ABSTRACT
B Y The Middle of the nineteenth century Laos had ceased to exist as a single political entity. The destruction of the kingdom of Vientiane in 1828 had created a division between the southern principalities and the north. This the Siamese had exploited to the full, gradually extending their control over the whole of the country. From Champasak to the Sipsong Chau Tai, former Laotian kingdoms and principalities had become departments, or provinces, that were ruled directly from Bangkok.
