History History

It is in Oc-Eo, on the Gulf of Siam, that one of the first known civilizations of Cambodia developed, the kingdom of Fou-Nan. At the confluence of Indian and Chinese influences, this kingdom became a great dominant power between the 3rd and 7th centuries. In the 6th century, the Chen-La, the most powerful of its vassal states, proclaimed its independence and extended its territory until it annexed its former suzerain. But it split in two in the 8th century. The Land Chen-La became Laos, and the Water Chen-La, or Kambudja, corresponded to Cambodia and Cochinchina. Invaded and administered for a time by Java, the country was liberated by the young king Jayavarman II, who in 802 created the Khmer kingdom on the mountain of Phnom Kulên a few kilometers from Angkor.

The fortress of Phnom Kûlen is well protected and impregnable, but its situation makes it difficult to cultivate. After about fifty years, Javayarman II transferred his capital to the plain to facilitate agriculture and founded Hariharalaya, in the Roluos region, where he died in 854. His nephew, Indravarman I, set up a revolutionary system of irrigation and intensive agriculture which was to make the power of a kingdom that would soon extend as far as present-day Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. His son and successor Yaçovarman I created the country's first real capital, Puri, with precise boundaries. The city became Angkor and remained the capital without interruption during the following centuries, except for a short period from 921 to 944. At the end of the 10th century, construction accelerated. It is notably at this time that the temples of Mebon Oriental and Pre Rup are built. Unfortunately it is also a period of frequent wars with the Cham, the Burmese, the Siamese, and the Vietnamese. Suryavarman II built the immensely famous Angkor Wat, defeated the Cham and seized their capital Vijaya in 1145, then was in turn defeated by them in 1149. After his death in 1152, the kingdom went through difficult years, the Cham ravaging Angkor in 1177. The power and glory of the Khmers were restored by the accession to the throne, in 1181, of Jayavarman VII

Considered the greatest king builder in the history of Cambodia, this visionary king built many of the most beautiful temples of Angkor: Bayon, Preah Khan, Ta Phrom, and the gates of Angkor Thom. Perhaps he was the legendary leper king mentioned by Cheu Ta Kuan; is it because of this misfortune that he built more than a hundred hospitals throughout the country as well as innumerable rest houses along the roads he covered in Cambodia? The stele of Say Fong, recounting his edict on hospitals, tells us that "he suffered from the illnesses of his subjects more than from his own, for it is the public pain that makes the pain of kings and not their own pain". A tireless conqueror, he not only repelled the attacks of the Cham but also invaded the kingdom, annexed it and made it a vassal territory for about thirty years. He constantly waged war to extend the power of the Khmers, and made himself master of the Mekong valley north of Angkor as far as Vientiane, the current capital of Laos, and south as far as the isthmus of Kra. Unfortunately, it was this desire to expand its territory that would undoubtedly lead the kingdom to its downfall, like Napoleon or Alexander in their time. Caught between the Siamese and the Vietnamese, the kingdom of Angkor must constantly fight for its survival until exhaustion

After the death of Jayavarman VII, the empire saw some flashes of greatness, then began a slow decline. The successors of the great king were less successful than him in war and the empire lost many territories. The construction of temples ceased almost entirely under the following sovereigns. The irrigation system fell into disrepair, although it is not clear why the skills of the court engineers were lost, and the capital fell to the Ayutthaya kingdom in 1352. The Khmers managed to take back the city, but were again attacked in 1394, 1420 and 1431. The court finally left Angkor in 1432, judged indefensible. But Phnom Penh, Lovek and Oudong, successive capitals, were also devastated by foreign armies. An alliance with the Nguyen lords of Hué allowed the Khmers to get rid of their Cham enemies, but this alliance attracted the covetousness of the Vietnamese who seized many territories. Cambodia, which in the 19th century was no more than a shadow of the powerful kingdom it had once been, saw in Ang Duong the beginnings of a renaissance. The king reorganized the country and forged links with France.

It was Ang Duong's son, King Norodom, who signed a treaty on August 11, 1863 with Admiral de la Grandière, Governor of Cochinchina, placing Cambodia under the protectorate of France. Twice, in a treaty in 1884 and again in 1897, France strengthened its hold on the country and placed it under its direct administration. It remained in control of the country for almost a century, until 1953. Its action on development was uneven: cities were urbanized and some crops were developed, but little effort seems to have been made in the establishment of roads or railroads. On the other hand, the influence of France seems to have enabled Cambodia to regain its territorial unity after fierce opposition to the English colonial power as well as to the Siamese and Vietnamese expansionists. Although the Second World War put a stop to France's colonial ambitions, France remained in control of Cambodia, administered by the Vichy government. Cambodia experienced its first (brief) moment of independence in early 1945 following a Japanese coup de force, but when Japan surrendered, the protectorate was reinstated. But these events put King Sihanouk at the center of the political chessboard, who was in a position to negotiate independence against the backdrop of the Indochina war and the nationalist will of the regional neighbors.

After long negotiations with the French government against a backdrop of multiple international crises, the young King Sihanouk obtained the independence of his country on November 9, 1953. He found a country partly developed by the occupier, but in which many reforms were necessary. After abdicating and throwing himself wholeheartedly into politics, Prince Sihanouk founded the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, a large rallying movement. With the unconditional support of a whole people, he launched major reforms that modernized the country. But the enthusiasm of the first years was followed by a growing protest as the economic situation deteriorated again, in an extremely tense international context with the war in Vietnam and American interventionism. The prince was deposed on 18 November 1970 during a trip abroad in favor of General Lon Nol.

The five years that followed laid the foundations for one of the worst tragedies in world history. As soon as he came to power, Lon Nol opened the country's doors to the Americans, who poured in en masse to quell the Vietnamese rebellion that had taken refuge in the eastern provinces. Prince Sihanouk allied himself with the Khmer Rouge, and the guerrilla war raged on. The country, plagued by extreme corruption, was dying of hunger, and the Americans continued to bombard it. Exhausted, many peasants rallied to the Khmer Rouge cause and laid siege to the capital, which fell on 17 April 1975. Pol Pot's regime, which claimed to be a "creative Maoism", would prove to be the most murderous dictatorship the world had ever known. Systematic massacre of the supporters of the former regime, then of the intellectual elite, forced urban exodus, abolition of any property system, creation of labor camps in the countryside with inhuman conditions, the regime caused nearly 2 million deaths. After more than 4 years of terror, it was his insistence on persecuting the Vietnamese minority that would be his undoing.

It was Vietnam that put an end to the murderous madness of Pol Pot's henchmen by invading the country in 1979. The Vietnamese routed the Khmer Rouge without difficulty and brought a puppet government to power, seemingly determined to settle down. But after 10 years of fierce guerrilla warfare and strong international pressure, the country of the dragon withdrew from Cambodia in 1989. In 1991, at the instigation of Prince Sihanouk and France, the country was placed under provisional UN administration until free elections were held. Although they were a source of great hope, the elections of May 1993 were a source of dissension. Disappointed by the results, some strongholds in the eastern provinces announced their secession from Cambodia. To avoid a civil war, a coalition government was set up. But the system adopted, although it ensured a balance between the opposition parties, paralyzed the country. Corruption became endemic, deforestation ravaged the country, and political and social life was still plagued by the Khmer Rouge presence, even if it was gradually losing its influence. Since the 1998 elections, the country is led by Hun Sen, omnipotent Prime Minister, and the country struggles to get out of a double speed system opposing a population of extreme poverty and an oligarchic elite increasingly rich.