The Lao and the Siamese are descendants of the same Ai-Lao race, but they have different characters and destinies, and they established their own kingdoms. The invasion of ViengChan by Siam in 1779 left Lao LanXang in danger of total collapse. The twelve-year-old prince Chao Anouvong, the feudal ruling class, the court nobility and many of the people were forcefully taken to Siam, resulting in the total political extinction of a society that had governed LanXang for over 1,000 years. Chao Anouvong grew up in Bangkok and was regarded by the Siamese as a mere provincial ruler. He returned to ViengChan at the age of twenty-eight and became king, with nothing to support him but his own talents and his ambition to restore LanXang.