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Civilization in the Mekong River Valley stretches back at least 10,000 years. In the 13th century, the Mongols (under Kublai Khan) overran the region. A long period of discontent led to local uprisings that finally drove out the Mongols and brought the kingdom of Northern Thailand into existence. The first Lao nation, called Lan Xang, developed out of Northern Thailand in the 14th century.
An early leader, Fa Ngum, embraced Buddhism and made it the official state religion. Lan Xang soon became the most powerful of the many kingdoms in the Mekong Valley, and by the 17th century Vientiane was established as its capital and used as the name of the nation.
Siam, another powerful nation in the Mekong Valley, and Vientiane fought a series of wars; by 1885, the Siamese ruled all of the Mekong Valley. Their power was not to last, however. The French arrived in Southeast Asia about this time and forcibly annexed the Mekong Valley kingdoms, turning them into a single principality that they called Laos. The French concentrated on developing the territories of Vietnam and Cambodia. Laos was neglected and did not share in the prosperity of its neighbors.
The French influence came to an abrupt end when the Japanese invaded in 1941. Laos, and the other countries in the region, became Japanese territories until the end of World War II. Post-war, the French tried to retake their former colonies, but a resistance movement led by a group called the Pathet Lao quickly grew in the region, and, in 1953, the French granted sovereignty to Laos.
The decade of the 1950s saw the rise of nationalism, with two dominant groups, the Viet Minh and the Pathet Lao. After a decade-long struggle for control of the country, the internal conflict left Laos divided and weak. By 1964, Laos was dragged into the conflict between North Vietnam and the United States. The notorious Ho Chi Minh trail ran through Laos and helped supply the Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops fighting against U.S. forces. Heavy U.S. bombing devastated the country during this period and Laos broke apart into two sections—the Royal Lao government in Vientiane and the Pathet Lao in the northeast. The Royal Lao government was ineffective, and by the late 1960s the communist Pathet Lao controlled many sections of the country.
The peace agreement that ended the Vietnam War in 1973 brought only more instability to Laos. By 1975, the Pathet Lao effectively controlled the entire country. However, large parts of the population feared them and fled Laos. This loss of people convinced the Pathet Lao to change their harsh policies, which they did gradually through the 1980s. In 1987, important trade and financial restrictions were lifted and the economy entered the modern era. Religious restrictions against Buddhism and travel restrictions on visitors were also lifted.
By the end of the 1990s, improvements in government policies and the re-opening of the country began to reverse the previous exodus—more than 28,000 refugees voluntarily returned to Laos. The government turned to tourism as a way to improve the economy, creating a successful “Visit Laos” campaign. Today tourism remains a major force in the Lao economy.