Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1856

Early relations Alexandre de Rhodes, the French Jesuit missionary, was expelled by both the Trinh Lord of Tonkin (Northern Vietnam) and the Nguyen Lord of Cochinchina (Central Vietnam) in his attempt to spread Catholicism in Vietnam. Alexandre de Rhodes proposed Pope Innocent X to send more missionaries and to train local priests in the Far East in order to effectively make conversions in the region, leading to foundation of Paris Foreign Missions Society (French: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, MEP) in 1658. Pierre Lambert de la Motte, a French secular priest and the newly-appointed Apostolic Vicar of Cochin, arrived in Ayutthaya the Siamese royal capital in 1663 on his way to Vietnam. However, the general anti-Christian attitude of the Vietnamese lords kept De la Motte in Siam. Even though Siam was not his direct responsibility, De la Motte saw Siam as a tolerant Asian kingdom, where Catholic churches stood and Catholics could practice their religion without being persecuted. Pope Alexander VII established the Apostolic vicariate of Siam in 1663. Meanwhile, the Dutch East India Company was in its apogee of political and commercial influence in Southeast Asia. Dutch naval blockade on Ayutthaya in 1663 led to the conclusion of Dutch–Siamese Treaty of 1664, in which, among many concessions, was the first known partial Western extraterritorial jurisdiction in Siam. which would be the main base for French Catholic missionary activities in the region until its destruction in 1767. Advancement of French MEP priests in Siam and Vietnam also served to pioneer French political and commercial interests. De la Motte reported to the French court of King Louis XIV that the Siamese king Narai was interested in Christianity and could possibly be converted. Early Franco–Siamese relations focused on the religious issues. In 1669, Pope Clement IX appointed Louis Laneau as the first Apostolic Vicar of Siam, also assigning François Pallu the Apostolic Vicar of Tonkin to bring the papal letter to the Siamese king Narai. In 1670, the French king Louis XIV, hoping for the Siamese king to convert, also wrote a royal letter to Narai, which François Pallu was to bring to Siam. François Pallu and Louis Laneau reached Siam in 1673. Pallu and De la Motte presented papal and French royal letters to King Narai, who received the letters with solemn ceremonies. Even though his responsible area was in Vietnam, De la Motte spent most of his time in Siam. De la Motte died at Ayutthaya in 1679. Franco–Siamese relations then entered the political and commercial sphere. In 1680, François Martin the Governor-General of French India at Pondicherry sent André Deslandes-Boureau in the ship Vautour as the delegate of French East India Company (French: Compagnie des Indes Orientales, CIO) to establish commercial relation with Siam. This was the first official diplomatic contact between France and Siam. The French arrived just in time King Narai needed another Western nation to counter the Dutch influence. Next year, in 1681, King Narai sent a Siamese diplomatic mission to France under the Siamese envoy Okya Phiphatkosa the deputy Minister of Trade, boarding on the French ship ''Soleil d'Orient. However, the Soleil d'Orient shipwrecked off the coast of Madagascar and the whole crew was lost, including the Siamese envoys, presumed dead. In 1684, Deslandes-Boureau the French delegate in Ayutthaya concluded the Franco–Siamese Treaty of 1684, the first known Franco–Siamese treaty, with the Siamese court, in which French East India Company was granted free trade in Siam and monopoly over pepper export from Siam. These two Siamese envoys were the first Siamese delegates to successfully reach France and they were granted audience with the French king Louis XIV in the Palace of Versailles. Vachet told King Louis XIV in private audience that there was a man named Phaulkon in Siam who would collaborate with the French to convert King Narai to Christianity. King Louis XIV then sent the first French diplomatic mission to Siam led by Chevalier de Chaumont, reaching Ayutthaya in 1685 with the ship Oiseau''. French mission to Siam had two goals; the religious goal that was to convert the Siamese king to Catholicism and the commercial goal that was to procure trade concessions from Siam. Even though King Narai did not convert, the Franco–Siamese Treaty of 1685 did secure trade benefits for CIO. The treaty was composed of a religious treaty and a commercial treaty. In 1686, King Narai sent another diplomatic mission under Okphra Wisut Sunthorn to France. Guy Tachard, who accompanied the Siamese to France, secretly informed the French royal court about Phaulkon's plan. The French saw that Songkhla, which Siam allowed the French to settle, was too far from Ayutthaya and they demanded Bangkok and Mergui instead. King Louis XIV sent the second French diplomatic mission to Siam led by Simon de la Loubère to convert King Narai and Claude Céberet du Boullay to negotiate for commercial concessions, along with General Desfarges who brought 636 French soldiers to Siam. The French diplomatic mission reached Siam in 1687 as King Narai allowed French soldiers to garrison in Bangkok and Mergui at the discontent of native Siamese mandarins. To La Loubère's disappointment, Narai still did not convert. Franco–Siamese Treaty of 1687, signed by La Loubère and Okya Phrasadet the Phrakhlang or Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs, movement against the growing French influence in Siam. In his ninety-minute speech, Okphra Phetracha attempted to dissuade King Narai from over-relying on the French but to no avail. Phetracha also spread propaganda about Okya Wichayen Phaulkon and the French conspiring to conquer Siam and to destroy Theravada Buddhism. Nevertheless, in January 1688, King Narai commissioned the French Jesuit priest Guy Tachard, accompanied by three Siamese mandarins Okmuen Phiphitracha, Three Siamese nobles were sent to Desfarges as hostages and Véret the French headman was sent to the Siamese closely following behind. However, upon reaching the bar of Chaophraya River, Desfarges decided not to trust the Siamese and broke the terms by retrieving Véret and seizing the Siamese hostages to leave Siam, From Phuket, Desfarges and Véret sent letters to Kosa Pan, demanding Siam to negotiate a new treaty and to cede Phuket to France. Tachard brought the French royal letter to Pondicherry in 1690 but Kosa Pan the Phrakhlang denied Tachard's entry into Siam because Tachard had been Phaulkon's chief conspirator. In 1691, King Phetracha decided to restore relations with France. Kosa Pan released Bishop Laneau and other French prisoners in 1691. Phetracha sent his French