How Does Laos Exist?

Laos is small. But it exists. Thousands of years of invasion later, and Laos exists. But... How?

Thanks for watching! You're clearly one of the good ones.

[RareEarthSeries]

It means a huge deal that so many have asked us to start an account. I never thought anyone would watch these videos, let alone support them.

[Fantagamer]

I am from Laos 🇱🇦and I love this video, because all of it is true. The scars that have been carved on our ancestors still remain in Lao people's heart today and I always cry hearing those same old story, no matter how small and least developed Laos still is today, I am very proud that my country has came this far and I am sure that the hope our ancestors have given to us will spark a miracle and become mighty again in the future. I am proud of being Lao and how kind Lao people are even in the colonial era that when the French soldiers(who killed thousands of Lao people) has been caught and surrendered, none of my ancestors killed them but instead they let them all alive and sent them back to France to tell their masters that we forgive everything they have done to us just do not come to oppress us again. Although I really hate French in this story but I had many nice French friends, I do speak French and j'aime croissants!!! :))))

[shades]

Your work is worthy of a much larger audience.

[wondypondy]

As a Thai person, these sort of history are ones left out of our education system. Thank you for filling me in of stories (somewhat) of my country

[MichaelPowers]

Amazing how I never leave one of your videos without learning something important about the human condition.

[RhoninFire]

So Thais enslaved and discriminated a group of their "own" so hard that that the group became a distinct and unique people. Good job.

[Twila]

This is the series I look most forward to each week. I really like your perspective of things. Thanks for making these.

[won]

Never knew about the relationship between Thailand and Laos. I feel so ignorant but at least I learned something today.

[xiengtongvongkham]

i live in laos. When i was a little boy, my grandparents and many villagers told me that the previous name of Laos was called Lane Xang. It was one of the largest, strongest and richest nations in Southeast Asia from 1353 to early 1700s. But in mid 1700s, Lane Xang (Laos), ruled by a king, faced internal political disputes and the country was divided into three main independent kingdoms or states namely Luang Prabang in the north, Vientiane in the centre and Champasak in the south. Thanks to the internal conflict, Siam (Thailand) militarily invaded and attacked the kingdoms for the sake of robbing more land and benefits. Siamese soldiers brutally and inhumanely killed hundred thousands of local Lao people and burnt and destroyed infrastrutures and facilities, including ancient Buddist temples and stole valuable, gold and silver Buddhas. During that period, Laos was so rich; almost Buddhist temples and pagodas were decorated with a lot of real gold, precious stones, saphire, etc. Moreover, Siamese soldiers forced hundred thousands, perhaps millions, to move to Siam country (Thailand) and then became slaves of Siam. Many Laotians were forced to make farms, feed animals, grow rice, vegetables, build roads, bridges, houses, etc and also forced to be soldiers to fight against Myanmar along side with Siamese soldiers becoz at that time, Siam and Myanmar were in war fighting against each other for territorial expansion and regional power.
During Siam's aggression in Lane Xang, many Laotian villagers, especially local ppl in the north eastern parts were scared of the Siamese attack, so they displaced and crossed border to Vietnam leaving a lot of valuable Buddhas and precious stones hidden in caves, jungles and some burried under the ground. Today, if you visit small cities and villages in the western areas of Vietnam, you'll see thousands of Vietnamese ppl speaking Lao quite clearly. In fact these ppl moved from Laos to Vietnam during the Siamese invasion for their own safety. They were Lao refugees but now have become Vietnamese citizens becos they have lived there for centuries.
Later, Laos was colonised by the French, and eventually heavily bombarded by the U.S during the Vietnam War.
To conclude, historically, Laos was invaded and inhumanely bullied and brutally attacked by three big external powers -Thailand, France and USA respectively. We consider those periods of war as the bitter, dark old days.
As for Japanese invasion during the WW 2, Laos did not physically fight against the Japanese, so they entered Laos easily and Japan did not destroy anything much.

[zanseinofan]

>pop. of 7 million with a landmass the size of Michigan
>small
As a Slovene, I've only one thing to say: HAH.

[JWTodd]

I've watched so many of your "rare earth" videos and I really have to say this is something that should be shown in history classes. True documentation

[phillipleblanc]

Very well done. I came to Laos on vacation in early 2006. I have never left. It may be small but the Lao have the largest most generous hearts one could ever encounter.

[lifeyang]

Thx for posting. Very informative. My parents were from Laos and I've always wondered how a country with just 6 million ppl, next to other countries like Thailand and Vietnam that have like 80 million ppl each, even exist.

[VandrefalkTV]

This is just.. amazing. And I'm not just talking about this one in particular, but I've absolutely loved every single bit so far. I feel like I cannot express enough how much I appreciate this. So to everyone involved in the making; thank you, thank you so much for making these.

[stcrussman]

Semi-Secretly filming in a dictatorship; Comfortable

[Silberkrone]

It almost always brings tears to my eyes when i am watching your well written videos. Your team's work is awesome. Greetings from Europe.

[darmstadtKrö]

this is really great work. i really enjoy every one of your videos, they are a pleasure to watch.

[andycockrum]

I just found this channel today and i couldn't be happier. You guys clearly put a lot of thought into making these, great job!

[devins]

The single most interesting series YouTube has to offer. This "documentary" is not only unique and spectacular in its editing but informative enough to change a persons world view. I look forward to more of your videos!

[chrit]

Thank you for creating this well-made short history of Laos. I am Laos myself and this video has given a brief but informative insight of my heritage.