Anouvong

From the time of the first Burmese–Siamese War (1548–49), the region had been afflicted by Burmese and Thai imposition of corvée labor, slave raids and forced migration of entire communities to replenish their manpower. This brought about frequent shifting of alliances as both rulers and peoples sought their best advantage. Perforce, Anu had recognized the suzerainty of the Siamese.

However, the British decisive victory in the first Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) ended with Tenasserim, the main route for Burmese invasion, under British control. Furthermore, the 1826 Burney Treaty (formal name, Treaty of Amity and Commerce (Siam–UK) made Siam appear to be weak, so he took it as an opportunity to rebel against Siam in an attempt to regain complete independence. He initially captured the stronghold of Korat by a ruse, but Lady Mo, the wife of the deputy governor, is credited with harassing the invading force as it withdrew. After approaching as near to Bangkok as Saraburi, Anouvong's army retreated. It was pursued and defeated in three days of fighting near Vientiane by General Sing Singhaseni (สิงห์ สิงหเสนี, at the time styled Phraya Rajsupawadi.) In retaliation for Anouvong's disloyalty, Thai King Rama III ordered his troops to sack Anouvong's capital of Vientiane. Anouvong soon returned with Vietnamese help but was again defeated and this time captured. The now furious Thai monarch ordered Vientiane completely destroyed and only the temple at Wat Si Saket was spared. Anouvong himself was brought to Bangkok as a prisoner in to face the man against whom he had rebelled. Rama III ordered him kept in an iron cage, where the Lao ruler remained until his death the following year at the age of 61.

Legacy

Anouvong had ordered the building of Wat Si Saket in Vientiane. An elephant howdah that belonged to him is now on display in the Lao National Museum in Vientiane.

In 2010, to coincide with the 450th Anniversary celebrations of Vientiane, the Lao government created the Chao Anouvong Park, complete with a large bronze statue of the revered King.

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