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Cambodia has a very long and fascinating history.
No written hisitory gives a complete account of where they came from and what
they did. According to ancient legends, a Naga prince and princess were teh
ancient ancestors of the Khmer kingdom which was originally a Hindu settlement.
By the 600's AD, the Khmer had begun to establish a vast empire throughout
Southeast Asia. It was during the years of the empire that the famous temples
such as Angkor Wat were built. As the empire began to deteriorate, the Khmer
people struggled with conflict with neighboring peoples like the Vietnamese.
Eventually, Cambodia, along with the rest of the people in the region became a
colony of France and part of French Indochina.. |
| Cambodia gained independence from France on
November 9, 1953. The capital city was established in Phnom Penh, and Cambodia
re-established their ancient monarchy. Governing a nation has not been easy,
and the country has faced many changes in government and many difficult times.
The most dramatic of these times has been during the 1970's when the country
was controlled by a group of radical Communist guerillas called the Khmer
Rouge. This was an extremely violent, bloody time in history, and many innocent
Cambodians lost their lives. Cambodia has been restored to a Constitutional
monarchy , but Communism still influences the government in many ways. |
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