2020 IB Extended Essays

4

Table 1: Shows timeline of events from the 18 th to the 20 th century

Year 1752 1772 1779 1809 1813

Event

Conflict between Vietnam and Thailand spilled onto Cambodian soil

Thailand invades and destroys Phnom Penh

Vietnam invades Cambodia and Cambodian king, Ang Eng turns to Thailand for protection King Chan of Cambodia fearful of Thai intentions turns to Vietnam for protection Vietnamese people begin settling in Cambodia, cause unrest as they believe Cambodians were Barbarians. A Cambodian revolt against Vietnam rule takes place however was unsuccessful in overthrowing Vietnam rule King Norodom of Cambodia faced with another rebellion was forced to accept an offer of protection from the French The French took control of the royal powers of tax collection, rule by decree, and appointment of royal officials and crown princes Some economic development occurs under the French; however Cambodians are forced to pay heavy taxes. French takes back Cambodia, however, now allows for Cambodians to have political parties and a constitution Cambodia officially gains independence from France. King Sihanouk dismisses the government and takes personal control of the country, re-establishing the Monarchy Japanese troops occupy Cambodia

1820

1863

1897

1898-1940

1941 1945

1953

As seen in table 1 Cambodia was able to gain independence, however, Cambodia was far

from ready for independence, meaning that when independence was gained, they were lost

as to how to govern their state 5 . There was only one high school in the state and no

universities, meaning that having an education was rare. Another flaw in the now

independent state was the judiciary system. The French put no sophisticated judicial system

in place, therefore there were almost no local lawyers and judges and even those had

nowhere near the adequate legal training 6 . Cambodia had little infrastructure that would

5 Khamboly, D 2019, Translated 'a HISTORY of DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA (1975-1979)', Documentation Center of Cambodia, viewed 10 April 2020, < http://dccam.org/translations/a-history-of-democratic-kampuchea-1975-1979 > 6 Chandler, D 1983, A History of Cambodia, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado