Cambodia's early history, was significantly influenced
by India and China, particularly by the Funan Kingdom for the first
six centuries AD, followed by the Khmers from Chenla state (chenla
of land and chenla of water). This led to the foundation of the
Khmer Empire, which survived until Thai forces of the Ayuthaya Kingdom
sacked Angkor in 1431. Several centuries of conflict followed, mostly
with Thailand, and also with the Spanish and Portuguese. In 1863,
at its own request, it became a French Protectorate. In 1941, the
French placed Prince Sihanouk on the throne, believing he would
play a submissive role. To their surprise, Sihanouk dissolved the
national parliament in January 1953, declared martial law, and campaigned
for independence, which was proclaimed on 9 November 1953. The country
was recognised as the Kingdom of Cambodia by the Geneva Conference
of May 1954. 
During the Vietnam conflict, Sihanouk declared neutrality, but foreseeing
that a communist victory was inevitable, he broke diplomatic relations
with Washington, gave sanctuary to North Vietnamese Communist fighters,
and allowed China to ship arms through the country. When the Vietnam
War escalated in 1969, the US began bombing suspected Viet Cong
base camps in Cambodia.
Meanwhile, the Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement under
Pol Pot was gaining in strength, and taking control over large parts
of the countryside. In March 1970, with strong US support, General
Lon Nol deposed Sihanouk in a coup d'état, and established the Khmer
Republic. In support of Lon Nol's ensuing anti Communist struggle,
US B-52's again bombed the Cambodian countryside, causing thousands
of civilian casualties. The US effort proved fruitless. Sihanouk
had formed a government in exile in Beijing, and when the powerful
Khmer Rouge rebels marched into Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975 and
overthrew the Lon Nol government, Sihanouk was restored as head
of state of Democratic Kampuchea.  Under
Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge set up a collectively organized economy
dominated by terror, and introduced a catastrophic system of social
engineering designed to "purify" the Khmer race. This involved evacuating
entire cities to a huge network of agrarian slave labour camps,
abolishing banking, finance and currency, sealing borders, outlawing
all religions, and eliminating private property to a degree where
even requisites of personal hygiene were made communal.
The "purification" also required the extermination
of all the educated classes, along with any people perceived to
oppose the new regime. As a result, an estimated 1.7 million people,
possibly a lot more, were murdered or died of hunger, disease, or
torture. After several years of border intrusions by the Khmer Rouge,
Vietnam invaded Cambodia on December 25, 1978, aiming to settle
the conflict once and for all. On January 7, 1979, Vietnamese armed
forces entered the Cambodian capital, ending the Khmer Rouge's Democratic
Kampuchea, and replacing it with the new People's Republic of Kampuchea
under Heng Samrin. The Vietnamese withdrew in 1989, leaving the
State of Cambodia government of Prime Minister Hun Sen to face a
rebel coalition (including the Khmer Rouge) supported by China and
Thailand. In 1991 all factions agreed to a cease-fire, and to UN-supervised
elections. Sihanouk denounced the Khmer Rouge, aligned himself with
Hun Sen, and became once again head of state.
The Khmer Rouge withdrew from the peace process and
resumed a guerilla war. Further UN-sponsored elections in 1993 led
to a new constitution, which re-established the monarchy, with Sihanouk
again taking the throne of the Kingdom of Cambodia. During 1993/94
a government sponsored amnesty resulted in a wave of defections
from the Khmer Rouge.
A fragile "co-premier" coalition government of the
National United Front headed by Sihanouk's son Prince Ranariddh,
and Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party finally led to open conflict
in July 1997, when Hun Sen alleged that Ranarridh was merging Khmer
Rouge defectors into his ranks. After a weekend of fighting in Phnom
Penh, Hun Sen emerged as the sole leader Hun Sen has become the
Prime Minister since the 1998 elections. Pol Pot was confirmed dead
in April 1998 which marked the end of the Khmer Rouge's power.
Now, after decades of trauma, the country is beginning
a long healing process and, as ASEAN's 10th member, the country
can look forward to a promising and stable future.
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