The House of Champassak or the Na Champassak family (; , ) was an important Lao royal house, descendants of Chao Yuttithammathon (Kham Souk), the 11th King of the

Kingdom of Champassak The Kingdom of Champasak (Lao: ຈຳປາສັກ ɕàmpàːsák or Bassac, (1713–1904) was a Lao people, Lao Mueang, kingdom that emerged under King Nokasad, a grandson of King Sourigna Vongsa, the last king of Lan Xang. Bassac and ...

whose prominent members include Prince

Boun Oum Prince Boun Oum (also Prince Boun Oum Na Champassak; ; ; ; 2 December 1911 – 17 March 1980) was the son of King Ratsadanay, and was the hereditary prince of Champassak and also Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos from March 1949 to Febr ...

Na Champassak and Prince

Sisouk na Champassak Prince Sisouk na Champassak (; 28 March 1928 in Pakse, Champassak, Laos – 10 May 1985 in Santa Ana, California, United States) was the eldest son of Chao Bounsouane na Champassak, who was in turn the eldest son of the last King of Champassa ...

. It was the ruling house of the former Kingdom of Champassak, with territories reaching on both banks of the Mekong river. Phra Phuttha Butsayarat Chakkraphat Phimon Manimai

Phra Phuttha Butsayarat Chakkraphat Phimon Manimai

History

To prevent the attempts of Setthathirath II, nephew of King Suliyavongsa, to unify the kingdom of

Lan Xang Lan Xang () or Lancang was a Lao people, Lao kingdom that held the area of present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The kingdom is the basis for Laos's nat ...

to include Vientiane and Loungprabang, the King of Loungprabang requested aid from

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The King of Siam intervened, granting Loungprabang independence from Lan Xang. Following in the footsteps of his cousin the King of Loungprabang, the Prince Nokasat Song, refused to acknowledge the rule of Setthathirath II. A grandson of King Suliyavongsa, the prince had left Vientiane for Southern Laos upon the return of Setthathirath II. He asked the King of Siam to recognize Champassak's independence from Lanxang. Lan Xang was thus split yet even further into a total of three small kingdoms. During the rule of King Anouvong of the Kingdom of Vientiane, Anouvong placed his son Prince

Nyô '' Chao Raja Putra Sadet Chaofa Jaya'' Nyô, born in Vientiane in the early nineteenth century and died in 1828, was crown prince of the Kingdom of Vientiane and Uparaja (Vice-king) of the Kingdom of Champasak. In Vietnamese records, he was called ...

on the throne of Champassak. During King Anouvong's rebellion against Siam, the former royals of Champassak started a rebellion against Prince Nyô while he was fighting against Siamese forces in Issan. Returning to Champassak, Prince Nyô saw a rebellion taking place and barely escaped out of the city. This escape was cut short after the former rulers tracked down Prince Nyô and handed him over to the Siamese. The King of Siam returned the former royal family to rule over Champassak. The name Champassak was given by

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

, the King of

, to descendants of Chao Yuttithammathon (Kham Souk), the 11th king of the

. They took their name from the city of Champassak, prefixed by the

nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is a type of onomastic particle used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it ...

'' na'' signifying ''of'' a former kingdom or

tributary state A tributary state is a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This token often ...

. They are descended from the rulers of the

and are also members of the

Khun Lo Khun Lo, legendary founder of the city of Luang Prabang (then known as Muang Sua during his reign), was the eldest of the seven sons of the Khun Borom, and is credited as being the first of the prehistoric Lao monarchs. The royal families of L ...

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

, which was established by

. Originally, it was transliterated in English as ''Na Champasakdi''. During most of the 19th century the Kingdom of Champassak was a tributary of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

but was not a part of Siam proper.

Power and Wealth

The Champassaks were one of the most important and wealthy families in Laos. Along with other leading families of Southern Laos and Chinese businessmen working in the opium trades, they dominated political and economic life in Southern Laos. At the time they were the national symbol and rallying point of the Laotian right centered around Prince Boun Oum na Champassak.

Notable members

*King Ratsadanay, last King of Champassak. Died in June 1946, in the

Bassac River The Bassac River (; Tonlé Bassac) or Hậu River ( 瀧後 or 後江) is a distributary of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong River. The river starts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows southerly, crossing the border into Vietnam near Châu Đốc. Th ...

. *Chao

na Champassak,

Prime Minister of Laos The prime minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, formerly the chairman of the Council of Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the head of government of Laos. The prime minister is accountable to the president, the ...

. Died in 1981, in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. *Prince

, Former Finance and Defence Minister, Secretary General of the Royal Government of Laos. Author of Storm over Laos. Died in 1985, in Santa Ana, California, USA.

References

{{authority control Asian royal families 18th century in Laos Thai families 19th century in Laos