Anuvong rebellion
| date | 1826 to 1829 |
|---|---|
| place | Isan and Laos |
| output | Thai victory |
| consequences | Destruction of Vientiane, loss of autonomy, deportation of the population |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
King Rama III. |
|
| losses | |
|
Much of the royal family |
|
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The Anuvong Rebellion (also Chao-Anu-Rebellion or Siamese-Laotian War ) was an armed conflict between the Kingdom of Siam and the tributary Laotian Kingdom of Vientiane (Vieng Chan) under Chao Anuvong in the years 1826 to 1829. As a result, that heard Kingdom of Vientiane continued to exist and became part of Siam.
prehistory
In 1778 the Laotian kingdom of Lan Xang became a vassal of Siam, whose king Taksin had freed the kingdom of Ayutthaya from the superior Burmese. At the beginning of the 19th century, it then split into three smaller areas, Luang Phrabang , Vientiane and Champasak . The local kings could continue to rule, but had to pay tribute to Siam, as happened under the successors of Taksin, who belonged to the Chakri dynasty . The Siamese kings also reserved the right to confirm the new kings. In 1826 the King of Vientiane, Anuvong (also Chao Anu ; 1767-1829) tried to shake off the Siamese supremacy. To this end, he strengthened relations with Vietnam, which has been emerging since the 17th century, and entered into an alliance with Emperor Minh Mạng (1792–1841). He was also able to secure the post of governor for his son in Champasak , with which he held most of what is now Laos in his hand. He was thus able to oppose Siam militarily. The opportunity arose for him when he received the - albeit false - news that an English fleet would attack Bangkok after the British had defeated Burma shortly before and integrated it into their colonial empire.
In the early 19th century, Siam had acquired firearms from Great Britain, the United States, and Portugal. These were used in this conflict. The troops of General Chaophraya Bodindecha and the Governor of Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat) were given preferential ammunition. This made the Siamese army far superior to the Lao units under Chao Anuvong.
Various theories exist about Anuvong's motivation. According to one opinion, the vassal king of Vientiane wanted to shake off the Siamese supremacy that had existed since 1778 and / or reunite the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang , which had split into several parts in 1707 . This is traditionally represented mainly in Thai historiography. According to another opinion, Anuvong wanted to advance to central Thailand in order to free the Lao living there - descendants of the prisoners of war deported to Saraburi , Suphan Buri and other provinces of the central plain after the conquest of Vientiane in 1778 . This explanation is provided by classical Lao historiography. According to a third view, Anuvong's attack was only preventive in order to forestall an impending aggression from Siam, which wanted to deprive the Lao states of their last remaining autonomy. Depending on the point of view, the assessment of the war as a rebellion by an unfaithful vassal prince or as a war by Bangkok against the Lao also varies.
course
The Lao armies under Anuvong invaded Siam from Vientiane, Roi Et and Ubon Ratchathani in January 1827, ostensibly to help defend against a British attack. While the South Laotian state of Champasak joined the uprising, the King of Luang Prabang, who was also under Siamese rule, refused to take part. Anuvong's troops took Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat) and stood at Saraburi at the end of February 1827 , only three days' march from Bangkok.
After the unprepared Siamese leadership panicked briefly, they began to organize the defense. An army under the leadership of the Uparat ("viceroy") Sakdiphonlasep stopped the Laotian army at Saraburi. Siamese troops gathered to fend off the Laotians, who were subsequently thrown back on Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat) and Ubon Ratchathani. In Khorat, according to a legend spread in Thailand, Anuvong's troops were made drunk by the women of the city under the leadership of the governor's wife Thao Suranari during a supposed celebration and then beaten. The historicity of this episode is, however, questioned by the Laotian side and, more recently, by Thai historians as well.
At the beginning of April, Siam had raised three armies and marched them. The smallest of them hurried north along the Pa Sak River to secure Phetchabun and Lom Sak . The second, led by General Phraya Ratchasuphawadi (Sing; later known as Chaophraya Bodindecha ) recaptured the central and southern parts of the Khorat plateau and took Champasak, where they captured Prince Chao Yo. The main army under the command of the Uparat advanced directly on Vientiane. From May 1st to 4th, 1827 there was the battle of Nong Bua Lamphu , which ended with a victory for the Siamese. The Laotian army withdrew north across the Mekong . A few days later Siam's troops took the Laotian capital. King Anuvong fled to Vietnam, allied with him.
