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History:
The country has long
been occupied by migrating Thais (including Shans, Siamese and Lao)
and slash-and-burn Hmong/Mien hill tribes.
The first Lao principalities were consolidated in the 13th century
following the invasion of south-west China by Kublai Khan's Mongol
hordes.
In the mid-14th century,
a Khmer-sponsored warlord, Fa Ngum, combined a number of scattered
principalities around Luang Prabang to form his own kingdom, Lan
Xang ('a million elephants').
The kingdom initially prospered, but internal divisions and pressure
from neighbours caused it to split in the 17th century into three
warring kingdoms centred on Luang Prabang, Wieng Chan (Vientiane)
and Champasak.
By the end of the
18th century, most of Laos came under Siamese (Thai) sovereignty
but the territory was also being pressured by Vietnam. Unable or
unwilling to serve two masters, the country went to war with Siam
in the 1820s.
This disastrous
ploy led to all three kingdoms falling under Thai control. By the
late 19th century, France had established French Indochina in the
Vietnamese provinces of Tonkin and Annam.
The Thais eventually ceded all of Laos to the French, who were content
to use the territory merely as a buffer between its colonial holdings
and Siam.
Culture:
About 60% of Lao, mainly the
lowland Lao and a sprinkling of Thai tribes, are Theravada Buddhists.
Every Lao Buddhist male is expected to become a monk for a short
period of his life, usually between school and starting a career
or getting married.
The main non-Buddhist religion is phii worship, a spirit cult which
is officially banned.
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