interpreter Okluang Worawathi Vincent Pinheiro, invoking the events of 1688 and saying that Siam would never allow the French to station troops in Mergui again. Ban on Christian evangelism in Siam was built in 1711 under supervision of Father Heutte to accommodate the Vietnamese Catholics fleeing persecutions from their homeland. Current structure was built in 1904 in Gothic Revival architecture. Bishop Louis Laneau of MEP, the Apostolic Vicar of Siam, was arrested and imprisoned during the Siamese Revolution of 1688 for Laneau was the guarantor of the promise Desfarges had broken. Bishop Laneau was put in traditional Siamese Charit Nakhonban that were judiciary tortures including being chained in his neck in cangues, being whipped with rattan canes and being exposed to extreme heat of sunlight. Bishop Laneau was imprisoned for thirteen months Cicé arrived in Siam in 1702. In 1703, King Phetracha died and was succeeded by his son Phra Chao Suea as new king of Siam. Still hoping for commercial benefits, King Phra Chao Suea asked Cicé to write to the French at Pondicherry in Siam, whose father was Chaophraya Phrakhlang Chin the previous Phrakhlang • Usage of Siamese script or Pali script (Khom Thai script) to write Christian catechisms. • Proselytization on Siamese, Mon, Northern Thai and Lao people in Siam. • Encouragement of the aforementioned Siamese, Mon, Northern Thai and Lao people to convert to Christianity. • Condemning and offending Siamese Theravada Buddhism. The Phrakhlang attempted to force Bishop Quéralay to accept and sign this new law but Quéralay refused, saying that this new order of the Siamese king was a contravention of his mission and could affect Franco–Siamese relations. In 1748, King Borommakot ordered Siamese Christian officials to join his royal procession to worship Buddha's Footprint at Saraburi. Bishop Lolière-Puycontat, however, refused to allow Siamese Christians to partake in this royal procession, The new king Rama I or King Phuttha Yotfa Chulalok saw that there were no Christian priests in Siam to perform religious services for the Mestizo Catholics so the Siamese had his trade minister Chaophraya Phrakhlang Hon write to the Portuguese at Macau, requesting for a Catholic priest. ("Christian teaching") in Siamese language but using Latin alphabet as the ban on using Siamese alphabet in Christian teachings had still been in place. As the missionaries were forbidden to work on native Siamese, Mon and Lao people, they could only work on the Cambodians, Chinese and the Vietnamese, Role of Bishop Pallegoix , Bishop of Mallus, was appointed as the first Apostolic Vicar of Eastern Siam in 1841. Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix was born in 1805 in Combertault, Côte-d'Or, joining MEP at the age of twenty-two and was ordained as an MEP priest next year in 1828. Pallegoix left France in 1828 for Siam, reaching Bangkok in 1830 into Thai language as Puxa-Vixachana (Thai: ปุจฉา-วิสัชนา, from Pali pucchā "question" and vissajjanā "answer") published in Latin script in 1834. This Christian catechism again criticized Buddhism in favor of Christianity, drawing ires from the Siamese elites. King Rama III did not take serious actions about this work but Pallegoix was warned not to publish to offend Buddhism. Bishop Pallegoix thus became the first Apostolic Vicar of Eastern Siam after the division, at the age of thirty-six. Upon the appointment of Pallegoix to the vicariate, there were 4,300 Catholics in Siam; a Siamese Catholic official of Cambodian–Portuguese Mestizo descent, to bring chicken, geese and goats from the churches into the royal palace for the king to release. King Rama was then satisfied and rescinded his order to destroy the churches. The eight French priests, however, chose to leave Siam rather than to comply with the king's order. Those eight French priests were Pierre Clémenceau, Jean-Baptiste Grandjean, Jean Claudet, Aimé Dupond, Séverin Daniel, Louis Larnaudie, Nicolas Lequeux and Pierre Gibarta, who scattered to Singapore, Penang and Hong Kong. with Siamese boy named Kaew (left) and Vietnamese boy named Xom (right) during his visit to Paris in 1852. With departure of the eight French priests, there were only two Catholic priests remaining in Siam, with Pallegoix in Bangkok and Ranfaing in Chanthaburi. As King Mongkut ascended the throne in 1851, the new king personally wrote to the eight expelled missionaries, urging them to return to Siam and promising not to impose Siamese beliefs on the Christians in the future. Seven priests returned to Bangkok, with exception of Father Grandjean, who returned to France. Bishop Pallegoix brought the seven returning French priests to have an audience with King Mongkut in February 1852. Also in 1852, Pallegoix went to France to bring royal letters from the Siamese king Mongkut to the French Emperor and the Pope, reaching Paris in 1853. Bishop Pallegoix presented the royal letter from King Mongkut, along with Dictionarium Linguæ Thai, which was a four-way Thai, Latin, French and English dictionary and his own work Description of Kingdom of Thai or Siam (French: Description du Royaume Thai ou Siam) to Emperor Napoleon III, introducing the French Emperor to the Kingdom of Siam. In 1854, Pallegoix had an audience with Pope Pius IX at Rome, presenting a letter from the Siamese king Mongkut to the Pope. Pope Pius IX issued papal briefs Pergrata nobis (1852) and Summa quidem (1861) to express gratitute for King Mongkut for his tolerance on the Catholics. == Bowring Treaty ==

Traditional Siamese commercial and legal systems Siamese monarchs had been monopolizing Siamese trade with Western nations since the Ayutthaya period. Any incoming Western merchants or Western ships who came to trade in Siam were obliged to trade with Phra Khlang Sinkha in the early nineteenth century), measurement duty (any Western ships docking in Siam were levied of this measurement duty, which was collected according to the width of the ship itself) and export duty. For export, Westerners could purchase certain Siamese valuable goods only from the Phra Khlang Sinkha, who monopolized the export of such high-value articles. By the early nineteenth century, these exported items monopolized by the Royal Warehouse included sappanwood, tin, pepper, bird's nest, cardamom, ivory and cambodge. These duties imposed on Western traders had been important source of revenue for Siam. Westerners, however, saw this traditional Siamese custom levy as restrictive, in which Western traders were disadvantageous in their haggle with Phra Khlang Sinkha, who had been empowered with such monopoly and the Westerners were also deprived of their due trade benefits in Siam. Pre-modern Siamese law and judiciary system were based on the Classical Indic legal system