Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun; Vietnamese: Quan co den) was a splinter remnant of a bandit group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background, who crossed the border from Guangxi province of China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865.<br/><br/>

They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
The Phuan people (พวน), also known as Tai Phuan, Thai Puan (Thai: ไทพวน) or Lao Phuan, are a Theravada Buddhist Tai people spread out in small pockets over most of the northeastern Isan region with other groups scattered in central Thailand and Laos (Xieng Khouang Province).
In 1875, Siamese (Thai) forces crossed the Mekong River at Nong Khai, northeastern Thailand, in the first miltary expedition of what would become known as the 'Haw Wars'. The expedition's goal was to capture the Haw base at Thung Chiang Kham in Laos.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/>

At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> 

Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/>

Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri  signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
In 1875, Siamese (Thai) forces crossed the Mekong River at Nong Khai, northeastern Thailand, in the first miltary expedition of what would become known as the 'Haw Wars'. The expedition's goal was to capture the Haw base at Thung Chiang Kham in Laos.
In 1875, Siamese (Thai) forces crossed the Mekong River at Nong Khai, northeastern Thailand, in the first miltary expedition of what would become known as the 'Haw Wars'. The expedition's goal was to capture the Haw base at Thung Chiang Kham in Laos.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun; Vietnamese: Quan co den) was a splinter remnant of a bandit group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background, who crossed the border from Guangxi province of China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun) was a remnant of a bandit group that may have been former Taiping rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province in China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags. <br/><br/>

Pha That Luang, the 'Great Sacred Stupa' of Vientiane, is the most important religious edifice in Laos. It also has great spiritual significance for the Lao people, having been considered the symbol of Lao independence and sovereignty since the time of Lan Xang, the Kingdom of the Million Elephants, in the mid-sixteenth century.<br/><br/>

According to legend, That Luang was first established in the year 236 of the Buddhist Era, corresponding to 307 BC, when five Lao monks who had been studying in India, returned home bearing a breastbone of the Buddha. The five pilgrims persuaded Phaya Chanthaburi Pasithisak, then Lord of Vientiane, to build a stupa over the sacred relic 'for those who wished to pray and worship'.<br/><br/>

The second, historic establishment of Pha That Luang was undertaken by King Setthathirat the Great, who moved the Lao capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in the mid-sixteenth century. Construction of the great stupa began in 1566.
Oun Kham (1811 or 1816 - December 15, 1895) was King of Luang Prabang from 1872 to 1887 and a second time between 1889 and 1895. On 7 June, 1887 the Lao royal capital was seized and sacked; the elderly ruler barely escaped with his life. Between his two ruling periods he was exiled to Bangkok in Thailand where he gave assistance to Auguste Pavie ( the first French vice-consul in Luang Prabang in 1885). The last two years of his reign ended with the establishment of a French protectorate over Laos.
During the late 19th century, all the territory stretching from Dien Bien Phu in the south to the Chinese frontier in the north formed an autonomous region called Sipsongchutai, or ‘Twelve Tai Principalities’. It was ruled over by a hereditary White Tai prince from his capital at Lai Chau and paid tribute, at one time or another, to Siam, Vietnam or China, and sometimes to all three.<br/><br/>

At this time the White Tai chieftain was Kham Sing, known to the Vietnamese as Deo Van Seng. He ruled over Sipsongchutai from his capital at Lai Chau, but was old and tired, so real power had already passed to his eldest son, the fiercely independent Kham Hum, known to the Vietnamese (and to the recently arrived French) as Deo Van Tri.<br/><br/> 

Neither Deo Van Seng nor Deo Van Tri wanted to submit completely either to Bangkok or to Hanoi, preferring to pursue the delicate balancing act between the two that had for long years allowed continuing autonomy. But times were changing fast, maps being drawn and frontiers delimited as modern nation states came into being in mainland Southeast Asia.<br/><br/>

Accordingly in 1889 Deo Van Tri  signed a treaty with France making Sipsongchutai a semi-autonomous region within the French Protectorate of Tonkin – and therefore, ultimately, a part of Vietnam.
Oun Kham (1811 or 1816 - December 15, 1895) was King of Luang Prabang from 1872 to 1887 and a second time between 1889 and 1895. On 7 June, 1887 the Lao royal capital was seized and sacked; the elderly ruler barely escaped with his life. Between his two ruling periods he was exiled to Bangkok in Thailand where he gave assistance to Auguste Pavie ( the first French vice-consul in Luang Prabang in 1885). The last two years of his reign ended with the establishment of a French protectorate over Laos.