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**BCVB9SOc** · 09-22-2012, 06:33 AM

A journey through Franco-Thai relations
Sumet Jumsai
The Nation, 18 Feb 2006

I have been planning a special tour to France with friends, to visit three streets named after Siam.

The first is near Marseille. From Paris, it is a hop by plane or a few hours by train. From Marseille, we will go to the little village of St Marcel in the typical beautiful countryside of France. Here, a country road called Rue de Siam leads up to an old castle that was the home of Oc Phra Sakdisongkhram, governor of Bangkok and admiral of the Siamese Navy in 1686. In France, he was Le Comte de Forbin who went to Ayudhaya as part of the first French embassy in 1685. He must have made a good impression at court, because King Narai granted him his title and position.

We will then take a coach from Marseille to the port town of Brest, where earlier, in the summer of 1686, cannons had been fired to salute the arrival of the Siamese embassy. Led by Oc Phra Visutsunthorn and accompanied by two deputy ambassadors and numerous officials, it was the grandest embassy ever despatched by Siam. Commonly known as Kosa Pan, the Oc Phra was a relation of King Narai and a direct ancestor of the present royal family. Here was an accomplished diplomat – erudite, outgoing and at once popular with the people of France.

Our coach will retrace the route of the Siamese embassy, along a road out of the port city of Brest that was christened at that time Rue de Siam and is still called that today. This will lead us to the highway to Paris, via the Loire Valley. The procession, with French officers and escorts, like the travelling court of Europe at the time, must have involved hundreds of people.

Between Nantes and Ancencis, we will stop to look at a place called the Hole of the Siamese (le Trou des Siamois). It was here that the Siamese pulled over their carriages, undressed and jumped into the Loire, to the consternation of the French, who did not understand the Siamese urge for a daily bath.

We will skip the bath ourselves, as well as the several towns and castles along the way where sumptuous banquets and balls were arranged nightly for the Siamese party. Our destination will be Paris: No 10 Rue de Tournon, in front of the Palace of Luxembourg.

This was where the Siamese were eventually lodged, and the mansion in effect became both the residence and the embassy of Siam from 1686–1687. Clearly marked Hotel des Ambassadeurs in Turgot’s 1739 perspective plan of Paris, the building appears unscathed and is presently occupied by the Republican Guards.

We will tour the apartments and the courtyard with the kind permission of the guards and perhaps participate in a little ceremony to unveil a bronze plaque at the front gate that says, “Herein resided Kosa Pan and his embassy sent by King Narai of Siam to the Court of Louis XIV, 1686-87.” Well, a little effort between the present Thai embassy and the Paris municipality would make the plaque a reality.

Kosa Pan’s embassy was actually the third mission sent to France. The first was dispatched in 1680, with elephants and rhinoceros as royal presents. However, they were shipwrecked in the Madagascar Strait, and the survivors had to trek through the jungle to safety in Cape Town. Their diaries, so meticulously written, make an interesting read, since they were the first foreigners ever to have penetrated deep inside black Africa.

The second embassy, in 1684, consisted of two ambassadors who barely survived capture by the Barbary pirates in the Atlantic. Rescued by the English navy, they were then escorted to Margate, only to have their royal presents (to both Charles II of England and Louis XIV) impounded by customs. All ended well, however, after a debate in the parliament: the presents were released, and the ambassadors set sail for France, but not before being taken to a local pub by the Margate customs officers. In Paris, the ambassadors had their royal audience and attended an opera.

As noted, the third embassy was by far the most impressive one. Commemorative medals were struck for Kosa Pan’s royal audience at Versailles, and the court almanac for 1687 was full of pictures of his various activities. So popular was he with the socialites, including the court ladies, that the Paris newspaper Le Mercure Galant posted journalists outside the Siamese embassy to spy on the goings-on.