After looting the city, destroying the fortifications and rounding up prisoners of war, the main Siamese army left Vientiane again. General Ratchasuphawadi, elevated to the rank of Chaophraya , was charged with completing the submission of the area, devastating the capital and setting a chilling example to the Lao (and other vassals). After a few months of occupation, however, he decided in February 1828 to withdraw, to leave Vientiane to self-administration by Lao aristocrats and to secure their loyalty through a Siamese garrison.
King Rama III. But that wasn't enough. He wanted Vientiane to be completely destroyed and feared further Vietnamese forays into the Siamese zone of influence. He sent again Chaophraya Ratchasuphawadi, who on his arrival in Vientiane in August 1828 found an Anuvong who had returned from Vietnam and who had recaptured the city with Laotian and allied Vietnamese units. Since Ratchasuphawadi's small army was not up to the enemy, he let himself fall back to Yasothon, where Anuvong followed him with his troops. There the Siamese could finally defeat the troops of the King of Vientiane in mid-October 1828. This time he fled to Müang Phuan (Vietnamese Trấn Ninh ) north of Vientiane. The Siamese threatened to invade Müang Phuan, whereupon its ruler surrendered Anuvong to keep the peace. This time Chaophraya Ratchasuphawadi followed the king's command and completely destroyed Vientiane (with the exception of the Buddhist temples).
consequences
King Anuvong was brought to Bangkok and exhibited there with his family in a lengthy procedure in a cage without food. They were tortured, but before his execution - he was supposed to be crushed - he could commit suicide by poison.
As a result of the rebellion, not only was the capital Vientiane razed to the ground, the former semi-autonomous vassal kingdom also lost all independence. A large part of the population of today's central Laos (over 100,000 people) were deported to the western (now Thai) side of the Mekong, into the Khorat plateau and the Chao Phraya basin. This is one of the reasons why northeastern Thailand ( Isan ) today has a population of Laos that is many times larger than that of Laos proper. The descendants of the displaced now make up the Lao Wiang ethnic group in Thailand. Forty years later, a group of French researchers found only jungle and ruins at Vientianes.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Phillips and Axelrod (2004), p. 1042
- ↑ Mayoury and Pheuiphanh Ngaosyvathn: Paths to Conflagration. 1998, p. 119.
- ^ Grabowsky: The Isan up to its Integration into the Siamese State. In: Regions and National Integration in Thailand, 1892-1992. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 1995, p. 118.
- ^ Wyatt: Thailand. 2004, p. 154.
- ^ Wyatt: Thailand. 2004, pp. 154-155.
- ↑ a b Wyatt: Thailand. 2004, p. 155.
- ↑ Mayoury and Pheuiphanh Ngaosyvathn: Paths to Conflagration. 1998, p. 68.
- ^ Grabowsky: The Isan up to its Integration into the Siamese State. 1995, p. 122.
literature
- Grant Evans: A Short History of Laos: the land in between . Crows Nest (Australia): Allen Unwin 2002. ISBN 1864489979 .
- Volker Grabowsky : Lao and Khmer Perceptions of National Survival. The Legacy of the Early Nineteenth Century. In: Nationalism and Cultural Revival in Southeast Asia. Perspectives from the Center and the Region. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, pp. 145-165. Section “The Lao-Thai War of 1827 and its consequences”, p. 147 ff.
- Mayoury Ngaosyvathn, Pheuiphanh Ngaosyvathn: Paths to Conflagration. Fifty Years of Diplomacy and Warfare in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, 1778–1828. Cornell Southeast Asia Program, Ithaca NY 1998, ISBN 0-87727-723-0 .
- Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod: Encyclopedia of Wars . 3 Vols. New York: Facts on File 2004. ISBN 9780816028511 .
- David K. Wyatt : Thailand. A short history. 2nd edition, Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2004.