1893 Franco-Siamese crisis
| Franco-Siamese crisis (1893) | |||||||||
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 French ships Inconstant and Comète under fire in the Paknam incident, 13 July 1893. The Graphic. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Kingdom of Siam | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Jean de Lanessan |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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3 killed 3 wounded |
16 killed 20 wounded | ||||||||
The Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893, known in Thailand as the Incident of Rattanakosin Era 112 (
This conflict succeeded the Haw wars (1865–1890), in which the Siamese attempted to pacify northern Siam and Tonkin.
Context
The conflict started when
Events were brought to a head by two separate incidents when Siamese governors in
The death of Massie left Auguste Pavie as the new French Consul. In March 1893 Pavie demanded that the Siamese evacuate all military posts on the east side of the Mekong River south of Khammuan, claiming that the land belonged to Vietnam. To back up these demands, the French sent the gunboat
Conflict
When Siam rejected the French demands, Lanessan sent three military columns into the disputed region to assert French control in April 1893. Eight small Siamese garrisons west of the Mekong withdrew upon the arrival of the central column, but the advance of the other columns met with resistance. In the north, the French came under siege on the
Killing of Inspector Grosgurin
Inspector Grosgurin was a French inspector and commander of a Vietnamese militia in
Shortly afterward on 5 June, the Siamese commissioner organized a surprise ambush on the village of Kien Ket, where Grosgurin, confined to his sickbed, had encamped with his militia.[4][5] The commissioner had apparently been instructed by Siamese government representatives to "compel their [French troops] retirement, by fighting, if necessary, to the utmost of their strength".[2][6] The ambush resulted in the razing of the village and the killing of Grosgurin and 17 Vietnamese.[6]
The incident and the death of Grosgurin became known as the "Affair of Kham Muon (Kien Chek)" and was ultimately used as a pretext for strong French intervention.[2][7]
Paknam incident
As a result France demanded reparations and tensions with the British over control of Siam came to a peak.: 209–210
With guns trained on the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the French delivered an ultimatum to the Siamese on 20 July to hand over the territory east of the Mekong and withdraw their garrisons there, to pay an indemnity of three million francs in reparation for the fighting at Paknam, and to punish those responsible for the killings in the disputed territory.[2] When Siam did not immediately comply unconditionally to the ultimatum, the French blockaded the Siamese coast.[2]
In the end the Siamese submitted fully to the French conditions after finding no support from the British.
Franco-Siamese trial
Following the killing of Grosgurin, the Commissioner of the Khammuan District, Phra Yot, was acknowledged by his government to have been the responsible official, although he was initially acquitted of wrongdoing in a trial in March 1894.[6][10] A "Franco-Siamese Mixed Court" was subsequently convened in June 1894.[6] The court determined that Phra Yot had brought extra forces to surround the house in Kien Ket occupied by the ill Grosgurin, outnumbering his small Vietnamese militia; that Grosgurin and those Vietnamese who had not managed to escape had been killed and the house subsequently set on fire on the orders of Phra Yot.[7][11]
In a joint agreement between the Siamese and the French, Phra Yot was condemned to 20 years of penal servitude.
Consequences
The Siamese agreed to cede Laos to France, significantly expanding French Indochina. In 1896, France signed a treaty with Britain defining the border between Laos and British territory in Upper Burma. The Kingdom of Laos became a protectorate, initially placed under the Governor General of Indochina in Hanoi. Pavie, who almost single-handedly brought Laos under French rule, saw to the officialization in Hanoi.
The French and British both had strong interests in controlling parts of Indochina. Twice in the 1890s, they were on the verge of war over two different routes leading to Yunnan.[citation needed] But several difficulties discouraged them from war. The geography of the land made troop movements difficult, making warfare more costly and less effective. Both countries were fighting a difficult conflict within their respective colonies.[citation needed] Malaria was common and deadly. Ultimately, the imagined trade routes never really came into use. In 1904, the French and the British put aside their many differences with the Entente Cordiale, ending this dispute in southeastern Asia.
France continued to occupy Chanthaburi and Trat up until 1907, when Siam ceded to it the provinces of Battambang, Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey.
Gallery
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Siamese army in Laos in 1893 -
Siamese Elephant-mounted artillery in Laos in 1893 -
The French gunboat Comète (1884–1909) -
The gunboat Lutin (1877–1897) was stationed in central Bangkok in March 1893
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See also
- Territorial losses of Thailand, for all territory Thailand lost to other nations.
References
- ^ ISBN 0-521-59746-3.
- ^ ISBN 0700715312. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ ISBN 1-57607-770-5.
- ^ ISBN 0-253-33854-9.
- ^ a b c
de Pouvourville, Albert (1897). "L'affaire de Siam, 1886-1896". Chamuel.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c d e The Peoples and Politics of the Far East (1895) by Sir Henry Norman, p.480-481 [1]
- ^ a b c "The Case of Kieng Chek Kham Muon before the Franco-Siamese Mixed Court. Constitution of the Mixed Court and rules of procedure". Bangkok?. 1894. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ Chandran Jeshurun, The British foreign office and the Siamese-Malay states 1890-97. Cambridge (1971) pp 112, 113.
- ^ Atherley-Jones, Llewellyn Archer; Bellot, Hugh Hale Leigh (1907). Commerce in War by Llewellyn Archer Atherley, p.182. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ "archive" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ "archive" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ "Official history of Tilleke & Gibbons". Tillekeandgibbins.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ ISBN 0-8014-4393-8.
Further reading
- Anglo-French Rivalry in Southeast Asia: Its Historical Geography and Diplomatic Climate by John L. Christian
- Chandran Jeshurun, The Contest for Siam 1889-1902: A Study in Diplomatic Rivalry, Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 1977.
- Tuck, Patrick J. N. (1995). The French Wolf and the Siamese Lamb: The French Threat to Siamese Independence, 1858-1907. White Lotus. ISBN 974-8496-28-7.
- Andrew, C. M.; Kanya-Forstner, A. S. (1971). "The French 'Colonial Party': Its Composition, Aims and Influence, 1885-1914". The Historical Journal. 14 (1): 99–128. S2CID 159549039.
- Nana, Krairoek (2010). Samutphap Hetkan Roso Roi Sip Song สมุดภาพเหตุการณ์ ร.ศ. ๑๑๒ [1893 Incident Photobook] (PDF) (in Thai). Phra Chunla Chom Klao Fortress Lovers Club. ISBN 9789742252472.
- Hennlichova, Marcela (2023). "Jules Develle and the Paknam Incident of 1893". Archiv Orientální. 91 (1): 113–141. S2CID 259670554.
External links
- onwar.com
- mongabay.com
- san.beck.org
- Legacy of the Paknam clash Archived 2009-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
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