French protectorate of Laos
| Laos | ||||||||||||||||
| Laos ລາວ |
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| Protectorate of France; constituent territory of French Indochina | ||||||||||||||||
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| Capital | Vientiane (official), Luang Prabang (ceremonial) | |||||||||||||||
| Languages | French (official), Lao | |||||||||||||||
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism, Roman Catholicism | |||||||||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy under colonial administration (1893–1947); Constitutional monarchy under the French Union (1947–1953) | |||||||||||||||
| King | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 1868-1895 | Oun Kham (first) | ||||||||||||||
| • | 1904-1954 | Sisavang Vong (last) | ||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 1946-1947 | Kindavong (first) | ||||||||||||||
| • | 1951-1953 | Souvanna Phouma (last) | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | New Imperialism | |||||||||||||||
| • | Protectorate established | 1893 | ||||||||||||||
| • | Lao Issara government proclaimed | 12 October 1945 | ||||||||||||||
| • | French restoration | 24 April 1946 | ||||||||||||||
| • | Kingdom of Laos proclaimed | 11 May 1947 | ||||||||||||||
| • | Independence | 22 October 1953 | ||||||||||||||
| • | Geneva Conference | 21 July 1954 | ||||||||||||||
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The French protectorate of Laos was a French protectorate forming part of the French Colonial Empire in Southeast Asia. It consisted of much of the territory of the former kingdom of Lan Xang and was part of French Indochina from 1893 until it was granted self-rule within the French Union in 1946. The Franco-Lao Treaty of 1953 establishing Laos as an independent member of the French Union. Under the Geneva Conference following France's withdrawal from Indochina after the First Indochina War, Laos was granted independence in 1954.
After the acquirement of Cambodia in 1863, French explorers led by Ernest Doudart de Lagrée went on several expeditions along the Mekong River to find possible trade relations for the territories of French Cambodia and Cochinchina (modern-day Southern Vietnam) to the south. In 1885, a French consulate was established in Luang Prabang, which along with the royal province of Vientiane, was a vassal kingdom to Siam (modern-day Thailand). Siam, led by king Chulalongkorn, soon feared that France was planning to annexe Luang Prabang and signed a treaty with the French on 7 May 1886 which recognised Siam's suzerainty over the Lao kingdoms.
By the end of 1886, Auguste Pavie was named vice-consul to Luang Prabang and was in charge of expeditions occurring in Laotian territory, with the possibility of turning Laos into a French territory. In 1888, Chinese forces known as the Black Flags declared war on Siam and its vassal state of Luang Prabang by sacking the city. Pavie and French forces later intervened and evacuated the Lao royal family to safety. Additional French troops from Hanoi later arrived to expel the Black Flags from Luang Prabang. Following his return to the city, King Oun Kham requested a French protectorate over his kingdom. Pavie later sent Oun Kham's request to the French government in Paris. The bill designating Luang Prabang a protectorate of France was signed on 27 March 1889 between both sides despite a Siamese protest.
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