Debates on Chao Anouvong’s Liberation War: A Comparative Analysis of Lao and Thai Historiographies

In November 2010, a statue of Chao Anouvong, a Lao king of the Viangchan kingdom, was erected on the bank of the Mekong River in Vientiane. Anouvong pursued the liberation of Laos from Thailand by military campaign in the 1820s. However, this campaign failed, with Anouvong himself being captured and brought to Bangkok, where he died. Viangchan was totally destroyed, and the kingdom was incorporated into Thailand as a province. By erecting the statue, the Lao authority which has been recently trying to reestablish and restore the Lao history especially in relation to Thailand seems to be attaching historical importance to the resistance and liberation campaigns of Anouvong against Thailand. Lao and Thai historiographies show different interpretations of Anouvong’s liberation war, especially concerning the cause and purpose of the war, the question of Khunying Mo’s role, and the cause of Anouvong’s defeat. Lao and Thai authorities and scholars attempt to defend or justify the standpoint of their own country in explaining crucial events or situations of the war. However, a nationalist sentiment seems to underlie the different interpretations of them in any case, though there are some differences in extent.