Franco-Siamese War of 1893
Encyclopedia
The Franco-Siamese War of 1893 was a conflict between the French Third Republic
and the Kingdom of Siam. Auguste Pavie
, French vice consul in Luang Prabang
in 1886, was the chief agent in furthering French interests in Laos
. His intrigues, which took advantage of Siamese weakness in the region and periodic invasions by Vietnam
ese rebels from Tonkin
, increased tensions between Bangkok
and Paris
. Following the conflict, the Siamese agreed to cede Laos
to France, an act that led to the significant expansion of French Indochina
.
Jean de Lanessan sent Auguste Pavie as consul to Bangkok to bring Laos under French rule. The government in Bangkok, mistakenly believing that they would be supported by the British government, refused to concede territory east of the Mekong
and instead reinforced their military and administrative presence.
Events were brought to a head by two separate incidents when Siamese governors in Khammuan and Nongkhai expelled three French merchants from the middle Mekong in September 1892, two of them, Champenois and Esquilot, on suspicion of opium smuggling. Shortly afterwards, the French consul in Luang Prabang
, Massie, feverish and discouraged, committed suicide on his way back to Saigon. Back in France, these incidents were used by the Colonial Party (Parti Colonial) to stir up nationalistic anti-Siamese sentiment, as a pretext for intervention.
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 Lutin to Bangkok
, where it was moored on the Chao Phraya next to the French legation.
, with the capture of an officer, Thoreaux; while in the south, the occupation proceeded smoothly until an ambush by the Siamese on the village of Keng Kert resulted in the killing of French police inspector Grosgurin.
. Like the French explorer and diplomat Auguste Pavie
, he had been engaged in several exploratory expeditions in the region. He was a member of one of the French armed columns despatched in April 1893 by de Lassenan to cross the Annamite Range
into the Laos area of Khammuan (modern Thakhek
) and to occupy the disputed territory. The column was at first successful in evicting the Siamese commissioner at Khammuan by May 25.
Shortly afterwards on June 5, the Siamese commissioner organized a surprise ambush on the village of Kien Ket, where Grosgurin, confined to his sickbed, had encamped with his militia. 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" . The ambush resulted in the razing of the village and the killing of Grosgurin and 17 Vietnamese.
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 the strong French intervention.
on July 13, 1893. The French returned fire and forced their way to Bangkok.
With guns trained on the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the French delivered an ultimatum to the Siamese on July 20 to hand over the territory, to withdraw their garrisons there, to pay an indemnity of two million francs in reparation for the fighting at Paknam, and to punish those responsible for the killings in the disputed territory. When Siam did not immediately comply unconditionally to the ultimatum, the French blockaded the Siamese coast.
In the end the Siamese submitted fully to the French conditions, finding no support from the British. In addition, the French demanded as guarantees the temporary occupation of Chantaburi and the demilitarisation of Battambang
, Siemreap and a 25 kilometre-wide zone on the western bank of the Mekong. The conflict led to the signature of the Franco-Siamese Treaty, on October 3, 1893.
In a joint agreement between the Siamese and the French, Phra Yot was condemned to 20 years of penal servitude. The solicitor for the defense was the Ceylonese lawyer William Alfred Tilleke
, who was later appointed Attorney General of Siam and granted a peerage by the king. The Royal Thai Army fort Phra Yot Muang Khwan in Nakhon Phanom Province
on the border between Thailand and Laos commemorates Phra Yot.
The Siamese agreed to cede Laos
to France, an act that led to the significant expansion of French Indochina
. In 1896, France signed a treaty with Britain that defined the border between Laos and the British territory in Upper Burma. The Kingdom of Laos became a protectorate and was 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 the British both had strong interests in controlling parts of Indochina. Twice in the 1890s, the French and British were on the verge of war over two different routes leading to Yunnan
. Two major difficulties stopped these two powers from war. The first was the geography of the land made it difficult to move troops efficiently and therefore would have made waging a war very costly and most likely ineffective. The second factor that kept the two countries apart was that they were both fighting a very difficult battle within their respective countries. Malaria
was common and deadly. The routes that the two countries were interested in never really came into use. In 1904 the French and the British put aside their differences with the Entente Cordiale
of 1904, which ended their dispute over routes in southern Asia.
