The Vietnamese Migrant Community in Laos: Social Stratification and Diversity (1893–1945)

Abstract

Abstract As Vietnam and Laos share extensive and contiguous borders, there is a long history of Vietnamese migrations into Laos. From 1893 to 1945, the French colonial administration of Indochina brought many Vietnamese people to Laos, who later formed a large Vietnamese community there. Given Laos's small population, the French colonial government had to rely on the Vietnamese labor force to build a new colonial regime and infrastructure and exploit its natural resources. Most of these immigrants came from the more populated areas in Tonkin and Annam. They worked in various roles such as civil servants, soldiers, workers, or coolies depending on the needs of the French colonial government and business. While qualified civil servants, including interpreters, secretaries, teachers, nurses, and soldiers, earned better salaries and welfare, free workers and coolies were subject to low social status and hard working conditions. This article describes how the colonial system of wages and occupations contributed to social stratification and diversity within the Vietnamese migrant community and shaped migrants’ diverse responses to French colonial rule.