Introduction : leadership and the politics of legitimation in Hmong society ; Hmong alliance and rebellion within the state (1850-1900) -- Hmong messianism : the mandate of heaven. A chronology of two rebellions (1910-1912 and 1918-1921) ; Messianism as a quest for the mandate of heaven -- The secular political tradition : a mandate by proxy. The creation of a supreme Hmong chief (1900-1935) ; The struggle for paramountcy (1921-1935) ; The emergence of an educated Hmong broker (1936-1940) ; The impact of the Japanese occupation on the highlands (1941-1945) ; Hmong competition finds revolutionary voices in the Kingdom of Laos (1946-1960) ; Epilogue : the continuity of the two strands of leadership
