Modern Cambodian History Quiz | Asian

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Following the death of King Norodom in 1904, which Cambodian King succeeded to the throne?

Answer: Sisowath

Following Norodom's invitation for the French to occupy Cambodia, acquiescence became the rule for the Cambodian kings. After Sisowath took power in 1904, he further helped strengthen French rule in Cambodia and benefited himself by strengthening the now symbolic position of the King. Sisowath ruled from 1904 to 1927 when he was succeeded by his son Monivong.

The years from 1904 until the death of Monivong in 1941 are referred to generally as 'the years of colonial calm'.

2. The Japanese occupied Cambodia in 1941 (along with the rest of French Indochina) and gave Cambodia independence in 1945. Who became king in that year?

Answer: Norodom Sihanouk

Sihanouk was merely a 19 year old prince in 1945, and the grandson of Monivong.

3. The new monarchy in 1945 did not last long, as a successful coup occurred later in the year. Who was the leader of this coup?

Answer: Son Ngoc Thanh

Thanh's stint as prime minister also did not last long as the French soon returned to power in Cambodia, ousting Thanh and exiling him back to France. Followers of Thanh formed the non-Communist 'Khmer Issarak' (Free Khmer) to fight against French occupation, and Thanh was able to return to Cambodia in 1952 to resume his political career.

4. Cambodia officially won its independence from the French in 1953, and elections were held in 1955 to form the National Assembly. One party won all of the seats in this National Assembly. What was it called?

Answer: Sangkum Reastr Niyum

The Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People's Socialist Community) was neither socialist nor run by the people. King Sihanouk essentially ran the party and the country as he saw fit, modernizing where necessary in order to help uplift the people whom he called his children.

5. Cambodia was a stable country during the late 1950s, but was destabilized in part by U.S. interference.

Answer: True

Sihanouk's regime was able to gain a pretty good hold on the country but, unfortunately, his nominally socialist regime was unacceptable to the USA and its allies in Thailand and South Vietnam. The Khmer Issarak was revitalized by the Thais and the USA and a failed military coup was attempted in 1959. In the early 1960s several attempts were made to assassinate Sihanouk while the South Vietnamese made various incursions into Cambodian borders in further attempts to destabilize the Sihanouk regime.

Sihanouk had no other recourse but to seek assistance from the Vietnamese communists and the Chinese, leading Cambodia on its inevitable path of extreme leftism. Sadly, it is possible that the millions of deaths that occurred during the horrible reign of the Khmer Rouge would never have happened had it not been for these events in the 1950s and 60s.

6. The Cambodian Communist party began to develop strength in the mid-1960s, in the midst of further destabilization in Indochina. What was this party called?

Answer: Khmer Rouge

'Khmer' refers to the great Khmer empire of Cambodia's past, and rouge of course means 'red' in French, symbolizing Communism.

7. Pol Pot became leader of the Cambodian communists in 1963. What was his real name?

Answer: Saloth Sar

Saloth Sar became known as Pol Pot, his nom de guerre, in 1976.

8. In 1970, a bloodless coup succeeded in at-last officially removing the Cambodian king from power. Which pro-U.S. fellow took control at this point?

Answer: Lon Nol

Lon Nol was previously the defense minister in Sihanouk's government, but was supported in this power grab by the United States. Sihanouk was away in France seeking medical treatment at the time, and later formed a government in exile in Beijing.

9. Bombing campaigns by the USA succeeded in destabilizing the new, pro-U.S. regime while causing thousands and thousands of deaths. Terrible as these bombings were, what followed was even worse. In 1975, the communists officially took power in Cambodia, renaming the country 'Kampuchia', and began a campaign to purge all enemies from the country. It is estimated that from 1975 to 1979 how many deaths occurred during these campaigns?

Answer: 2,000,000

Approximately 2 million people were killed, some only because they wore eyeglasses, during the purges of the Khmer Rouge. The 2 million deaths reduced Cambodia's population by 1/3 in just 4 years making it one of the worst genocides in history.

10. The reign of the murderous communists in Cambodia was ended by the U.S. and U.N. forces.

Answer: False

Actually, the Khmer Rouge regime, supported by the Chinese, was ended in early 1979 by the Communist Vietnamese. The Vietnamese attacked and occupied Cambodia in response to Cambodian incursions on the Vietnamese border. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese came too late to prevent the deaths of countless Cambodians, but it is possible that they saved the lives of many others.

Heng Samrin was installed as the new puppet leader of Cambodia, and his right hand man was Hun Sen, who later became the prime minister of a Cambodia finally free of communism. Hopefully, a new and relatively free Cambodia will never see the horrors of war and genocide again.

Source: Author thejazzkickazz

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Modern Cambodian History Trivia Quiz

Modern Cambodian history, tumultuous and tragic as it may be, provides some fascinating reading for the history buff. Here are some important facts and figures about modern Cambodia to accompany my early Cambodian history quiz...enjoy!

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