Guy Tachard
Encyclopedia
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
of the 17th century, who was sent on two occasions to the Kingdom of Siam
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...
by Louis XIV. He was born in Marthon
Marthon
Marthon is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
, near Angoulême
Angoulême
-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...
.
In 1680, Tachard went to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
(Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
) with Jean II d'Estrées
Jean II d'Estrées
Jean II d'Estrées, , was a Marshal of France, and an important naval commander of Louis XIV.Jean d'Estrées was born in a noble family from Picardie...
.
Tachard was involved in embassies to Siam, which came as responses to embassies sent by the Siamese King Narai to France in order to obtain an alliance against the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
First embassy to Siam (1685)
Tachard was sent in 1685 with five other Jesuits under Superior Jean de FontaneyJean de Fontaney
Jean de Fontaney was a French Jesuit who led a mission to China in 1687.Jean de Fontaney had been a teacher of mathematics and astronomy at the College Louis le Grand...
, on a first French embassy to Siam led by Chevalier de Chaumont and François-Timoléon de Choisy
François-Timoléon de Choisy
François Timoléon, abbé de Choisy was a French author.-Life:He was born in Paris. His father was attached to the household of the duke of Orléans, and his mother, who was on intimate terms with Anne of Austria, was regularly called upon to amuse Louis XIV...
, and accompanied by Claude de Forbin
Claude de Forbin
Claude, chevalier, then count de Forbin-Gardanne was a French naval commander. In 1685-1688 he was on a diplomatic mission to Siam...
. The objective of the Jesuits was to complete a scientific expedition to the Indies and China. Enticed by the Greek Constantine Phaulkon
Constantine Phaulkon
Constantine Phaulkon was a Greek adventurer, who became first counsellor to King Narai of Ayutthaya.Born on the Ionian island of...
, he returned to France to suggest an alliance with the king of Siam Narai
Narai
Somdet Phra Narai or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi III was the king of Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous Ayutthayan king. His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw the great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the...
to Louis XIV.
The five other Jesuits Fathers continued to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
where they arrived in February 1688: Jean de Fontaney
Jean de Fontaney
Jean de Fontaney was a French Jesuit who led a mission to China in 1687.Jean de Fontaney had been a teacher of mathematics and astronomy at the College Louis le Grand...
(1643–1710), Joachim Bouvet
Joachim Bouvet
Joachim Bouvet was a French Jesuit who worked in China, and the leading member of the Figurist movement.-Biography:...
(1656–1730), Jean-François Gerbillon
Jean-François Gerbillon
Jean-François Gerbillon was a French missionary, who worked in China.He entered the Society of Jesus, 5 Oct, 1670, and after completing the usual course of study taught grammar and humanities for seven years...
(1654–1707), Louis Le Comte
Louis le Comte
Louis le Comte , also Louis-Daniel Lecomte, was a French Jesuit who participated in the 1687 French Jesuit mission to China under Jean de Fontaney. He arrived in China on 7 February 1688....
(1655–1728) and Claude de Visdelou
Claude de Visdelou
Claude de Visdelou was a French Jesuit missionary.-Life:De Visdelou was born at the Château de Bienassis, Erquy, Brittany. He entered the Society of Jesus on 5 September 1673, and was one of the missionaries sent to China by Louis XIVin 1687. He acquired a wide knowledge of the Chinese language...
(1656–1737).
The two ships of the embassy returned to France with a Siamese embassy onboard, led by the Siamese ambassador Kosa Pan
Kosa Pan
Pan , known by his rank Chao Phraya Kosathibodi or former rank Ok Phra Wisut Sunthon or by the nickname Kosa Pan , was a Siamese diplomat and minister who led the Second Siamese Embassy to France sent by king Narai in 1686...
, who was bringing a proposal for an eternal alliance between France and Siam. The embassy stayed in France from June 1686 to March 1687.
Second embassy to Siam (1687)
A second embassy to Siam was sent in March 1687. organized by ColbertJean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay
Jean-Baptiste Antoine Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay was a French politician. He was the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, nephew of Charles Colbert de Croissy and cousin of Jean-Baptiste Colbert de Torcy....
