-
switched
With the death of King Norodom in 1904, the dynasties switched. the heir apparent, a Norodom, was replaced instead with a Sisowath. -
Crowned
Prince Norodom sihanouk was crowned king on the 25th of April 1941 by the french who had ruled over Cambodia for almost 80 years. -
Crowned P2
the French saw in the young 19 year old king a person that could manipulate to fit their colonial rule. -
Asking
King Sihanouk decided to go to France and ask the French President to grant complete independence to Cambodia. -
Asking P2
The french then turned a deaf ear to King Sihanouk's demand and accused him of being too alarmist. Then the French were threatening to replace the King if he kept being uncooperative. -
Self imposed
to be able to put the French in a corner. The king declared that he would take a self imposed exile in Thailand. And would not return unless the french declared independence on Cambodia. -
Not welcome
the thai Government did not cooperate with the King and would not allow his stay in Bangkok. -
Finally
Finally the French declared that they were ready to discuss the full independence status of Cambodia. The king insisted on his own terms demanding total control of Cambodia in four main areas National defense, police, judiciary, finance. -
independence
Cambodia's current king Norodom Sihanouk. was 18 in 1945 the Japanese briefly ousted the french. which encouraged him to tirelessly campaign. And in 1953 he was successful and gained independence for Cambodia. -
Finally P2
The french agreed to the demands and king Sihanouk returned to Phnom penh with great triumph. the Khmer independence day was proclaimed on November 9, 1953 -
head of state
King Sihanouk abdicated the throne to his father and took the government himself as head of state. Through the 1950's and the 60's Cambodia was self sufficient and prospered in many areas. -
overthrown
in 1970 when war came to Cambodia. Prince Sihanouk was overthrown by General Lon nol. Then on April 17 1975 Lon nols weekend government was overthrown themselves by Khmer Rouge. -
Overthrown P2
they immediately emptied the capital of its residents and brought prince Sihanouk back. only to hold him under house arrest. -
"reign of terror"
The next coming four years "reign of terror" under Pol Pots democratic kampuchea resulted in the deaths of 1.7 million people. -
republic
in 1979 the khmer rouge were overthrown and the Vietnamese-backed people's republic of kampuchea was established. -
renamed
in 1989 the Vietnamese withdrew the last of their troops. Then the government renamed the country to Cambodia. -
UNTAC
The SOC ruled independently until the paris peace agreement in 1991. which created the united nations transitional authority (UNTAC). -
Elections
Supported by 22,000 UN troops, UNTAC in may 1993 supervised the general elections in Cambodia. -
Constitution
A constitution was adopted in 1993. The same year king Norodom Sihanouk returned to the throne. His majesty still remains a sign of national unity to his people. -
2nd elections
A second general election was held in 1998. Cambodia today enjoys their parliament system