HIST 3580

Dec. 10 & 13
Cambodia
Background: Cambodia was a very old state dating back to the Middle Ages
 CAM the dominant state in Indochina (far stronger than VIE or THL) in the Early Modern
Period
o Over t, VIE & THL got stronger, however, and began to accumulate fmrly
Cambodian territory
 French colonial admin was set up in CAM very similarly to the way in which it was set up
in VIE
 Social structure: K > Mandarin ruling class (like in VIE)
o Buddhists also v. prominent in CAM, even more so than in VIE
 Prince Sihanouk’s ascendancy to the throne was permitted by the French, who cont’d to
rule CAM @ the t – regarded as a puppet under French & JPNese domination
 1942 – revolt against French rule  quickly suppressed
 Khmer issarak free = Free Cambodian Mvmt
o Developed against the French, partially as an outgrowth of the Viet Minh in VIE
(were just nationalists tho, not communists)
o 1953: Sihanouk demands Cambodian ind’ce from FRA, which FRA granted b/c
they were focussed on preparing for Dien Bien Phu
o CAM & LAO both made a neutral country following the Geneva Conference
 After Cambodian ind’ce is granted, Sihanouk resigns from the monarchy, est. a political
party called the Sangkhum, then calls and runs in an election in 1955
o Result = Sihanouk wins in a landslide [83% of the vote] (v. popular among the
peasantry, who revere the K & are poorly educated)
o Following this victory, Sihanouk consolidates his power, and suppresses
opposition
o A sm. liberal democratic mvmt concentrated in the Cambodian capital Phnom
Penh was severly marginalized by authorities
 Communist political party = Prachaechan
 From 1945, the Cambodian pop. began rapidly growing, 2.5M (1945)  7.2M (1970)
o This caused huge problems
o Although there were no landlords, by the late 1950s, 55% of peasants didn’t
have enough land to support a fam (as lands kept getting divided to
accommodate the rapid pop. growth)  economic inequality began to increase
massively
 Some peasants began working for others  the rich got richer & the poor
got poorer
  Chinese usurers began offering predatory loans to peasants, worsening
the situation further
 Urbanites were getting rich due to ctrl of the grain trade, usury,
and so on
 Among these elites were also a significant # of VIEese and French

Recall, Nixon’s Vietnamization policy was self-contradictory: pulling out troops while expanding
the scope of the war to CAM & Laos
 However, Nixon’s eventual rapprochement w/ CHN helps provide an exit for the Chinese
Sihanouk pursued a policy of neutrality concerning the VIE war until overthrown; suppressed
the Cambodian communists, although was friendly w/ N. VIE (allowed Ho Chi Minh trail to go
through CAM)
 Some Cambodian communists fled to Hanoi in the face of this repression
 Rejected American attempts to ctrl CAM – broke off diplomatic relations w/ USA in 1965
under suspicion that the Americans were trying to overthrow him (5 yrs before the Lon
Nol coup)
 Part of the reason Sihanouk pursued neutrality was b/c he though the USA would lose
the war & N. VIE would eventually reunite VIE under its rule
o This is why he turned a blind eye to the construction of the Ho trail, allowed the
VIEese communists to build bases in E.-ern CAM, allowed the communists in S.
VIE to resupply at the main Cambodian port in the SW.-ern pt of the country
(Sihanoukville)
 Thus, Sihanouk’s “neutrality” was v. much a one-sided neutrality
 Paradoxically, he supported the Vietnamese communists while
suppressing those in CAM
Although an autocrat who suppressed his opposition, Sihanouk built up the health and EDUC
infrastructure in Cambodia
 Financed this by nationalizing foreign trade on the advice of Huo Yuon, who Sihanouk
appointed as finance minister
o Yuon’s radical ties not known by Sihanouk @ this t
o CAM ECON hitherto was not growing b/c elites were consuming foreign luxury
goods rather than reinvesting profits in CAM
o Cambodian elite were furious: S of foreign goods cut off
 II milt also disliked Sihanouk
o Amidst growing RW pressure since 1967, Sihanouk appoints a RW general (Lon
Nol) as PM
  This becomes a problem for peasant morale: Nol aggressively collects
taxes, refuses to compensate peasants displaced by the est. of a Gov’t
Sugar Refinery
Recall, Ho created the Indochn communist party (incl. VIE, LAO & CAM) in 1930, @ which pt the
Cambodian peasantry was largely backward, poorly educated, loyal to the K, and uninterested
in politics, and thus Cambodia was poorly repped in the party
 1951: Indochn communist party separated into three (one of each of ya)
o In CAM, it became the Khmer People’s Party, although the VIEese cotn’d to
dominate the party
In the face of persecution, the Prachaechan is dissolved, with some leading Cambodian
communists fled to Hanoi, while others went to the countryside to wage the uphill battle of
turning the peasantry against Sihanouk
 Cambodian communists that remained in the country were led by Saleth Sar (who went
by the alias Pol Pot)
o Pot was a French-educated intellectual of upper-middle-class bkgrd (as were
several other leading figures in the Communist party)
1968: First signs of communist rebellion on the countryside emerge
 Ban Tam Bang: peasant revolt  harshly suppressed by Nol, with over 10K peasants
 This bolsters the momentum of the communists
o The communists attempt to spread this revolutionary discontent to the rest of
the country
1969: Nixon heavily bombs the E.-ern edge of CAM (doing the same in Laos)
 ~1.2 M ppl perish in these bombings
 This hardship further bolsters the Khmer Rouge’s popularity, esp. given that Sihanouk to
maintain his “neutrality” ignored it

