Krabi–krabong was developed by the ancient Thai warriors for fighting on the battlefield.It was likely used in conjunction with muay boran but whether the two arts were developed together or independently is uncertain. Early warfare in Indochina was mostly between rival kingdoms and were fought en masse. Individual fighters were armoured and carried rhino hide shields. The Burmese invasion of 1767 resulted in the loss of many historical records and cultural documents. However, the Thai fighting arts were traditionally passed down orally and did not rely on written documents for their preservation. Simon de la Loubère, the French diplomat from the court of Louis XIV, observed the existence of muay Thai and Krabi–krabong in his famous account "Du Royaume de Siam" (1689) while visiting the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1688.