captivity. Inthavong (1795–1804) became the next king of Vientiane, and dispatched armies to aide Siam against Burmese invasions in 1797 and 1802, and to capture theSipsong Chau Tai (with his brotherAnouvong as general).[15][16]
Anouvong's forces pushed south eventually toSaraburi to free the Lao there, and the flood of refugees pushing north slowed the armies' retreat. Anouvong underestimated the Siamese arms stockpile, which under the terms ofBurney Treaty had provided Siam with weaponry from theNapoleonic Wars in Europe. A Lao defense was staged atNong Bua Lamphu the traditional Lao stronghold in the Isan, and the Siamese emerged victorious and leveled the city. The Siamese pushed north to take Vientiane and Anouvong fled southeast to the border with Vietnam. By 1828, Anouvong had been captured, tortured and sent to Bangkok with his family to die in a cage. Rama III orderedChao Bodin to return and level the city of Vientiane, and forcibly move the entire population of the former Lao capital to the Isan region.[15][16]
In the aftermath of Vientiane's destruction the Siamese divided theLao lands into three administrative regions. In the north, the king of Luang Prabang and a Siamese garrison controlled Luang Prabang, theSipsong Panna, andSipsong Chao Tai. The central region was administered fromNong Khai and extended to the borders of Tran Ninh (Xieng Khouang) and south to Champasak. The southern regions were controlled from Champasak and extended to areas borderingCochin China and Cambodia. From the 1830s through the 1860s, rebellions took place across Lao lands and the Khorat Plateau. At the end of each rebellion Siamese troops would return to their administrative centers, and no Lao region was allowed to have a buildup of force which could have been used in rebellion.[15][16]
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The population transfers and slave raids ameliorated toward the end of the nineteenth century when European observers and anti-slavery groups made their presence increasingly difficult for the Bangkok elite. In 1880, slave raiding and trading became illegal, while debt slavery would persist until 1905 by decree of KingChulalongkorn. The French would use the existence of slavery in Siam as one of the major professed motivations for establishing aProtectorate of Laos during the 1880s and 1890s.[15][16]
By the 1860s, the first French explorers were pushing north charting the path of the Mekong River, with hope of a navigable waterway to southern China. Among the French explorers was an expedition led byFrancis Garnier, who was killed during an expedition by Haw rebels inTonkin. The French would increasingly conduct military campaigns against the Haw in Laos and Vietnam (Tonkin) until the 1880s.[15][16]
Under French rule, the Vietnamese were encouraged to migrate to Laos, which was seen by the French colonists as a rational solution to a practical problem within the confines of an Indochina-wide colonial space.[35] By 1943, the Vietnamese population stood at nearly 40,000, forming the majority in some cities of Laos and having the right to elect their own leaders.[36]As a result, 53% of the population of Vientiane, 85% ofThakhek and 62% ofPakse were Vietnamese, with an exception ofLuang Phrabang where the population was predominantly Lao.[36] As late as 1945, the French drew up a plan to move Vietnamese population to three areas, i.e. the Vientiane Plain,Savannakhet region,Bolaven Plateau, which was discarded by Japanese invasion of Indochina.[36] Otherwise, according toMartin Stuart-Fox, the Lao might well have lost control over their own country.[36]
By 1920, the majority ofFrench Laos was at peace and colonial order had been established. In 1928, the first school for the training of Lao civil servants was established, and allowed for the upward mobility of Lao to fill positions occupied by the Vietnamese. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s France attempted to implement Western, particularly French, education, healthcare and medicine, and public works. The budget forcolonial Laos was secondary toHanoi, and the worldwideGreat Depression further restricted funds. It was in the 1920s and 1930s that the first strings of Lao identity emerged due to the work of PrincePhetsarath Rattanavongsa and the FrenchEcole Francaise d'Extreme Orient to restore monuments, temples, and conduct general research into Lao history, literature, art and architecture. French interest in indigenous history served a dual purpose in Laos it reinforced the image of the colonial mission as protection against Siamese domination, and was a legitimate route for scholarship.[15][16]
In February 1945, a detachment from theJapanese Imperial Army moved intoXieng Khouang. TheJapanese preempted that theVichy administration ofFrench Indochina under Admiral Decoux would be replaced by a representative of theFree French loyal toCharles DeGaulle and initiatedOperation Meigo ("bright moon"). The Japanese succeeded in theinternment of the French living in Vietnam and Cambodia, and in some areas of Laos the French were able with the help of the Lao andGarde Indigene to establish jungle bases which were supplied by British airdrops from Burma. French control in Laos had been sidelined.[16]
Under Japanese pressure, KingSisavangvong declared independence in April 1945. The move allowed the independence movements in Laos including the Lao Seri and Lao Pen Lao to coalesce into theLao Issara or "Free Lao" movement which was led by PrincePhetsarath and opposed the return of Laos to the French. The Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945 emboldened pro-French factions and Prince Phetsarath was dismissed by KingSisavangvong. Undeterred Prince Phetsarath staged a coup in September and placed the royal family inLuang Prabang under house arrest. On 12 October 1945 the Lao Issara government was declared under the civil administration of PrincePhetsarath. In the next six months the French rallied against the Lao Issara and were able to reassert control overIndochina in April 1946. The Lao Issara government fled to Thailand, where they maintained opposition to theFrench until 1949, when the group split over questions regarding relations with theVietminh and thecommunistPathet Lao was formed. With the Lao Issara in exile, in August 1946 France instituted aconstitutional monarchy in Laos headed by KingSisavangvong, and Thailand agreed to return territories seized during theFranco-Thai War in exchange for a representation at theUnited Nations. The Franco-Lao General Convention of 1949 provided most members of the Lao Issara with a negotiated amnesty and sought appeasement by establishing theKingdom of Laos a quasi-independent constitutional monarchy within theFrench Union. In 1950, additional powers were granted to theRoyal Lao Government including training and assistance for a national army. On 22 October 1953, the Franco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association transferred remaining French powers to the independent Royal Lao Government. By 1954 the defeat atDien Bien Phu brought eight years of fighting with the Vietminh, during theFirst Indochinese War, to an end and France abandoned all claims to the colonies of Indochina.[16]
A second Geneva conference, held in 1961–62, provided for the independence andneutrality of Laos, and the war resumed. Growing North Vietnamese military presence in the country increasingly drew Laos into theSecond Indochina War (1954–1975). As a result, for nearly a decade, eastern Laos was subjected to "some of the heaviest bombing in the history of warfare".[37]
After theParis Peace Accords led to the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam, a ceasefire between the Pathet Lao and the government led to a new coalition government. After the fall of South Vietnam to communist forces in April 1975, the Pathet Lao with the backing of North Vietnam were able to taketotal power. On 2 December 1975, the king was forced to abdicate his throne and the Lao People's Democratic Republic was established. Around 300,000 people out of a total population of 3 million left Laos by crossing the border into Thailand following the end of the civil war.[38][16]
The government's policies prompted about 10% of the Lao population to leave the country. Laos depended on Soviet aid channeled through Vietnam up until the Soviet collapse in 1991. In the 1990s the communist party gave up centralised management of the economy and still has a monopoly of political power.[16][39]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)The Thai people in the north as well as in the south did not in any sense "migrate en masse to the south" afterKublai Khan's conquest of theDali Kingdom.
