The Kingdom of Cambodia is located in Southeast Asia. It has been formerly called Kampuchea, with its borders touching several countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, as well as the Gulf of Thailand. The total land territory of this country is almost 70,000 square miles or over 180,000 square kilometers. The capital city of Cambodia is Phnom Penh.

As for the history of Cambodia, there have actually been minimal records found. However, some archaeologists have been able to find some evidence which proved life existed there before 1000 BC. Archaeologists discovered that back then, Cambodians ate a diet which primarily consisted of rice and of fish. The dwellings of ancient inhabitants have been built on stilts, which is a bit similar to the houses of native Cambodians today.

There has been a lot of information gathered about the modern history of Cambodia, including the details of its virtual colonization back in 1884. At the start of this French virtual colonization, Cambodians were able to enter a peaceful period which was sharply contrasting to the rivalries and the wars that the country had gone through in previous years. Unfortunately, however, this peace did not last and in 1941, the then 19-year-old Prince Norodom Sihanouk took over the Cambodian throne. The years after his installation transformed the relatively peaceful into that was full of strife and struggle.

In 1953, Cambodia was able to gain independence from France, but its troubles did not end there. Almost two decades later, in 1969, the eastern part of country was bombed by the US at the suspected communist camps. Many civilians were injured and killed in the bombings. Cambodia entered the US/Vietnam conflict as a very unwilling participant. A year later, Prince Sihanouk was overthrown and was replaced by General Lon Noi. Although the newly installed Noi did make some attempts for Cambodia to grow closer to the US, there was some trouble as the ousted Sihanouk started to join forces with the ruling Cambodian party, the Khmer Rouge communists.

The number of Khmer Rouge communists dramatically increased, forming an army made up of thousands. They fought with the invading US and South Vietnamese troops. Although the Americans and the South Vietnamese did eventually force the Khmer Rouge group toward the center of Cambodia, the communists were successful in killing around 2 million people. Fortunately, in 1978, the Khmer Rouge was forced out of the country by a Vietnamese invasion, but the group continued to pursue a guerrilla war fighting the Vietnamese well into the 1980s.

In 1993, an election was held that was administered by the UN which resulted to Sihanouk’s reinstatement. The Khmer Rouge communist group continued its attempts to create trouble until they were outlawed in 1994. A couple of years later, in 1998, Hun Sen was instated as the prime minister and he was considered to be the stabilizing force. Today, the country of Cambodia is considered to be a constitutional monarchy which is combined with a multi-party democracy. As a result, the country has a king as well as a prime minister.

More can be discovered about Cambodia if you search online. As we all know, the internet can provide all the information that we could ever need. Today, you can even do your online shopping for just about anything including low priced sunglasses as well as Ray Ban sunglasses.