SU, CHN & Hanoi all stress the need to keep Sihanouk in pwr as a neutral in the VIE conflict
despite this revolutionary opportunity, but the Khmer Rouge prioritize domestic revolution
 Here we see a breakdown in Communist Int’lism: CHN & SU and CAM & VIE
o This breakdown was in large part a consequence of Hanoi and the NLF’s cont’d
cooperation with Sihanouk while he was persecuting Cambodian communists
See vid for the Communists’ numerical strength in CAM
By 1969, the revolutionary discontent has spread throughout CAM
  Sihanouk responds to this threat by embarking on a propaganda campaign against N.
VIE painting them as foreign invaders, discont’s N. VIEese sanctuary in CAM
 Americans force Sihanouk to restore diplomatic w/ the USA
MR 18, 1970 – Lon Nol overthrows Sihanouk while he is recovering on vacation in S. FRA from a
nervous breakdown Sihanouk announces his support for the communists in light of this
 Under Lon Nol, ~8K Cambodian mercenary troops are sent to S. VIE to fight the
communists
 Nixon decides to invade Cambodia to prevent takeover of the communists by attacking
their sanctuaries: collaborates with Gen. Tu in order to do this
o ^late AL, early May
o Nixon announces the withdrawal of American ground troops on TV, but at the
same time, makes his decision to invade CAM at the same t
o These efforts delay communist progress for several mos., but they are not found
and apprehended (instead, the commies retreat into the Cambodian interior)
Invasion of CAM helped to revive as declining anti-war mvmt, esp. on college campuses
 Four dead in Ohio: Kent State
o Gov. Rose called in the National Guard  radical student demonstration fired on
(4 dead, 13 wounded)
o Similar thing occurred in MS State College (a blk college)
 A wave of bombings occurred across the USA in protest: 40K bombings in the period
from __-1973
 May 8, 1970: Large anti-war demonstration in downtown NY attacked by construction
workers & stockbrokers – these ppl were less motivated by support for the war, but
rather by their hatred of the unpatriotic anti-war mvmt (attacked the prominence of
gays, blacks, W, hippies, etc.)
o A pro-Nixon demonstration soon followed
o American white working class & L unions were anticommunist and supported
Nixon’s war effort
 HOWEVER,
 Many supporters of Nixon were

Senate cancelled Tonkin Gulf resolution & all funds for further operations in CAM
 Nixon responded w/ an impromptu press conference, accusing the Senatorial efforts of
undermining the war effort
Russian support for N. VIE:
  Soviet crews manned anti-aircraft rocket stns all around the Ho trail
 Stationed outposts in ___ [area] to watch for the approach of American aircrafts 
when they would fly by, Hanoi would be radioed, and N. VIEese units would be
subsequently notified

# of people killed by the Khmer Rouge regime estimated b/w 1 M and 1.8 million

REVIEW (DEC. 15):

19. In the 1950s and early 1960s it was commonly said that Cambodia was a paradise.
How truthful was this view?
 Journalists took this view b/c CAM was @ peace (maintained through Sihanouk’s
neutral policy)
o Situation of the peasants appeared relatively good: no landlords, ppl had
enough to eat (fish & rice ample due to the flooding of the Maycong valley)
o Although autocratic, Sihanouk was seen as a good leader: had built up the
health & EDUC infrastructure
o Birth rate increased dramatically: L and food shortages emerged due to
massive increase in pop.
 Rich & poor peasants became increasingly polarized in this
situation & a widespread hatred emerged b/w urbanites and rural
ppl
 Ppl needed money  exploited by predatory loans by urban
Chinese usurers
20. Explain why Prince Sihanouk attempted to pursue a neutralist policy with respect to
the war in Vietnam? Why did he fail?
 Sihanouk subtly planted his flag: allowed opening of Ho Trail, sanctuary for S.
Vietnamese communists, Russian merchant ships allowed to supply the NLF
o US noticed, began pressuring him to stop this & simultaneously began
plotting against him
 1965 – Sihanouk broke off diplomatic rel’ns
 By 1968, rural insurrection started in Bantambang by Cambodian communists
o Spring 1969 – Nixon began heavily bombing E. CAM; followed later by an
invasion [_yr_]
o Spring of 1970: Sihanouk overthrown