pertaining to Indian statecraft treatises such as Arthashastra and the Manusmṛti. In the Three Seals Law composed in 1805, technically the continuation of the Ayutthayan law, punishments for criminal offences included decapitation, amputation of limbs, imprisonment, whipping with rattan canes, etc. In Siamese legal ideology, crime was not only an offence to invididuals but also an offence to society as a whole. Siamese legal punishments sought to create fear within society to prevent others from emulating the crime. During legal trials, when a suspected criminal did not confess, judiciary tortures known as Charit Nakhonban (Thai: จารีตนครบาล, Nakhonban creed) were to apply, including whipping with rattan canes, chaining in cangues, being tied up and thrown into water, being exposed to the heat of daylight, being slapped in the mouth. Presumption of guilt, in which the defendants were presumed guilty until proven innocent, was in contrast to presumption of innocence in Western jurisprudence. Siamese judiciary tortures were in accordance with Indic Arthashastra, which allowed tortures on criminals who did not confess. In cases when the truth could not be found, defendants would sometimes be made to walk through fire or dive into water to prove their innocence. This was in accordance to the trial by ordeal of Manusmṛti, borrowing supernatural forces to help judge the case. Westerners were generally horrified by this Indo–Siamese judicial system, which they considered barbaric, not conforming to Western ideology and sought to dissociate themselves from such Siamese legal system. of 1826 ended Siamese royal monopoly on Western trades as British merchants were allowed to trade freely and privately in Siam. However, traditional Siamese import duties remained, only to be reduced by Bowring Treaty of 1855. Impactful Siamese relations with Westerners in the nineteenth century began with the arrival of John Crawfurd, a British envoy from the Indian Government, in Siam in 1822. The British were the first to attempt to dismantle traditional Siamese royal monopoly on Western trades. Crawfurd proposed Siam for 'free trade' and a low-rate duty which was to be collected only once in which Chinese merchants acting as tax farmers would compete in auction for a tax quota from Siamese government. as Western merchants were obliged to pay duties to these Chinese tax farmers instead of Royal Warehouse. In the aftermath of the First Opium War, the British gained power and influence in the Far East and the Sino–British Treaty of Nanking (1842) served as the model for subsequent unequal treaties that Britain was going to conclude with other Asian nations, including the Anglo–Siamese Bowring Treaty. The terms of these unequal treaties included opening of ports for Western merchants to trade, establishment of consular authority, extraterritorial jurisdiction and stipulation of fixed low-rate duties. In 1850, Britain sent James Brooke and the United States sent Joseph Balestier to negotiate for new treaties with Siam. Balestier proposed reduction or abolishment of the measurement duty, while Brooke demanded that Siam allowed the British to establish a consulate in Siam, establishing British extraterritorial jurisdiction. However, the Siamese king Nangklao was ill and the Phrakhlang or trade minister Dit Bunnag did not agree to these British–American proposals in general anti-Western sentiments of the Siamese court. Both Brooke and Balestier left Siam incensed and empty-handed, with Brooke threatening to apply gunboat diplomacy on Siam. as the new King of Siam. Before his ascension to the throne, Mongkut, as a Buddhist monk, learned about Western science and philosophy. Mongkut learnt English language from American Presbyterian missionary Jesse Caswell and learnt Latin from French Catholic missionary Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix. King Mongkut made his own younger brother Pinklao as Vice-king of the Front Palace or Second King of Siam. Pinklao had been a strong admirer of Anglo–American culture and a fluent English speaker. Pinklao had been the most prominent figure of Westernization in the preceding reign of King Nangklao. In cases of legal disputes between British and Siamese subjects in Siam would be 'jointly' overseen by both the British Consul and the Siamese authority (Any disputes arising between Siamese and British subjects shall be heard and determined by the Consul, in conjunction with the proper Siamese officers.). As Harris himself had been an American merchant in China, Harris was aware of Bowring's mission to Siam so Harris proposed to the American president that the United States should also send a diplomatic mission to conclude a new treaty with Siam. President Franklin Pierce then commissioned Townsend Harris in September 1855, on his journey to Japan, to make a detour to Siam to conclude a new American–Siamese treaty. At London, the Queen's Advocate and Law Officers of the Crown pointed out vagueness of the Bowring Treaty; • It was not specified what articles of the 1826 Burney Treaty were abrogated and superseded by this 1855 Bowring Treaty and what articles were to remain in effect. • In the Bowring Treaty, the British Consul was to 'jointly' govern the British subjects in Siam with the Siamese government. However, the Queen's Advocate preferred the British subjects in Siam to be in exclusive authority of British Consul without Siamese interference. • The 200 sen and twenty-four-hour-journey limits of permissible residence of the British in Siam were vague and not properly demarcated. The British government then assigned Harry Parkes to bring suggestions from the Queen's Advocate to the Siamese government in Bangkok to clarify the vagueness and obscurities. Parkes was also assigned a royal letter from Queen Victoria to be delivered to the Siamese king. Harry Parkes reached Penang in February 1856, where he met Townsend Harris the American plenipotentiary. Parkes and Harris discussed their proposals to Siam and Parkes gave a copy of the Bowring Treaty to Harris. Harry Parkes arrived in Bangkok first in March 1856 in frigate HMS Auckland. The Siamese were delighted that Parkes brought a royal letter from the British monarch and considered Parkes to be a proper royal envoy. Parkes was received with even more pomp ceremonies than that of Bowring, with King Mongkut granting a grand audience to Parkes in Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall. During Parkes' negotiation with Siamese government, Townsend Harris the American envoy arrived in Bangkok in April 1856 in the screw frigate USS San Jacinto. Supplementary Agreement of Harry Parkes was concluded on 13 May 1856, in which it was clearly stated that what terms of the 1826 Burney Treaty were terminated and what terms were continued, the British imposed exclusive jurisdiction of the British Consul on British subjects in Siam without intervention of Siamese government (The Consul shall not interfere in any matters referring solely to Siamese, neither will the Siamese Authorities interfere in questions which only concern the subjects of her Britannic Majesty.) and the limits of 200 sen and twenty-four-hour-journey distance were demarcated. was appointed by President Franklin Pierce as the Consul General to Japan in 1855. Harris was also assigned to conclude the American–Siamese Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1856. With the conclusion of Parkes' agreement, Harry Parkes left Siam and King Mongkut appointed five plenipotentiaries to discuss the new American–Siamese treaty with Harris. They were Prince Wongsathirat Sanit, Somdet Chaophraya Phichaiyat That Bunnag, Chaophraya Si Suriyawong Chuang Bunnag, Chaophraya Rawiwong Kham Bunnag and Chaophraya Yommarat Nuch. American–Siamese Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed on 29 May 1856, in which the United States was granted similar Siamese concessions to Britain including establish of American consulate in Bangkok, American extraterritorial jurisdiction in Siam, abolition of measurement duty, stipulation of the low three-percent import duty for American merchants and the two-layer areas where the Americans could travel, reside and own lands. After the conclusion of this American–Siamese Harris Treaty, Townsend Harris continued his journey to Japan to conclude the American–Japanese Harris Treaty of 1858. == Montigny's mission to Siam ==

Preparation By the mid-nineteenth century, the British Empire had established political and commercial influence over the Far East. France, in contrast, had not been engaging in the affairs of the Far East, maintaining only the colony of French India based on Pondicherry. Siam had concluded the Burney Treaty (1826) with Great Britain and the Roberts Treaty (1833) with the United States. During the July Monarchy, France established a consulate in Singapore in 1839 as the first step of French expansion in the Far East, with Eugène Chaigneau as the first French Consul in Singapore. Meanwhile, the British were gaining power and influence over Qing China in the aftermath of the First Opium War, after which the Treaty of Nanking (1842) stipulated several concessions from China. Chaigneau arrived in Singapore in 1840. Also in 1840, during the time of British prevail over China in the Opium War, the Siamese royal court of King Rama III contacted Chaigneau the French Consul at Singapore, on behalf of King Harireak Reamea Ang Duong of Cambodia, sent gifts to Gauthier at Singapore in efforts to establish Franco–Cambodian relations, asking Gauthier to bring the Cambodian presents to the French government at Paris. At Singapore, Montigny wrote to Bishop Pallegoix the Vicar Apostolic of Eastern Siam in Bangkok, informing Pallegoix of the imminent arrival of the French imperial diplomatic mission in Siam. Montigny also assigned Pallegoix to secure an introduction letter written by the King of Siam to present Montigny to the Vietnamese Emperor. Pallegoix, who had been residing in Siam since 1830, replied that having the King of Siam write to the Vietnamese Emperor would be of no use because Siam and Vietnam had been enemies, having recently waged wars with each other. Montigny, with unrealisitic expectations, was enraged by Pallegoix's reply, insisting that the King of Siam was obliged to write a letter introducing Montigny to the Vietnamese imperial court to smoothen Montigny's entrance into Vietnam. This incident caused Montigny to adopt a very negative view on the French Bishop Pallegoix. Arrival of Montigny in Siam Charles de Montigny, the French imperial envoy to Siam, eventually left Singapore for Bangkok on 29 June 1856 along with his assistant Godeaux with three vessels; the steamship Marceau, the steam corvette Catinat and the sailing corvette Capricieuse, also with Commodore Jules Collier as the commander of his navy ships. The French diplomatic mission reached the river bar of the Chaophraya River on July 9. Through the course of his mission in Siam, Montigny strove to demonstrate to the Siamese government that France was superior to Britain and the United States, also seeking to follow Bowring's footsteps in Siam. According to Siamese law, all incoming foreign vessels had to report to the post of Paknam or Samut Prakarn first. Montigny sent his assistant Godeaux to report to Phraya Samut Buranurak the governor of Samut Prakarn, also informing the Siamese that Montigny demanded nothing short of Bowring's diplomatic reception house in Bangkok, where Bowring resided during his mission to Siam last year in 1855. This two-storey, European-style reception house, locating in front of Wat Prayurawong temple in modern Thonburi district, had been receiving British envoys since 1822. This house, however, was occupied by the British Consul in Siam Charles Hillier, who refused to leave to make room for the French. The Siamese government then assigned the house of the recently deceased Siamese trade minister Somdet Chaophraya Prayurawong Dit Bunnag, who was a leading negotiator of the Bowring Treaty and had died in April 1855, locating near the British reception house, for Montigny to reside. The Siamese told Montigny that this house was where the Bowring Treaty was signed and had belonged to the trade minister himself. Montigny was satisfied with this arrangement. King Mongkut of Siam then sent twenty-five small riparian barges to take the French envoys upstream from Samut Prakarn to Bangkok. Two Bunnag brothers-ministers, Chaophraya Si Suriyawong Chuang Bunnag and Chaophraya Rawiwong Kham Bunnag, brought the barges to Samut Prakarn on 12 July 1856. In similar manner to the previous Siamese reception of Western envoys, Chuang Bunnag had Siamese soldiers in red British military costume receive Montigny, who disembarked from his vessel Marceau at Samut Prakarn. Siamese cannons shot 17-gun salute and the military band played British God Save The Queen. Chaophraya Si Suriyawong Chuang Bunnag, whom Montigny called Kalahom (Kalaoum), conversed with Montigny in English language, expressing his joy for France and Siam to resume relations after the long period of hiatus since the reign of King Narai of Ayutthaya in the seventeenth century. The Siamese expected the French mission to leave their warships at Paknam and proceeded to Bangkok, like the previous occasions of British and American missions to Siam. However, Montigny refused to leave French warships at Paknam, saying he wished to take his French warships to salute the Siamese royal flag at Bangkok. The Siamese surprisingly consented. In his later report to the French Foreign Ministry, Montigny boosted that the Siamese consent for Montigny to take French warships to Bangkok was unprecedented. Montigny, in his steamship Marceau, arrived at Wichaiprasit Fort in Bangkok (where the Siamese attack on the French had taken place in 1688) two days later on July 14, where Prince Kromma Luang Wongsathirat Sanit, King Mongkut's younger half-brother, brought all the five Siamese plenipotentiaries to greet Montigny on the Marceau. Vice-king Pinklao of the Front Palace, the second king of Siam, also wrote a personal letter in English to greet Montigny. The two other French corvettes Catinat and Capricieuse stayed at the river bar through Montigny's mission in Siam. Next day, on July 15, Montigny disembarked from the Marceau with the French shooting 21-gun salute. The Siamese at Wichaiprasit Fort responded by shooting reciprocal 21-gun salute. However, during the cannon shots, one of the French cannon exploded, amputating arms of two French soldiers. Chuang Bunnag and Kham Bunnag escorted Montigny to his assigned residence near Wat Prayurawong temple. Siamese reception of Montigny Bishop Pallegoix had earlier promised Montigny to assign a French Catholic priest as interpreter for Montigny. Montigny, however, held a negative opinion on Pallegoix since even before his arrival in Siam due to the previous letter incident. Pallegoix was further slandered by his fellow French Catholic missionaries, who called Pallegoix as "already becoming Siamese" for his high degree of sympathy towards the Siamese king. Father Larnaudie, one of the eight French priests who had earlier defied the order of the Siamese king in 1849, was then assigned as his interpreter. On 21 July 1856, the Siamese king Mongkut requested a private audience with the French envoy Montigny. Bishop Pallegoix and Father Larnaudie led Montigny from his residence to ride in a palanquin to have an audience with the king at Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall, where the Siamese king had earlier received Bowring, in the Siamese royal palace. Montigny found the audience not so private as the king was surrounded by his officials prostrating on the floor. King Mongkut asked whether Montigny brought an imperial letter from the French Emperor. The Siamese had been expecting all incoming foreign envoys to bring letters from their respective sovereigns as this would mean a great respect to the Siamese king and the Siamese kingdom. Siamese treatment of the envoy also depended on whether the envoy was bringing a letter from the sovereign or not. Harry Parkes had brought a royal letter from Queen Victoria and Townsend Harris had brought a presidential letter from Franklin Pierce. In his report to ''Quai d'Orsay'', Montigny admitted that him not bringing an imperial letter was a mistake of France. Montigny replied to the Siamese king that if the Siamese king wrote a letter to the French Emperor, the French Emperor would reply in kind. Mongkut further asked why France waited for Britain and the United States to conclude treaties with Siam and then sent envoy after. Montigny replied that the French Empire had been contemplating and preparing sending an envoy to conclude a treaty with Siam no later than the British nor the Americans but, due to many unfortunate shortcomings, the French envoy could only arrive late. in Bangkok was where King Mongkut ceremonially received the French imperial envoy Charles de Montigny on July 24, 1856. Montigny's grand audience with King Mongkut was scheduled to be on 24 July 1856. Montigny chose the ceremonies to take place in daylight (in contrast to Bowring's and Harris' audiences with Mongkut, which took place after sunset) in order for the Siamese to clearly see and grandeur of French diplomatic entourage. The procession began on 24 July 1856, at one o'clock in the afternoon. Without imperial letter, the portraits of the French Emperor and the French Empress were placed on the throne of the gilded royal riparian barge as substitute. The procession, in the equal scale of grandeur comparing to the Siamese reception of Chevalier de Chaumont (1685) and Simon de la Loubère (1687), moved from Montigny's residence to the royal palace. Montigny's barge followed the main royal barge. Montigny's assistant Godeaux, the naval commander Collier and Father Larnaudie the interpreter were in the same barge as Montigny. Following Montigny's barge was a separate barge for Bishop Pallegoix. In all these Siamese royal barges were Siamese oarsmen in red costume. Behind the Siamese reception procession were the French warships. Upon arrival of Montigny at the royal palace, the Siamese shot twenty-one salute cannon shots. French warships reciprocated with seventeen cannon salute shots. Montigny disembarked from the royal barge and he was transported, sitting on a sedan chair carried on the shoulders of Siamese porters, to the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall, where the royal audience took place. In the throne hall, male members of Siamese royal family, ministers and officials all prostrated on the floor in absolute silence and great solemnity. Unlike the Siamese, Montigny was not required to prostrate himself on the floor but rather standing, flanked at his both sides by Collier and Pallegoix, in front of the king, who had been sitting on the high throne. The life-sized protraits of Emperor Napoleon and Empress Eugénie were placed to flank at both sides of Mongkut's throne. Montigny bowed to King Mongkut, read his own diplomatic letter to the Siamese king in French language and then Father Larnaudie read the English-translated version. In his royal speech, Mongkut expressed his joy of the French diplomatic mission to Siam. After the conclusion of the grand Siamese royal reception, Kham Bunnag the Phrakhlang led Montigny on a tour to visit Theravadin Buddhist temples in Bangkok and also to see the royal elephants. Conclusion of the Montigny Treaty After the grand audience, on 30 July 1856, King Mongkut appointed five Siamese plenipotentiaries to discuss and negotiate the Franco–Siamese Treaty with Montigny (Note that the Bunnag surname was only granted in 1913 and Thai historians apply the surname onto historical figures to keep track of familial lineages); • Prince Wongsathirat Sanit, younger half-brother of King Mongkut • Somdet Chaophraya Phichaiyat, personal name That Bunnag, the king's regent in the royal capital of Bangkok • Chaophraya Si Suriyawong, personal name Chuang Bunnag, the Samuha Kalahom or Prime Minister of Southern Siam • Chaophraya Rawiwong, personal name Kham Bunnag, the Phrakhlang or Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs • Chaophraya Yommaraj, personal name Nuch, the Head of Nakhonban Police and Minister of Justice, not from