A note before we leave the 17th century. France sent two embassies to Ayudhaya, in 1685 and 1687-88, whereas Siam sent four to France. The last Siamese mission was in 1688, the year of our own revolution, and oddly enough was led by Father Tachard, assisted by three Siamese deputy ambassadors. However, by that time Louis XIV had lost interest in Siam, and the mission went on to the Vatican, where it was received with pomp by Pope Innocent XI.

I think I will now lead my tour group to the Carnavalet Museum, near La Place des Vosges, to see the picture of a Siamese cannon. This was one of the two cannons that Kosa Pan took to France as gifts from King Narai to Louis XIV. Covered in magnificent bas-reliefs of silver damascene, they were eventually kept in the royal storehouse and forgotten. That is, until the French Revolution, when the mob stormed royal establishments, including the armoury and storehouse. Several pieces of artillery were then requisitioned, but none would fire except the two Siamese cannons.

On the fateful day of July 14, 1789, the two cannons in their damascene splendour were brought to fire at the gate of the Bastille. Siam thus helped to usher in the French Revolution.

The history of the cannons can be gleaned from the 1985 book “Historical Annals of the French Revolution – Concerning the Siamese Cannons Given to Louis XIV That Took Part in the Capture of the Bastille” (in French), by Michel Jacq-Hergoualc’h.

Leaving the Carnavalet, we will take the metro to Rue de la Pompe (which will be a detour and a secret agenda of mine, to see whether my old school is still there) and take a little stroll to the third street named after Siam. It was here, in Rue de Siam, that the first Siamese legation in Paris was established. Prince Prisdang, our first resident minister in 1884, had presented a case to the Quai d’Orsay and the Paris municipality to name the street in front of the legation Rue de Siam, in order to commemorate the Franco-Thai friendship. Given the difficult colonial situation at the time, it was a far-sighted act, and it boded well for the subsequent state visits of King Chulalongkorn and His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, as well as for the state visit this weekend of President Jacques Chirac and the First Lady of France to the Thai kingdom.

Sumet Jumsai is a well-known international architect and historian.

