ABSTRACT
The history and development of Laos as a nation has been heavily influenced by its stronger neighbors. French colonial policy, with British acquiescence, set Laos as a buffer between Siam and its more profitable colony in Vietnam; after World War II, Laos was inextricably bound up in the great-powers struggle for the future of Indochina. French administration of its colony in Laos was informed by the low economic importance attached to this relatively isolated region with difficult transportation routes and few easily exploitable natural resources. Across the Mekong, an underground group of Lao nationalists, the Lao Seri, were organized and supported by the Free Thai movement and the United States. The greatest impact was undoubtedly during the 1960-1975 period, when great-power support intensified and broadened the conflict. The value of the kip plummeted, adding to the government's difficulties in buying food from Thailand, or even rice from Lao farmers.