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
and the Kingdom of Siam. Auguste Pavie
Auguste Pavie
Auguste Jean-Marie Pavie was a French colonial civil servant, explorer and diplomat who was instrumental in establishing French control over Laos in the last two decades of the 19th century...
, French vice consul in Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
in 1886, was the chief agent in furthering French interests in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. His intrigues, which took advantage of Siamese weakness in the region and periodic invasions by Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese rebels from Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
, increased tensions between Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Following the conflict, the Siamese agreed to cede Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
to France, an act that led to the significant expansion of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
.
Context
The conflict started when French Indochina’s Governor-GeneralGovernor-General of French Indochina
-External links:*...
Jean de Lanessan sent Auguste Pavie as consul to Bangkok to bring Laos under French rule. The government in Bangkok, mistakenly believing that they would be supported by the British government, refused to concede territory east of the Mekong
Mekong
The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....
and instead reinforced their military and administrative presence.
Events were brought to a head by two separate incidents when Siamese governors in Khammuan and Nongkhai expelled three French merchants from the middle Mekong in September 1892, two of them, Champenois and Esquilot, on suspicion of opium smuggling. Shortly afterwards, the French consul in Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
, Massie, feverish and discouraged, committed suicide on his way back to Saigon. Back in France, these incidents were used by the Colonial Party (Parti Colonial) to stir up nationalistic anti-Siamese sentiment, as a pretext for intervention.
The death of Massie left Auguste Pavie
Auguste Pavie
Auguste Jean-Marie Pavie was a French colonial civil servant, explorer and diplomat who was instrumental in establishing French control over Laos in the last two decades of the 19th century...
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 Lutin to Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, where it was moored on the Chao Phraya next to the French legation.
Conflict
When Siam rejected the French demands, de Lanessan sent 3 military columns into the disputed region to assert French control in April 1893. 8 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 island of KhoungKhong Island
Khong Island or Don Khong is the main island of the Si Phan Don riverine archipelago located in the Mekong River, Khong district, Champasak Province, southern Laos.The island is long , and at its widest point...
, with the capture of an officer, Thoreaux; while in the south, the occupation proceeded smoothly until an ambush by the Siamese on the village of Keng Kert resulted in the killing of French police inspector Grosgurin.
Killing of Inspector Grosgurin
Inspector Grosgurin was a French inspector and commander of a Vietnamese militia in LaosLaos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. Like the French explorer and diplomat Auguste Pavie
Auguste Pavie
Auguste Jean-Marie Pavie was a French colonial civil servant, explorer and diplomat who was instrumental in establishing French control over Laos in the last two decades of the 19th century...
, he had been engaged in several exploratory expeditions in the region. He was a member of one of the French armed columns despatched in April 1893 by de Lassenan to cross the Annamite Range
Annamite Range
The Annamite Range or the Annamese Mountains is a mountain range of eastern Indochina, which extends approximately through Laos, Vietnam, and a small area in northeast Cambodia. It is known in Vietnamese as Dãy Trường Sơn, in Lao as Xai Phou Luang , and in French as the Chaîne Annamitique...
into the Laos area of Khammuan (modern Thakhek
Thakhek
Thakhek is a town in south-central Laos on the Mekong River and facing Nakhon Phanom across the river in northeastern Thailand. It is the capital of Khammouane province....
) and to occupy the disputed territory. The column was at first successful in evicting the Siamese commissioner at Khammuan by May 25.
Shortly afterwards on June 5, the Siamese commissioner organized a surprise ambush on the village of Kien Ket, where Grosgurin, confined to his sickbed, had encamped with his militia. 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" . The ambush resulted in the razing of the village and the killing of Grosgurin and 17 Vietnamese.
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 the strong French intervention.
