In the second half of the 19th century, France set its sights on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Under the plunder of the French colonists, Cambodia had almost no industry except agricultural product processing and rubber. It became one of the poorest regions in Asia.
On Nov. 9, 1953, Cambodian King Father Norodom Sihanouk announced that Cambodia had achieved true independence, and France's 90-year colonial rule in Cambodia ended.
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