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The Siege of Bangkok was a key event of the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which the Kingdom of Siam ousted the French from Siam. Following a coup d'état, in which the pro-Western king Narai was replaced by Phetracha, Siamese troops besieged the French fortress in Bangkok for four months. The Siamese were able to muster about 40,000 troops, equipped with cannon, against the entrenched 200 French troops, but the military confrontation proved inconclusive. Tensions between the two belligerents progressively subsided, and finally a negotiated settlement was reached allowing the French to leave the country.〔(Siam: An Account of the Country and the People, Peter Anthony Thompson, 1910 p.28 )〕 The Siege of Bangkok would mark the end of French military presence in Siam, as France was soon embroiled in the major European conflicts of the War of the League of Augsburg (1688–1697), and then the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713/1714). With the end of the siege, a long period started during which Siam would remain suspicious of Western intervention. Only a few French missionaries were allowed to remain, while trade continued on a limited level with other European countries such as the Dutch Republic and England. ==Background== King Narai had sought to expand relations with the French, as a counterweight to Portuguese and Dutch influence in his kingdom, and at the suggestion of his Greek councilor Constantine Phaulkon.〔Smithies 2002, p.9-10〕 Numerous embassies were exchanged in both directions, including the embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont to Siam in 1685 〔Martin, p.25〕 and the embassy of Kosa Pan to France in 1686. This led to a major dispatch of French ambassadors and troops to Siam in 1687,〔Smithies 2002, p.10〕 organized by the Marquis de Seignelay. The embassy consisted of a French expeditionary force of 1,361 soldiers, missionaries, envoys and crews aboard five warships.〔 The military wing was led by General Desfarges, and the diplomatic mission by Simon de la Loubère and Claude Céberet du Boullay, a director of the French East India Company. Desfarges had instructions to negotiate the establishment of troops in Mergui and Bangkok (considered as "the key to the kingdom")〔Smithies 2002, p.10〕 rather than the southern Songkla, and to take these locations if necessary by force.〔 King Narai agreed to the proposal, and a fortress was established in each of the two cities, which were commanded by French governors.〔〔Note 6, Smithies 2002, p.99〕〔Dhiravat na Prombejra, in Reid p.251-252〕 Desfarges noted in his account of the events〔''Account of the revolutions which occurred in Siam in the year 1688'' by General Desfarges, translated by Smithies, Michael (2002) ''Three military accounts of the 1688 "Revolution" in Siam''.〕 that he was in command of the fortress of Bangkok, with 200 French officers and men,〔Desfarges, in Smithies 2002, p.25〕 as well as a Siamese contingent provided by King Narai, and Du Bruant was in command of Mergui with 90 French soldiers.〔〔De la Touche, in Smithies 2002, p.76〕 Another 35 soldiers with three or four French officers were assigned to ships of the King of Siam, with a mission to fight piracy.〔 The disembarkment of French troops in Bangkok and Mergui led to strong nationalist movements in Siam directed by the Mandarin and Commander of the Elephant Corps, Phra Phetracha. By 1688 anti-foreign sentiments, mainly directed at the French and Phaulkon, were reaching their zenith.〔 The Siamese courtiers resented the dominance of the Greek Phaulkon in state affairs, along with his Japanese wife Maria Guyomar de Pinha and European lifestyle, whilst the Buddhist clergy were uneasy with the increasing prominence of the French Jesuits. The Siamese mandarinate under the leadership of Phetracha complained about the occupation force and increasingly opposed Phaulkon.〔 Matters were brought to a head when King Narai fell gravely ill in March 1688. Phetracha initiated the Siamese revolution of 1688 by seizing the Royal Palace in Lopburi and putting king Narai under house-arrest on May 17–18. He also imprisoned Constantine Phaulkon on May 18, 1688,〔Smithies 2002, p.11〕 and executed the king's adopted son Mom Pi on May 20.〔Smithies 2002, p.184〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Siege of Bangkok」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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