Bunnag family Franco–Siamese negotiation began on 30 July 1856, taking place at the Thonburi Palace, which had been the residence of Prince Wongsathirat Sanit. The negotiation went smoothly and quickly as most of the terms had been settled in accordance with the Bowring Treaty. However, there were some issues; • Montigny demanded that the Siamese government should guarantee the safety of the wealth of French subjects in Siam. Montigny cited the example of a British merchant named Hubertson, who was robbed in China in 1845 and the Chinese imperial government did not compensate for Hubertson's losses. Siam refused to guarantee the French wealth, giving the reason that the Siamese government had no means to measure the wealth of French subjects in Siam. Montigny compromised by adding the clause that, in case of robbery on French subjects in Siam, both on land and sea, the Siamese government would do the best to arrest the thief and retrieve the stolen goods. However, the Siamese government was not obliged to compensate for the losses if Siam did not manage to return the goods. • According to Montigny, French navy was the expression of French power and prestige to the world so France tolerated no restrictions on its naval navigation. Montigny insisted that all French vessels, including French warships, should be granted free passage to Bangkok. This demand was unique to France. The Siamese apparently did not agree with this notion due to concern over possible security breach. France and Siam did not settle on this issue, resulting in discrepancies in French and Siamese language versions of the treaty. In the French version, French ships were allowed free access to Bangkok. Informing the Siamese government was just a formality. However, in the Siamese language version, all foreign vessels especially the warships should be granted permission by the Siamese government first in order to travel upstream from Samut Prakarn to Bangkok. This issue would have future complications as France would be the only Western nation who brought warships to Bangkok in gunboat diplomacy threats in 1864 and 1893. • The French accepted the Siamese restriction of travel and land ownership of French subjects in Siam to the area of twenty-four hours of boat passage from Bangkok. However, Montigny proposed that French Catholic missionaries should be allowed to go to preach in the faraway Siamese regional cities and that French naturalists should be allowed to go the explore Siamese geography and wildlife. Siam agreed to this proposal on conditions that any French subjects who wished to venture out of the allowed area should obtain permission and a travel passport from the Siamese government in conjunction with the French consul. French missionaries had been expecting Bishop Pallegoix, as the Vicar Apostolic of Siam, to issue travel permits but Montigny gave this power to the French consul instead due to his contempt for Pallegoix. • Siam wanted France to provide assistance to Siamese ships in France and anywhere in the world that French consulates existed, in case of need. This clause originated from the American–Siamese Treaty of May 1856, in which the United States promised to provide assistance to the Siamese anywhere in the world that American consulates stood. Montigny consented to this proposal as Montigny speculated that there would not be so much Siamese venturing around the world to be the burden of France and that helping non-enemy neutral nations had been an established international protocol. Discussion on this Franco–Siamese treaty took only ten days as every points had been presumably agreed on 5 August 1856. The signing of the treaty, during which traditional Siamese administrative seals were imprinted on the treaty, took place on Friday, fourteenth waxing of the ninth month, Year 1218 of Culāsakaraj Era, Year of Dragon, 15 August 1856, at the Thonburi Palace. Montigny personally chose August 15 as the signing day because it was the day when the French celebrated the Feast Day of the late Emperor Napoleon I (Napoleon was born on August 15). After the signing of the treaty, the Siamese at Wichaiprasit fort shot 21-gun salute, while the French warship Marceau at Wichaiprasit fort shot 21-gun salute in response. == Sovereigns and signatories ==

Sovereigns France • His Majesty Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (''Sa Majésté Napoleon III, L'Empereur des Français'') Alexandre_Cabanel_002.jpg|Napoleon III, Emperor of the French Siam • Phrabath Somdet Phrabaramend Mahamakout Southasamouti Thephaya Phongsavongsadit Vorakasatri Vorakhatya Raxani Karodom Chaturanta Boromma Maha Chakraphati Raxa Sangkat Boroma Thamika Maha Raxathirat Borommanaroth Bophith Phra Chom Klao Chao You Houa (King Mongkut of Siam), the First King of Siam (premier Roi de Siam). • Phrabath Somdet Phrabovorentharamesoum Mahisvaret Raxan Mahantavoradexo Xaya Moholan Khoun Adoundet Sarapha Thevesaranouraka Bovora Choula Chakraphati Raxa Sangkat Bovora Thamika Raxa Bophith Phra Pin Klao Chao You Houa (Vice-King Pinklao), the Second King of Siam (second Roi de Siam).First_King_of_Siam_MET_DP-573-001_(cropped).jpg|Mongkut, First King of Siam Pinklao.jpg|Pinklao, Second King of Siam Signatories France • Charles-Louis-Nicolas-Maximilien de Montigny, official of the Imperial Order of Legion of Honour (''officier de l'Ordre impérial de la Légion d'Honneur'') Siam • Phra Chao Nougyathen Kromalouang Vougsathiraxa Sanith (Prince Kromma Luang Wongsathirat Sanit, younger half-brother of King Mongkut) • Somdet Chao Phraya Boroma Maha Phixayati Naranetra Naroth Raxa Sourya Vongsa Sakonla Phongsa Patittha Moukha Matayathibodi Traya Sarana si Batana Chada Sakonla Maha Raxa xati Benthon Paramenton Maha Raxa Varo Prakan Maho Dexanouphab Bophith (Somdet Chaophraya Phichaiyat, personal name That Bunnag) the Siamese king's regent in the capital (chargé du gouvernement de la capitale) • Chao Phraya sisouriyavong Samanta Phonxa Phisoutha Maha Bourout Ratanodom (Chaophraya Si Suriyawong, personal Chuang Bunnag, the Samuha Kalahom or Prime Minister of Southern Siam), Minister of War (ministre de la guerre, this was the direct translation of Kalahom, which, by the nineteenth century, was not responsible for war anymore), in charge of the Southern provinces (chargé du gouvernement général des provinces du sud-ouest) • Chaophraya Ravivongsa Mahakosatibodi (Chaophraya Rawiwong, personal name Kham Bunnag, younger brother of Chuang Bunnag) the Phrakhlang or Siamese Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs (ministre des affaires étrangères), in charge of the Eastern provinces (chargé du gouvernement général des provinces du sud-est) • Chao Phraya Yomarat Xatisenangkha Narinthon Mahintharatibodi Sivixai Raxa Mahaya Souen Borirak Phoumi Phitak Lokakarathanta Ritti Naqhouban (Chaophraya Yommarat, personal name Nuch, head of the Nakhonban police), Minister of Justice (ministre de la justice)Krom Luang Wongsa Dhiraj Snid.jpg|Prince Wongsathirat Sanit, younger half-brother of King Mongkut That Bunnak.jpg|Somdet Chaophraya Phichaiyat (That Bunnag), the king's regent in the capital Sri Suriyawongse.JPG|Chaophraya Si Suriyawong (Chuang Bunnag) the Samuha Kalahom or Prime Minister of Southern Siam Kham Bunnak.jpg|Chaophraya Rawiwong (Kham Bunnag) the Phrakhlang or Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs, his title was later changed to Chaophraya Thiphakorawong. เจ้าพระยาภูธราภัย (นุช บุยรัตพันธุ์).jpg|Chaophraya Yommarat (Nuch), head of the Nakhonban police, he later became Chaophraya Phutharaphai the Prime Minister of Northern Siam == Treaty terms ==