, of which Tachard was part again. The embassy consisted in five warships, led by General Desfarges, and was bringing the Siamese embassy home.
The mission was led by Simon de la Loubère
Simon de la Loubère
Simon de la Loubère was a French diplomat, writer, mathematician and poet.-Mission to Siam:Simon de la Loubère led an embassy to Siam in 1687 . The embassy, composed of five warships, arrived in Bangkok in October 1687 and was received by Ok-khun Chamnan...
and Claude Céberet du Boullay
Claude Céberet du Boullay
Claude Céberet du Boullay was a 17th century French diplomat who participated in the La Loubère-Céberet embassy as "envoy extraordinary" to the kingdom of Siam in 1687. He was co-representative of the mission with the diplomat Simon de la Loubère.-Mission to Siam:In 1685, Céberet became one of...
, director of the French East India Company
French East India Company
The French East India Company was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies in colonial India....
. A young Jesuit had been brought by Tachard: the future composer André Cardinal Destouches
André Cardinal Destouches
André Cardinal Destouches was a French composer best known for the opéra-ballet Les élémens....
. However, apart from the reaffirmation of the 1685 commercial treaty, the mission achieved little else. The disambarkment of French troops in 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 Mergui
Mergui
Myeik is a city in Tanintharyi Division in Myanmar , located in the extreme south of the country on the coast of an island on the Andaman Sea. the estimated population was over 209,000. The area inland from the city is a major smuggling corridor into Thailand.-History:Myeik was the southernmost...
led to strong nationalistic movements in Siam directed by Phra Petratcha and ultimately resulted in the 1688 Siamese revolution
Siamese revolution (1688)
The Siamese revolution of 1688 was a major popular upheaval in the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom which led to the overthrow of the pro-foreign Siamese king Narai...
in which king Narai died, Phaulkon was executed, and Phra Petratcha became king. Desfarges negotiated to return with his men to Pondicherry. In the later part of 1689, Desfarges captured the island of Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
in an attempt to restore French control.
Ok-khun Chamnan
Ok-khun Chamnan Chaichong was a Siamese diplomat who visited France and Rome on an embassy in 1688. He was preceded by the embassay of Kosa Pan in 1686.-Failed embassy to Portugal :...
, and visited the Vatican in January 1688. He and his Siamese embassy met with Pope Innocent XI
Pope Innocent XI
Blessed Pope Innocent XI , born Benedetto Odescalchi, was Pope from 1676 to 1689.-Early life:Benedetto Odescalchi was born at Como in 1611 , the son of a Como nobleman, Livio Odescalchi, and Paola Castelli Giovanelli from Gandino...
and translated Narai's letter to him.
Other travels
In 1690, when Tachard tried to return to Siam, a revolution had happened, King Narai was already dead and a new king was on the throne. Tachard had to stop at Pondicherry and return to France without obtaining a permission to enter the country.In 1699, Tachard again went to Siam, and managed to enter the country this time. He met with Kosa Pan
Kosa Pan
Pan , known by his rank Chao Phraya Kosathibodi or former rank Ok Phra Wisut Sunthon or by the nickname Kosa Pan , was a Siamese diplomat and minister who led the Second Siamese Embassy to France sent by king Narai in 1686...
, now Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the new king Petracha, but the meeting remained purely formal and led to nothing.
Tachard travelled a fifth time to Asia and died in Chandernagor in 1712.
Works
- Tachard, Guy (1688) A relation of the voyage to Siam : performed by six Jesuits sent by the French king, to the Indies and China in the year 1685
- Tachard, Guy (1689) Second Voyage
- Guy Tachard, Michael Smithies, Choisy, Simon de la LoubèreSimon de la LoubèreSimon de la Loubère was a French diplomat, writer, mathematician and poet.-Mission to Siam:Simon de la Loubère led an embassy to Siam in 1687 . The embassy, composed of five warships, arrived in Bangkok in October 1687 and was received by Ok-khun Chamnan...
(2000) A Siamese Embassy Lost in Africa 1686: The Odyssey of Ok-khun Chamnan, Silkworm Books, Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), ISBN 9747100959