The History of Cambodia
Cambodia is a country in South East Asia. At one time it was the centre of the ancient kingdom of the Khmer, and its capital was Angkor. The capital today is Phnom Penh. In 1953 Cambodia gained independence after nearly 100 years of French rule. In the 1960s the population of Cambodia was more than seven million mainly Buddhists who were ruled by Prince Sihanouk. In 1970 Prince Sihanouk was taken out of power in a military revolution. The leader of the new government who took power was lieutenant-general Lon Nol. When he took power, he also became the president of the 'Khmer Republic'. Prince Sihanouk who had been taken out of power, gathered his followers and joined with a communist guerrilla organisation known as the Khmer Rouge. They attacked Lon Nol's army and from here the civil war started.
Under Prince Sihanouk, Cambodia had also helped during the Vietnamese civil war by helping both sides a little. When US-backed Lon Nol took over, US troops felt free to move into Cambodia to continue the bombing of the Viet Cong situated there. Essentially Cambodia had become a large part of the Vietnam battlefield. In the course of the next few years, American B-52 bombers killed up to 750,000 Cambodians in whilst trying to destroy the North Vietnamese supply lines - clearly devastating to Cambodia.
The Khmer Rouge leader was Pol Pot. He had been brought up in France and he was an great admirer of Maoist communism, and thus he was suspicious of Vietnam's relations with Cambodia. The heavy American bombardment of Cambodia, and Lon Nol's collaboration with America - which made him very unpopular, lost him supporters and drove new recruits to the Khmer Rouge. As well as this, the new followers were attracted by the Chinese backing and...
More Area & Country Studies Essays
essays:
Cambodia: War, Political Turmoil, and the Khmer Rouge as a Significant Source of Change.
... Lon Nol resigned and sought refuge in the US (Kamm, 1998). Shortly thereafter on the 12th of April, the US abandoned its embassy in Phnom Penh. On April 17th, the Khmers Rouges captured Phnom Penh. Darkness Falls: Cambodia Under the Rule ...
The Affect of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia
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The Old Indian Civilization
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Comparison of Mesopotamia and the Indus Civilization
... agricultural revolution. This allowed nomads and cave dwellers to become farmers and herders.(Whitehouse 1977:129).) The Indus civilization is often referred to as Harappan civilization from one of the major sights called Harappa. The Indus civilization existed in South Asia ...
A Mock letter to a cousin in Cambodia in the 1970's, describing the immigrant experience in Australia
... head of the foreign affairs in the Prince Norodom Sihanouk's Khmer Republic government meant that I was being hunted. It was 1975 when our government fell to the Khmer Rouge regime, thanks to the foolish General Lon Nol, who ...
Airport extension in the south east of England. Pros and Cons of building a new airport at Cliffe
... the South East (RPG9). The construction of a ... will not invest in a new airport in Cliffe. (The Independent, Nov.2002) The huge environmental impacts will also slow the ... road connections would also need to be improved plus the general pull factor an airport has on businesses that like to ...
Traditions And Holidays Of Great Britain.
... spoon starts to wobble, it is a feeble makeshift'. Every country has its drinking habits, some of which are general and ... and spooky shadows and played traditional games. Halloween customs today follow many of the ancient traditions, though their significance has long since disappeared ...