The Historiography of the Defeat of the Haw in Thai and Lao Documents, 1868-1888

Abstract

This article aims to study the historiography of the defeat of the Haw in Thai and Lao documents (1868-1888). The method of historical research employed in this study was an analysis of Thai and Lao documents, including public notices, archives, chronicles and books. The study indicates that the Haw invasion of Lao territory, which was under the influence of Thailand, resulted in various kinds of Thai and Laos writings. The Thai documents during the defeat of the Haw (1868-1888) were mainly military notifications, royal guidance, and affidavits. These documents were used as primary sources. Other kinds of writings were travel diaries and nirat poems. All of these works influenced later writings and also reflected the view of those who went to fight the Haw, protect their territory and show the rightful authority over Lao territory. For the writings of Lao documents at the same period, they were chronicles related to the events of the Haw invaders. They were produced to claim the right to be a vassal state of the Kingdom of Thailand. Meanwhile, these writings reflected the hardships that Lao people endured through the invasion and disturbance by the Haw. They also influenced later writings created after the invasion.