FLAG OF LAOS: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The flag of Laos is the national flag of this republic located in Indochina. It is a flag with three horizontal stripes. The two of the extremes occupy a quarter of the surface each and are red. The central, dark blue, covers half of the flag. In the middle of the symbol is a white circle. Although it was first conceived in 1945, it has been in effect since 1975.

The territorial situation in Indochina has been complicated for centuries. That has made their symbols constantly different. However, from the Kingdom of Lan Xang the elephant was established as a monarchical symbol, which was maintained during the stage of the three regional kingdoms.

Laos flag. (Drawn by User: SKopp).

These royal symbols were the same as the French protectorate and after independence, with the Kingdom of Laos. The current flag belonged to the armed groups of Lao Issara and Pathet Lao, who established it as a national flag since they took power in 1975.

The color red represents the blood shed in independence. Instead, the blue is the symbol of the Mekong River, while the white disc is the unity of the country and its people.

History of the flag

Despite the fact that human life in Laos has been present since prehistoric times, the flags specifically related to this territory are only a few centuries old. The first forms of state that existed in Indochina were kingdoms. The most prominent was the Kingdom of Funan, which, although it did not occupy the current surface of Laos in the first instance, influenced the region with its culture.

One of the first kingdoms to populate present-day Laos was Champa. Later, this state was absorbed by the Funan Kingdom and replaced by Chenla, a new political entity that did establish itself in the present Laotian territory. Its capital would be located in Wat Phu, today a World Heritage Site according to Unesco.

Chenla later split in the 8th century. The part that followed in present-day Laos was called Chenla Land. Its instability caused the Khmer Empire, which ruled Cambodia until the 19th century, to begin to establish itself in the area as early as the 9th century.

Northern Laos was populated by the Mon, who had constituted the Dvaravati kingdoms. By the 8th century, states were formed into cities. Among them were the predecessors of the kingdoms Luang Prabang and Vientiane.

Thai migration

The Tai peoples began their migration to Southeast Asia. Different states of this ethnic group began to follow each other. One of the first was the Kingdom of Sukhothai from 1279, which expanded to occupy Chantaburi, later Vientiane, and Muang Suang, which later became part of Luang Prabang. These remained independent cities until the Kingdom of Lan Xang was founded in 1354.

Later, in the mid-14th century, the Ayutthaya Thai kingdom occupied parts of Laos. This kingdom kept a garnet colored cloth as its insignia.

Flag of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. (1350–1767). (Xiengyod).

Lan Xang Kingdom

Laos was part of the Lan Xang Kingdom for three and a half centuries, founded in 1353. Its first capital was Luang Prabang. Its expansion came to occupy present-day Laos and parts of Vietnam, China, Thailand and Cambodia.

By 1560, the capital moved to Vientiane, occupying a strategic defensive position against the Burmese. Finally, in 1573 the defense failed and the Kingdom of Lan Xang became a vassal state.

The end of the Lan Xang Kingdom came in 1707. A dispute over the succession to the throne following the death of the monarch Sourigna Vongsa led to a division into three constituent kingdoms. Symbolically, the Kingdom of Lan Xan was known as the land of a million elephants under a white umbrella. This, therefore, became the representation of the flag in the states that succeeded it.

Regional kingdoms

Three kingdoms marked the life of the region in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the first place, in 1707 those of Vientiane and Luang Prabang were created when a conflict for the succession to the throne broke out.

The Kingdom of Champasak was founded in 1713 after a rebellion in the south. The greatest influence exerted by these kingdoms came from that of Vientiane, although alliances with neighboring countries were completely necessary.

Flags of the regional kingdoms

These kingdoms were the first to have, officially, a flag. In the case of the Kingdom of Vientiane, it was a yellow cloth that kept a red rectangle in the canton. Inside it was included the figure of a white elephant in profile.

Flag of the Kingdom of Vientiane. (1707-1828). (SodacanThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape.).

Another of the flags was that of the Kingdom of Luang Prabang. A red cloth included the symbol that had been defined from the Kingdom of Lan Xang. It is about the design of three elephants together, but in different positions under a white umbrella. This elephant represented the Hindu god Erawan, who was imposed as a royal symbol.

Flag of the Kingdom of Luang Prabang. (1707-1893). (SodacanThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape..

Finally, a dark blue flag was the one that represented the Kingdom of Champasak. In its central part, a small-sized winged animal would also be running and taking cover with a small umbrella.

Flag of the Kingdom of Champasak. (1713-1947). (SodacanThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape.).

Thonburi Kingdom

The Thonburi Kingdom had only one monarch in its entire history: Taksin. This king invaded the kingdoms of Champasaj and Vientiane and forced Luang Prabang to become a vassal. General Taskin used Buddhist symbology from these kingdoms, such as the Emerald Buddha. The Thonburi Kingdom maintained the same maroon flag as the Ayutthaya Kingdom.

Rattanakosin Kingdom

This kingdom came to an end after the deposition of Taksin and the assumption of Rama I in 1782 as king of the new Rattanakosin Kingdom. This state continued to strongly influence the regional kingdoms, clashing with each other frequently and changing allies over time.

Its symbol remained maroon, but Rama I added the Súdarshan chakra, an attribute of the Hindu god Visnu. The symbol, white in color, was also that of the Chakri dynasty.

Flag of the Rattanakosin Kingdom. (1782). (Xiengyod & SodacanThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape.).