The terms of this Franco–Siamese Montigny Treaty of 1856 were largely identical to those of the Anglo–Siamese Bowring Treaty, Chinese (Whampoa Article 10) or Siamese (Montigny Article 13) people were indebted to French subjects and did not pay the debts, Omani, Chinese and Siamese governments were to assist the French creditors to recover payments. Conversely, French Consuls would also assist any Omani, Chinese and Siamese claimants against French debtors. • Local Omani (Desfossés Article 15), Chinese (Whampoa Article 30) and Siamese (Montigny Article 16) authorities were required to assist in cases of French shipwrecks or any French vessels in need of supplies and repairs. • If a French subject became bankrupt in Oman (Desfossés Article 8) or in Siam (Montigny Article 12), the French Consuls in respective polities shall take possession of all the property of such bankrupt person to be delivered and distributed to the creditors. • If a French subject died in Oman (Desfossés Article 7) or in Siam (Montigny Article 14), property of such deceased person would be inherited by rightful heirs according to the will or, if not possible, to the French consular authorities in respective polities. The expanded articles of this Franco–Siamese Treaty of 1856 served as the model for all of Siam's subsequent unequal treaties with other Western nations including the Danish–Siamese Jarvie Treaty of 1858, which contained 25 articles, the Luso–Siamese Guimarães Treaty of 1859, which contained 39 articles, the Dutch–Siamese Curtius Treaty of 1860, which contained 25 articles and the Prusso–Siamese Eulenburg Treaty of 1862, which contained 25 articles. == Consequences and Subsequent Events ==

Montigny's mission in Cambodia and Vietnam Charles de Montigny the French imperial plenipotentiary appointed by Emperor Napoleon III arrived in Siam in early July 1856, concluding the Franco–Siamese Treaty in August 1856 and staying in Siam for the total of two months and a half until his departure. In his diplomatic mission to Southeast Asia, Montigny was not only assigned to Siam but also commissioned to go to Cambodia and Vietnam. Cambodia under King Ang Duong had been under joint Siamese–Vietnamese suzerainty in the aftermath of the Siamese–Vietnamese War, paying tributes to both. Montigny had a farewell audience with King Mongkut of Siam, during which the Siamese king entrusted Montigny with his gilded royal letter to the French Emperor. Mongkut also granted, per Montigny's request, a number of exotic wild animals to France for display including two elephants, a tapir, a gaur, a serow, a gibbon, a peacock, etc. However, these animals could not be transported immediately and they had to wait for France to send a separate ship to carry them. Montigny and his retinue; Captain Jules Collier on the Capricieuse and Montigny on the Marceau, left Samut Prakarn on 21 September 1856, sailing eastwards. The Siamese prince Kromma Luang Wongsathirat Sanit, younger half-brother of Mongkut, had Collier take nine Khmer men from Bangkok to return to Cambodia. Somehow, among these nine Cambodians on the Capricieuse were three Siamese officials. As Montigny was running late on his schedule, Collier decided to leave Cambodia for Vietnam with the Capricieuse, leaving Montigny in Cambodia. Upon disembarkation at Kampot, the two disguised Siamese officials went to Oudong to deliver Mongkut's letter to Ang Duong, while the other one stayed in Kampot to spy on Montigny. This Siamese official in Kampot threatened the Cambodian officials in Kampot not to cooperate with the French. Montigny on the Marceau arrived in Kampot, the seaport of Soutwestern Cambodia, in early October 1856. Montigny was received by Bishop Jean-Claude Miche, who warned Montigny about the Siamese "spy" in Kampot. Montigny summoned the Siamese official and recognized that he had seen this Siamese man before during one of his audiences with Prince Kromma Luang Wongsa in Bangkok. Montigny was convinced that Siam intended to monitor his actions in Cambodia. Montigny then expelled this Siamese official from Kampot. At their own initiatives, Montigny and Bishop Miche proposed a Franco–Cambodian Treaty to guarantee Catholic religious freedom in Cambodia. Even though Montigny recognized Siam's suzerainty over Cambodia, Montigny thought that Cambodia could independently sign a treaty with France without Siam's consent. King Ang Duong was departing from Oudong the Cambodian royal capital to meet Montigny in Kampot when Phra Ratchathani, called "Mi Muang Thip raj dhany", the chief Siamese official among the three, arrived in Oudong to deliver Mongkut's letter. In the letter, Mongkut granted permission for Ang Duong to conclude a treaty with France, given that the treaty terms were appropriate, also sending a copy of the recently-concluded Franco–Siamese Montigny Treaty for Ang Duong to examine. Also in the letter, Mongkut was aware of Ang Duong's earlier secret endeavor with the French Consul in Singapore. After reading Mongkut's letter, Ang Duong decided not to go to meet Montigny in Kampot. Montigny and Bishop Miche had been waiting for Ang Duong in Kampot when the Cambodian king sent his fifteen ministers, officials and two hundred elephants to fetch Montigny to Oudong instead, citing his sudden illness as the cause of his inability to arrive in Kampot. According to Bishop Miche, however, Ang Duong was not ill but was prevented by the Siamese from coming to meet Montigny. Montigny refused to go to meet Ang Duong at Oudong for he had already been late in his schedule to reach Vietnam and he was supposed to spend very little time in Cambodia. Journey from Kampot to Oudong was arduous, going through thick forests and muddy roads. As Montigny refused to go to Oudong, Ang Duong then assigned Bishop Miche as the Cambodian plenipotentiary to negotiate a treaty with Montigny. Montigny and Miche then drafted the fourteen-article Franco–Cambodian Commercial and Religious Convention (French: Convention Commerciale et Religieuse), which largely contained the same provisions as the preceeding treaty Montigny had just concluded with Siam but with less details. As Montigny required Bishop Miche to be his interpreter in his Vietnamese mission, Montigny assigned the 26-year-old inexperienced French MEP missionary Arsène Hestrest to bring Montigny's Cambodian Treaty draft for Ang Duong to sign at Oudong. Montigny and Bishop Miche hurriedly left Kampot on the Marceau in late October 1856, going to Danang. However, strong seasonal northwestern winds prevented Montigny and the Marceau from proceeding directly to Danang, instead having to circumvent through Singapore, Labuan, Borneo and Manila in order to reach Danang. Meanwhile, in late November 1856, Hestrest presented Montigny's treaty draft to Ang Duong and found that the Cambodian king was closely watched by the presenting Siamese officials including Phra Ratchathani and Luang Aphai, son of the Siam-appointed governor of Battambang. Ang Duong rejected Montigny's treaty, refusing to listen to any explanations from Hestrest and expressing his anger that Montigny did not come to see him in person. Captain Collier of the Capricieuse had been waiting for Montigny's arrival in Danang for three months. After three months of wandering at sea, Montigny on the Marceau finally arrived in Danang in late January 1857. In Danang, Montigny adopted a tough stance on the Vietnamese, threatening that if Vietnam did not comply to French demands, France was obliged to intervened militarily. Montigny's threats did not incur fear among the Vietnamese, who responded that if France wanted to fight, Vietnam would fight. After some conflicts, the negotiation took place in early February 1857. The Vietnamese insisted that the French merchants could only come to trade in Danang in a limited time period, to which Montigny countered that, in the same manner as the unequal treaties that Western nations had forced upon Asian nations, the French should be allowed to trade freely in any Vietnamese ports and build Christian churches in any Vietnamese towns. The negotiation broke down as both sides refused to find a compromising ground. Montigny departed from Danang in early February 1857 empty-handed, after only a short stay, without achieving his assigned objective in Vietnam, thus ending his seven-month diplomatic mission among the Southeast Asian polities of Siam, Cambodia and Vietnam. Franco–Siamese relations after Montigny Treaty: 1856–1863 Bishop Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix the Apostolic Vicar of Eastern Siam, also a close friend of the Siamese king Mongkut, put forward himself as a candidate as the French Consul in Siam. However, Montigny the French plenipotentiary took a negative view on Bishop Pallegoix due to the earlier incident. Instead, before his departure from Siam in September 1856, Montigny appointed the Portuguese Consul in Bangkok António Frederico Moor as the acting French Consul in Siam due to shortage of French diplomatic personnel in the Far East. France and Portugal, fellow Catholic nations, had an agreement that, in case where any of the two nations, France or Portugal, lacked representatives, French or Portuguese Consul would oversee the nationals of the other nation. The Siamese, however, saw the Portuguese Consul Moor as a merchant from a 'small nation' and was upset by Montigny's decision, viewing French appointment of a Portugese Consul as France not caring about Siam. After the conclusion of Montigny's mission, Ernest-Napoléon Godeaux, Montigny's young assistant, brought Mongkut's gilded letter to Emperor Napoleon III and the Franco–Siamese Treaty to Paris for ratification, where the French Foreign Ministry quickly approved Montigny's Siamese Treaty in February 1857. Montigny and Bishop Miche returned to Singapore in mid-March 1857, where they learned, through Hestrest's letter, that King Ang Duong of Cambodia had rejected Montigny's treaty. Angered, Montigny wrote a letter in March 1857 to confront the Siamese king Mongkut about the incident, accusing Siam of having prevented Ang Duong from accepting Montigny's treaty. In the letter, Montigny told Mongkut about the insolence of the Siamese spy and how he had recognized this official as being under the service of Prince Wongsa. The Siamese, however, saw Montigny's accusation as untrue, as King Mongkut had earlier granted permission for Cambodia to conclude a treaty with France. The Siamese saw their own watchful assistance to Cambodia, a vassal of Siam, in dealings with the French envoy as rightful. With the death of British Consul in Bangkok Charles Hillier in October 1856, the British sent William Raymond Gingell as acting British Consul, who was received with solemn ceremonies by the Siamese court for the Siamese had a positive impression on Queen Victoria's letter to King Mongkut. As Siam had signed a commercial treaty with France, French merchant ships came to trade in Bangkok. Dominique Rémi, a French merchant and Montigny's aide from Shanghai, came to rent a place in Bangkok for his Remi Schmidt & Co company to trade, also acting as Montigny's agent in Bangkok. Rémi reported to Montigny in Singapore that, since signing of Siam's treaties with Britain, France and the United States, hundreds of Western merchants vessels had come to trade in Bangkok, among them only six were French. They were the Benjamin and the Lion from Bordeaux, the Pur-Sang and the Concorde from Nantes, the Guillaume Tell from Le Havre and the Émilie from Marseilles. Montigny eventually returned to resume his position as the French Consul in Shanghai in June 1857, after four years of absence. On 10 June 1857, Count Walewski the French Foreign Minister appointed Auguste Heurtier, younger brother of the French Councillor of State Nicolas Heurtier, to be gérant or interim French Consul in Siam. However, journey of Heurtier from France to Siam took time. In mid-July 1857, the French merchant ship Aigle from Marseilles arrived in Bangkok, also bringing the Franco–Siamese Treaty concluded last year in August 1856, ratified by the French government in February 1857, to be ratified on the Siamese side. As the Siamese king Mongkut had sent his gilded letter to the French Emperor, he had been expecting a response. France sending the ratified treaty on a mere merchant ship without an official envoy and without a response letter from the French Emperor was an insult to Siam's national prestige. When the Portuguese Consul Moor, the acting French Consul in Siam, presented the treaty to King Mongkut on July 23, Mongkut refused to ratify the treaty right away. This incident detoriorated the Franco–Siamese relations. Prince Wongsa told Rémi that France had humiliated Siam. == References ==