Paknam incident
As a result, relations between Bangkok and the West soured, with France demanding reparations. The British sent in 3 navy ships to the mouth of the Chao Phraya, in case evacuation of British citizens became necessary. In turn the French went one step further in July 1893 by ordering two of their ships, the sloop Inconstant and the gunboat Comète, to sail up the Chao Phraya towards Bangkok, without the permission of the Siamese: they came under fire from the fort at PaknamAmphoe Mueang Samut Prakan
Mueang Samut Prakan is the capital district of Samut Prakan Province, central Thailand. The district has the highest population of all districts of Thailand.-Tourist attractions:...
on July 13, 1893. The French returned fire and forced their way to Bangkok.
With guns trained on the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the French delivered an ultimatum to the Siamese on July 20 to hand over the territory, to withdraw their garrisons there, to pay an indemnity of two million francs in reparation for the fighting at Paknam, and to punish those responsible for the killings in the disputed territory. When Siam did not immediately comply unconditionally to the ultimatum, the French blockaded the Siamese coast.
In the end the Siamese submitted fully to the French conditions, finding no support from the British. In addition, the French demanded as guarantees the temporary occupation of Chantaburi and the demilitarisation of Battambang
Battambang
Battambang is the capital city of Battambang province in northwestern Cambodia.Battambang is the second-largest city in Cambodia with a population of over 250,000. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is well known for being the leading rice-producing province of the country...
, Siemreap and a 25 kilometre-wide zone on the western bank of the Mekong. The conflict led to the signature of the Franco-Siamese Treaty, on October 3, 1893.
Franco-Siamese trial
Following the killing of Grosgurin, the Commissioner of the Kammuon District, Phra Yot, was acknowledged by his government to have been the responsible official, although was he initially acquitted of wrongdoing in a trial in March 1894. A "Franco-Siamese Mixed Court" was subsequently convened in June 1894. 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.In a joint agreement between the Siamese and the French, Phra Yot was condemned to 20 years of penal servitude. The solicitor for the defense was the Ceylonese lawyer William Alfred Tilleke
Tilleke & Gibbins
Tilleke & Gibbins is a full service law firm with over 100 lawyers in Bangkok, Phuket, Hanoi, and Ho Chih Minh City. The firm represents the top investors and the high-growth companies that drive economic expansion in Asia in the key areas of commercial transactions and M&A, dispute resolution and...
, who was later appointed Attorney General of Siam and granted a peerage by the king. The Royal Thai Army fort Phra Yot Muang Khwan in Nakhon Phanom Province
Nakhon Phanom Province
Nakhon Phanom is one of the north-eastern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Mukdahan, Sakon Nakhon and Bueng Kan. To the north-east it borders Khammouan of Laos.-Geography:...
on the border between Thailand and Laos commemorates Phra Yot.
Consequences
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
to France, an act that led to the significant expansion of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
. In 1896, France signed a treaty with Britain that defined the border between Laos and the British territory in Upper Burma. The Kingdom of Laos became a protectorate and was 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
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
.
The French and the British both had strong interests in controlling parts of Indochina. Twice in the 1890s, the French and British were on the verge of war over two different routes leading to Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
. Two major difficulties stopped these two powers from war. The first was the geography of the land made it difficult to move troops efficiently and therefore would have made waging a war very costly and most likely ineffective. The second factor that kept the two countries apart was that they were both fighting a very difficult battle within their respective countries. Malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
was common and deadly. The routes that the two countries were interested in never really came into use. In 1904 the French and the British put aside their differences with the Entente Cordiale
Entente Cordiale
The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial expansion addressed by the agreement, the signing of the Entente Cordiale marked the end of almost a millennium of intermittent...
of 1904, which ended their dispute over routes in southern Asia.
External links
- http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/tap/thailand/ffrancesiam1893.htm
- http://www.mongabay.com/reference/country_studies/laos/HISTORY.html
- http://san.beck.org/20-9-Siam,Laos,Cambodia1800-1950.html#a7
- http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2005/11/02/headlines/data/headlines_19040213.html Legacy of the Paknam clash