Kingdom of Champasak

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Kingdom of Champasak
ອານາຈັກຈຳປາສັກ (Lao)
Anachak Champasak
1713–1904
Flag of Champasak
Flag
Theravada Buddhism
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy
King 
• 1713–1737
Nokasad (first)
• 1900–1904
Ratsadanay (last)
History 
• Dissolution of
French Laos
1904
Currency
Phot Duang
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of
Lan Xang
French Protectorate
of Laos
Today part ofLaos
Thailand
Cambodia
Vietnam

The Kingdom of Champasak (Lao: ຈຳປາສັກ [tɕàmpàːsák]) or Bassac, (1713–1904) was a

Mandala Southeast Asian political model.[1]

History

The kingdom was sited on the eastern or Left Bank of the

Khong Chiam where the Mun River joins; and east of where the Mekong makes a sharp bend to the west to return abruptly and flow southeasterly down to what is now Cambodia
.

Due to scarcity of information from the periods known as the

Suwannaphum as the first recorded population of Lao in the Chi River valley—indeed anywhere in the interior of the plateau.[2]

Around 1766, Vorarad-Vongsa, a dignitary in the Kingdom of Vientiane, started a rebellion. His plan failed, but he submitted to the King of Champasak, which led to the conflict between Champasak and Vientiane.

In 1777, King Taksin of Siam sent an invading army to the Kingdom of Vientiane. The Thai army also attacked Champasak, and the kingdom was occupied without major resistance. King Pothi (Sayakumane) was taken prisoner to Krung Thep (Bangkok). In 1780, King Sayakumane was allowed to return to Champasak as vassal of the Siamese king.

At the beginning of the 19th century, and ignoring the worldwide agricultural disaster accompanying the 1816 Year Without a Summer, Bassac was said to be on a prosperous trade route as the outlet for cardamon, rubber, wax, resin, skins, horns, and slaves from the east bank to Ubon, Khorat, and Bangkok.[1]: image 4  The region then fell victim to Siamese and French struggles to extend suzerainty.

After the

Nguyen dynasty, a situation soon further complicated by the French striving in the same region to establish what was to become French Indochina
.

Following the

French colonial administration of Lao kingdoms impoverished the region. The 1893 treaty called for a 25-kilometre (16 mi) wide demilitarized zone along the Right Bank, which made Siamese control impossible. It soon became a haven for lawless characters from both banks of the river. Lack of clear chains of authority resulted in turmoil in the whole region, and in what was known to the Siamese side as the "Holy Man's Rebellion".[1]

The Phra Phuttha Butsayarat or Phra Luk Buddha, palladium of the Kingdom of Champasak, Laos. The Phra Butsayarat was brought to the Kingdom of Lan Xang by King Setthathirath from the Kingdom of Lan Na in the 16th century, with several other significant statutes. In the 19th century, the image was taken by the Kingdom of Siam to Bangkok. It currently resides in the Phra Buddha Rattanasathan (พระพุทธรัตนสถาน) ordination hall at the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

Kontum and Pleiku
were ceded to French administration in Annam.

In 1946, when Chao Nhouy or Chao Ratsadanay died, his son Chao Boun Oum Na Champassak became the head of the House of Champassak. He was also appointed as Inspector General for Life in Laos, in lieu of him agreeing not to make a claim on the Lao throne. Boun Oum was forced to leave Laos and become a political refugee in France in 1975. He died in France on March 17, 1980. He had nine children.

Kings of Champassak (1713–1904)

  • Nokasad (Soysisamout Phoutthangkoun) (1713–1737, grandson of Sourigna Vongsa)
  • Sayakumane (1737–1791, son of Nokasat)
  • Fay Na (1791–1811, son of Phra Vorarat, not of royal descent appointed by Siam)
  • No Muong (1811–1813, son of Fay Na, not of royal descent)
  • Manoi (1813–1819, nephew of Sayakoummane)
  • Nho (Chao Yo house of Vientiane) (1819–1827, son of King Anouvong, Kingdom of Vientiane)
  • 1829–1893 Siam annexes Champassak following the
    Chao Anouvong Rebellion
    and confirms subsequent kings
  • Huy (1828–1840, great-grandson of Nokasat)
  • Nark (1841–1851, brother of Huy)
  • Boua (1851–1853 regent, 1853 king, son of Huy)
  • Interregnum (1853–1856)
  • Kham Nai
    (1856–1858, son of Huy)
  • Interregnum (Chao Chou) (1858–1863)
  • Kham Souk (1863–1899) son of Huy, French divide kingdom in 1893.
  • regional governor
    .
    • Chao Boun Oum (1912-1980), son of Chao Ratsadanay, hereditary prince of Champassak.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Murdoch, John B. (1974). "The 1901-1902 Holy Man's Rebellion" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. JSS Vol.62.1 (digital image). Siam Heritage Trust: 2–9. Archived from the original (free) on July 13, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2013. Furthest afield were Vientiane and Bassac....

External links