The might of this kingdom was confronted by Anuovong in a rebellion between 1826 and 1829. This armed movement pitted the kingdoms of Veintiane and Champashak against the Rattanakosin, without success. However, it involved one of the first signs of nationalism in Laos, because Anuovong would have rebelled after being insulted at the funeral of Rama II.

The slavery situation and population transfers of many Laotians remained usual. Precisely, the excuse for the existence of slavery was one of the main reasons why France established the Protectorate of Laos in the final decades of the 19th century.

French colonization

France was interested in navigating the Mekong River since the middle of the 19th century. By 1887 they established a representation in Luang Prabang, led by Auguste Pavie. They defended the local monarchy from the attack of Siam.

The two powers faced each other territorially for several years, which finally ended in the Franco-Siamese war of 1893. Its main consequence was the recognition of French territoriality in Laos.

Thus was born the French Protectorate of Laos. Territorial disputes between France, Siam and Great Britain, which occupied Burma, continued to star in the following years. The two European powers reached an agreement at the beginning of the 20th century. The French colonial capital was located in Vientiane, due to its centrality and its historical importance. France continued to expand in the region until occupying Cambodia.

The French rule made Laos the scene of a Vietnamese migration, which ended up being the majority in the protectorate regions, with the exception of Luang Prabang.

French protectorate flag

The flag that this protectorate maintained was the same as the Kingdom of Luang Prabang, but with a small French tricolor in the canton. The symbol was stylized at the top and bottom, replacing the figures with horizontal lines.

A change in meaning was also assumed, as the parasol was also a royal symbol but the three heads could represent the three ancient regional kingdoms. The pedestal represented the law of the land.

Flag of the French Protectorate of Laos. (1893-1952). (Thommy).

Second World War

Although there were different nationalist rebellions since the 1910s, Laos' independence sentiment grew with the arrival in 1938 of a nationalist prime minister in Siam named Phibunsongkhram. This changed the name of Siam to Thailand with a pretense of grouping in this state all the Thai peoples.

However, the Second World War was the determining scene. In 1940 the Franco-Thai war took place, in which Thailand conquered different territories. Later, in French Indochina they were occupied by Vichy France, Free France, Thailand and finally, by the Empire of Japan.

Flag of Japan (Hinomaru). (By Various, via Wikimedia Commons).

Independence

Spurred on by the defeat of the Japanese occupying forces, a nationalist group led by King Sisavangvong declared Laos independence in 1945. Less than a year later, France regained control of the colony and granted it autonomy.

In the framework of the First Indochina War, the French had to face the Communist Party of Indochina, which was represented in Laos by the Pathet Lao. Also present was Lao Issara, led by Prince Phetsarath, who ended up fleeing to Thailand.

By 1946, France instituted a constitutional monarchy in the territory led by King Sisavangvong and Thailand returned the territories it had occupied in wars. In 1950, France created the French Union, which grouped its colonies with a status of semi-independent countries. The Kingdom of Laos was one of them until October 22, 1953 they obtained their independence.

The flag of the Kingdom of Laos was the same that had existed in the French protectorate, with the removal of the small tricolor of the occupying power.

Flag of the Kingdom of Laos. (1952-1975). (Thommy).

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Since the 1950s, the monarchical government, led by Prince Souvanna Phouma, was unstable and a coup d'état took place. The country was besieged by Ho Chi Minh's Communist North Vietnamese troops between 1958 and 1959.

Laos was immersed in the Second Indochina War, especially the east of the country, bordering Vietnam. Different bombings destroyed a large part of the territory, the Laos government was backed by the United States, and the war spread in territory and time. North Vietnam never withdrew from northern Laos and with the fall of South Vietnam, which was supported by the United States, a communist state was formed throughout Vietnam.

As a consequence of this, the Pathet Lao took power in Laos in 1975. The king resigned his throne and the Lao People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed. This has been a one-party socialist state that for many years was a puppet government of the Vietnamese regime. Their actions resulted in the migration of 10% of the population.

The flag chosen for the new political regime was the one previously used by Lao Issara and maintained by the Pathet Lao movement.

Lao Issara flag

In 1945, the nationalist intellectual Maha Sila Viravong designed what would become the new flag of Laos and which represented the government of Lao Issara. This was to be distinguished from the monarchical symbol of the elephant. Viravong's flag was eventually a tricolor of red, white, and blue.

It continued to be used by Lao Isaara's successors, the Pathet Lao communist movement. After the declaration of the Lao People's Democratic Republic it was adopted as a national flag in 1975.

Meaning of the flag

The current flag of Laos was conceived in the war and needed to contrast with the monarchical and colonial symbols. The red color, as usual in flags, represents the blood that was being shed for independence.

The color blue, unusual in communist symbols, represents in this case the waters of the Mekong River. Its central position makes it clear that the spilled blood, represented in the red stripes, was on both banks of the Mekong River.

Finally, the white disk would be the moon over the Mekong River. It also represents the unity of the Lao people and their possible reunification with regions located today in Thailand, as well as the unity of the communist government.

References

Arias, E. (2006). Flags of the world. Editorial Gente Nueva: Havana, Cuba.
Martin, S. and Stuart-Fox, M. (1997). A history of Laos. Cambridge University Press. Recovered from books.google.com.
Murashima, E. (2015). Thailand and Indochina, 1945-1950. Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies (Waseda University). Recovered from dspace.wul.waseda.ac.jp.
Smith, W. (2014). Flag of Laos. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.
Viet Vision Travel. (sf). The History of Laos National Flags Viet Vision Travel. Recovered from vietvisiontravel.com.

FLAG OF LAOS: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025