Siamese embassy to France (1686)
Encyclopedia
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...
(modern Thailand). The embassy was sent by King 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...
and led by 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...
. This embassy was preceded by the First Siamese Embassy to France, which had been composed of two Siamese ambassadors and Father Bénigne Vachet, who had left Siam for France on January 5, 1684.
The embassy
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...
on two French ships. The embassy was bringing a proposal for an eternal alliance between France and Siam and stayed in France from June 1686 to March 1687. Kosa Pan was accompanied by two other Siamese ambassadors, Ok-luang Kanlaya Ratchamaitri and Ok-khun Sisawan Wacha, and by the Jesuit Father Guy Tachard
Guy Tachard
Guy Tachard , also known as Père Tachard, was a French Jesuit missionary and mathematician of the 17th century, who was sent on two occasions to the Kingdom of Siam by Louis XIV...
.
Kosa Pan's embassy was met with a rapturous reception and caused a sensation in the courts and society of Europe. The mission landed at the French port of Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
before continuing its journey to Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
, constantly surrounded by crowds of curious onlookers.
The "exotic" clothes as well as manners of the envoys (including their kowtow
Kowtow
Kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. An alternative Chinese term is ketou, however the meaning is somewhat altered: kòu originally meant "knock with reverence", whereas kē has the general meaning of "touch upon ".In Han...
ing to Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
during their visit to him on September 1, 1686), together with a special "machine" that was used to carry King Narai's missive to the French monarch caused much comment in French high society. Kosa Pan's great interest in French maps and images was commented upon in a contemporary issue of the Mercure Galant.
Presents
The embassy brought vast amounts of present to Louis XIV. Among them were gold, tortoise shells, fabrics, carpets, more than 1,500 pieces of porcelainPorcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
, as well as lacquer furniture. Two silver Siamese cannons were given as present to Louis XIV, and by a strange twist of fate these cannons would be seized by French revolutionaries in 1789 to be used in the Storming of the Bastille
Storming of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris on the morning of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. While the prison only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint...
.
Purchases
The embassy ordered vast amounts of French products to be shipped to the Siamese court: 4,264 mirrors similar to those of the Galerie des Glaces were ordered to decorate Narai's palace, through ColbertColbert
Colbert is a common surname and rare given name of Old French and Old German origins; it was introduced to Britain by the Normans.Colbert most commonly refers to:*Stephen Colbert , American comedian and television show host...
to the factory of Saint Gobain
Saint Gobain
Saint Gobain , also known as Goban, was an Irish Benedictine monk and spiritual student of Saint Fursey at Burgh Castle, Norfolk, England. Born in Ireland. Little else is known of Gobain except that he would have accompanied Fursey on his travel to France where they lived as hermits in the forest...
. Among other orders were 160 French cannons, telescopes, glasses, clocks and various velvet pieces and crystal decorative elements. They also ordered two geographical globes, inscribed in Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
by French artisans, as well as seven carpets from the Savonnerie manufactory.
Influences
The Siamese Embassy to FranceKosa 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...
in 1686 had brought to the Court samples of multicolor Thai Ikat
Ikat
Ikat, or Ikkat, is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft fibres....
textiles. These were enthusistically adopted by the French nobility to become Toiles flammées or Siamoises de Rouen often with checkered blue-and-white designs. After the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and its dislike for foreign luxury, the textiles were named "Toiles des Charentes" or cottons of Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
.
A fragmentary Siamese account of the mission compiled by Kosa Pan was re-discovered in Paris in the 1980s. The embassy's encounter with Louis XIV is depicted in numerous paintings of the period.
The embassy of Kosa Pan was soon followed by another one, led by Ok-khun Chamnan
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 :...
in 1688.
See also
- France-Thailand relations