The essays in this volume form a rich collage of the central Mekong basin spanning nearly 1,400 years of history. Gathered from an international group of scholars, each with a unique approach to the region, this research draws upon materials in more than a dozen languages scattered in archives around the world. Topics include basic structural problems in writing Lao history; political geography from the 600s to 800s; separate discussions of Lao, Vietnamese, and Western sources of early Lao history; the Lao-Tay-son alliance in the late eighteenth century; Lao millenarian movements and French colonial rule; and the geographical history of changing territorial boundaries of modern Laos. This collection breaks new ground, and is certain to stimulate new questions, ideas, and research. It is an invaluable new resource in Lao history. Mayoury Ngaosrivathana is the coauthor of Paths to Conflagration. Kennon Breazeale is projects coordinator, East-West Center, Honolulu.

List of Maps
Introduction
Contributors
On the Writing of Lao History: Continuities and Discontinuities
Wen Dan and Its Neighbours: The Central Mekong Valley in the seventh and eighth centuries
Evolution of the Chronicle of Luang Prabang: A Comparison of Sixteen Versions
Early European Impressions of the Lao
The Universal History: An Early European Account of the Lao
The Kingdom of Laos: An Edited Reprint of the 1759 Universal History
The Quy Hop Archive: Vietnamese-Lao Relations Reflected in Border-Post Documents Dating from 1619 to 1880
The Lao - Tay-son Alliance, 1792 and 1793
Millenarian Movements in Laos: 1895-1936: Depictions by Modern Lao Historians
Laos Mapped by Treaty and Decree, 1895-1907
References
Index

Mayoury Ngaosrivathana is the coauthor of Paths to Conflagration. Kennon Breazeale is projects coordinator, East-West Center, Honolulu.