Anti-Colonial and Civil Conflict in Cambodia: From the First World War to the First Indochina War

In 1915–1916 and 1925, Cambodia experienced outbreaks of anti-French peasant protest, in turn peaceful and violent. Colonial taxes remained high, and the impact of the Second World War brought new pressures and new forms of resistance. Vichy French rule, Thailand’s seizure of Cambodia’s northwest provinces, and Japanese military occupation saw the birth and growth of the Khmer Issarak (“Independent Khmer”) movement. After Japan’s surrender, the returning French proved unable to suppress this movement; their attempts drove some of its members into alliance with the neighbouring communist-led Việt Minh.