“A Guide to Cambodia in 1879” describes the southeast Asian country as it was at that date.
The Khmer people of Cambodia once ruled one of the most powerful empires in southeast Asia. The capital of the Khmer Empire was the great city of Angkor, whose large Angkor Wat temple complex is one of the country’s most famous historical sites and tourist attractions.
But the kingdom fell into decline after the 15th century and Cambodia came under Vietnamese and Thai domination. In 1863 the Cambodian king Norodom sought out French protection to escape from Thai control. As a result, Cambodia became a French protectorate, and a part of French Indochina, which also included neighboring Vietnam and Laos.
In 1879, King Norodom I was still on the throne in the French protectorate of Cambodia. The Cambodian provinces of Battambang and Angkor (now Siem Reap) had been ceded to Thailand (then called Siam) in return for Thai recognition of the French protectorate.
At the time Cambodia’s population was a little over 1 million, and its capital, Phnom Penh, had a population of about 35,000.
During the Second World War, Cambodia was occupied by the Japanese. After the war, in 1953, it won its independence from France. In the 1960s and 1970s the country became engulfed in the Vietnam War, when Vietnamese communists smuggled arms and supplies through Cambodian territory, and United States military forces dropped bombs on Vietnamese communist targets inside of Cambodia.
In the 1970s the Cambodian communist Khmer Rouge party seized power. Under Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge regime engaged in genocidal mass killings. The Khmer Rouge regime was overthrown in 1978, however, by a Vietnamese invasion.
The Khmer people of Cambodia once ruled one of the most powerful empires in southeast Asia. The capital of the Khmer Empire was the great city of Angkor, whose large Angkor Wat temple complex is one of the country’s most famous historical sites and tourist attractions.
But the kingdom fell into decline after the 15th century and Cambodia came under Vietnamese and Thai domination. In 1863 the Cambodian king Norodom sought out French protection to escape from Thai control. As a result, Cambodia became a French protectorate, and a part of French Indochina, which also included neighboring Vietnam and Laos.
In 1879, King Norodom I was still on the throne in the French protectorate of Cambodia. The Cambodian provinces of Battambang and Angkor (now Siem Reap) had been ceded to Thailand (then called Siam) in return for Thai recognition of the French protectorate.
At the time Cambodia’s population was a little over 1 million, and its capital, Phnom Penh, had a population of about 35,000.
During the Second World War, Cambodia was occupied by the Japanese. After the war, in 1953, it won its independence from France. In the 1960s and 1970s the country became engulfed in the Vietnam War, when Vietnamese communists smuggled arms and supplies through Cambodian territory, and United States military forces dropped bombs on Vietnamese communist targets inside of Cambodia.
In the 1970s the Cambodian communist Khmer Rouge party seized power. Under Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge regime engaged in genocidal mass killings. The Khmer Rouge regime was overthrown in 1978, however, by a Vietnamese invasion.
