After Angkor, Cambodia remained an important and powerful state up until the eighteenth century. From the thirteenth century on, however, it had to defend itself against two nations that gradually grew more and more powerfully, Thailand in the west and Vietnam in the east. By the nineteenth century, these two powers competed with each other to control Cambodia. To make matters worse, problems within the Cambodian royal family caused a number of civil conflicts with opposite sides going to Thailand and Vietnam for protection.
During the eighteenth century, Cambodia became involved with another nation, France. When King Norodom asked the French for protection in 1863, it was not because he preferred submission to France rather than to Thailand or Vietnam, but because he regarded France as a less dangerous alternative, being so far away. At the same time, he hoped France could be used as a screen to protect his country from those that threatened it.
Thus for ninety years the Cambodian people suffered under French protection. In order to free their country, many famous Cambodian heroes fought for independence. Eventually, on November 9th, 1953, King Norodom’s great-grandson, King Norodom Sihanouk, achieved independence with peace. Since then Cambodia has been an independent nation.
At the centre of the city, at the intersection of Norodom Boulevard and Sihanouk Boulevard, stands the Independence Monument (Vimean Ekareach) which was built as a national symbol when Cambodia gained its freedom from foreign rule in 1953. It was designed by the renowned architect, Vann Nolyvann and officially inaugurated in 1958.
The monument now also serves as a monument to Cambodia’s war dead. It represents Cambodia’s cultural achievements in the past as well as the nation’s hopes for the future. Also, it is the site of celebration and services on holidays such as Independence Day and Constitution Day.