09-22-2012, 06:33 AM	#5
BCVB9SOc Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 457 Senior Member	Thailand place names in France A journey through Franco-Thai relations Sumet Jumsai The Nation, 18 Feb 2006 I have been planning a special tour to France with friends, to visit three streets named after Siam. The first is near Marseille. From Paris, it is a hop by plane or a few hours by train. From Marseille, we will go to the little village of St Marcel in the typical beautiful countryside of France. Here, a country road called Rue de Siam leads up to an old castle that was the home of Oc Phra Sakdisongkhram, governor of Bangkok and admiral of the Siamese Navy in 1686. In France, he was Le Comte de Forbin who went to Ayudhaya as part of the first French embassy in 1685. He must have made a good impression at court, because King Narai granted him his title and position. We will then take a coach from Marseille to the port town of Brest, where earlier, in the summer of 1686, cannons had been fired to salute the arrival of the Siamese embassy. Led by Oc Phra Visutsunthorn and accompanied by two deputy ambassadors and numerous officials, it was the grandest embassy ever despatched by Siam. Commonly known as Kosa Pan, the Oc Phra was a relation of King Narai and a direct ancestor of the present royal family. Here was an accomplished diplomat – erudite, outgoing and at once popular with the people of France. Our coach will retrace the route of the Siamese embassy, along a road out of the port city of Brest that was christened at that time Rue de Siam and is still called that today. This will lead us to the highway to Paris, via the Loire Valley. The procession, with French officers and escorts, like the travelling court of Europe at the time, must have involved hundreds of people. Between Nantes and Ancencis, we will stop to look at a place called the Hole of the Siamese (le Trou des Siamois). It was here that the Siamese pulled over their carriages, undressed and jumped into the Loire, to the consternation of the French, who did not understand the Siamese urge for a daily bath. We will skip the bath ourselves, as well as the several towns and castles along the way where sumptuous banquets and balls were arranged nightly for the Siamese party. Our destination will be Paris: No 10 Rue de Tournon, in front of the Palace of Luxembourg. This was where the Siamese were eventually lodged, and the mansion in effect became both the residence and the embassy of Siam from 1686–1687. Clearly marked Hotel des Ambassadeurs in Turgot’s 1739 perspective plan of Paris, the building appears unscathed and is presently occupied by the Republican Guards. We will tour the apartments and the courtyard with the kind permission of the guards and perhaps participate in a little ceremony to unveil a bronze plaque at the front gate that says, “Herein resided Kosa Pan and his embassy sent by King Narai of Siam to the Court of Louis XIV, 1686-87.” Well, a little effort between the present Thai embassy and the Paris municipality would make the plaque a reality. Kosa Pan’s embassy was actually the third mission sent to France. The first was dispatched in 1680, with elephants and rhinoceros as royal presents. However, they were shipwrecked in the Madagascar Strait, and the survivors had to trek through the jungle to safety in Cape Town. Their diaries, so meticulously written, make an interesting read, since they were the first foreigners ever to have penetrated deep inside black Africa. The second embassy, in 1684, consisted of two ambassadors who barely survived capture by the Barbary pirates in the Atlantic. Rescued by the English navy, they were then escorted to Margate, only to have their royal presents (to both Charles II of England and Louis XIV) impounded by customs. All ended well, however, after a debate in the parliament: the presents were released, and the ambassadors set sail for France, but not before being taken to a local pub by the Margate customs officers. In Paris, the ambassadors had their royal audience and attended an opera. As noted, the third embassy was by far the most impressive one. Commemorative medals were struck for Kosa Pan’s royal audience at Versailles, and the court almanac for 1687 was full of pictures of his various activities. So popular was he with the socialites, including the court ladies, that the Paris newspaper Le Mercure Galant posted journalists outside the Siamese embassy to spy on the goings-on. A note before we leave the 17th century. France sent two embassies to Ayudhaya, in 1685 and 1687-88, whereas Siam sent four to France. The last Siamese mission was in 1688, the year of our own revolution, and oddly enough was led by Father Tachard, assisted by three Siamese deputy ambassadors. However, by that time Louis XIV had lost interest in Siam, and the mission went on to the Vatican, where it was received with pomp by Pope Innocent XI. I think I will now lead my tour group to the Carnavalet Museum, near La Place des Vosges, to see the picture of a Siamese cannon. This was one of the two cannons that Kosa Pan took to France as gifts from King Narai to Louis XIV. Covered in magnificent bas-reliefs of silver damascene, they were eventually kept in the royal storehouse and forgotten. That is, until the French Revolution, when the mob stormed royal establishments, including the armoury and storehouse. Several pieces of artillery were then requisitioned, but none would fire except the two Siamese cannons. On the fateful day of July 14, 1789, the two cannons in their damascene splendour were brought to fire at the gate of the Bastille. Siam thus helped to usher in the French Revolution. The history of the cannons can be gleaned from the 1985 book “Historical Annals of the French Revolution – Concerning the Siamese Cannons Given to Louis XIV That Took Part in the Capture of the Bastille” (in French), by Michel Jacq-Hergoualc’h. Leaving the Carnavalet, we will take the metro to Rue de la Pompe (which will be a detour and a secret agenda of mine, to see whether my old school is still there) and take a little stroll to the third street named after Siam. It was here, in Rue de Siam, that the first Siamese legation in Paris was established. Prince Prisdang, our first resident minister in 1884, had presented a case to the Quai d’Orsay and the Paris municipality to name the street in front of the legation Rue de Siam, in order to commemorate the Franco-Thai friendship. Given the difficult colonial situation at the time, it was a far-sighted act, and it boded well for the subsequent state visits of King Chulalongkorn and His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, as well as for the state visit this weekend of President Jacques Chirac and the First Lady of France to the Thai kingdom. Sumet Jumsai is a well-known international architect and historian.
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