Folio, (297 x 217 mm). Manuscript on Asian paper, [18] leaves. Early 20th-century red leather, front cover partly faded. Paper brittle with some marginal chipping and tears not affecting text, as expected for this type of paper.

This contemporary manuscript from the late 17th century written in the Philippines reveals the interest with which events in Siam were followed from Manila. The unknown author shows himself very knowledgeable of both the history and the contemporary situation of Siam. The manuscript begins with a geographical description of the splendid royal capital of the Kingdom situated on the river Siam. It also deals with the character of the people, their religion, commerce, their system of government, their military forces and the situation of the Catholic religion.

The author of the manuscript claims that it had been assembled from the latest information. There is a reference to the arrival of captain Pedro López at Manila in August of 1690 carrying with him valuable news about the recent events in Siam. Doubtlessly, this was one of the main sources for the manuscript. There is also information gathered from the previous contacts of Spanish priests with Siam. For example, a new report is provided about Franciscan Friar Antonio de Santo Domingo who had set off on a missionary expedition to Cambodia in 1686. According to the manuscript he had been assisted by the king of Siam who offered him the protection of a Royal frigate to go to evangelise the Nicobar Islands situated off the northern tip of Sumatra. The King of Siam asked the Queen of Achen (Kingdom of Aceh) which was situated in Sumatra in front of the coasts of Singapore to assist him. Santo Domingo wrote in 1691 a “Relación” of his experiences.1 On leaf foliated ‘225r’ of the manuscript there is an interesting reference to what are probably the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia which according to the author had been seen by ‘many Spaniards’.

From the beginning it mentions the French presence in Siam: ‘four leagues’ from the entrance of the river the French had recently built a fortress manned by 400 soldiers situated at the ‘punta’ or ‘barra’ Vancol, where the city of Bangkok was located.

Historical context:

The revolution of 1688 was led by Phetracha, general of the Elephant corps of King Narai. It was launched in protest against the increasing influence of the French in Siam. To counterbalance the power of the Portuguese and Dutch present in his kingdom, King Narai had opened the country following the advice of his trusted advisor the Greek Constantino Falcon, (Constantine Phaulkon), who had accumulated great power and wealth. Neiri had sent envoys to different parts of the world and had established a commercial treaty with Louis XIV in 1685. In this way Falcon sought to reinforce his own position and that of the King in the face of the growing hostility of the Mandarins, Buddhist priests (Bonzos) and even of the European settlers who, according to our author, resented Falcon´s tax levies. As a result of the treaty, the French had built military fortresses and French missionaries were allowed to move freely in the country. In 1688 Narai fell ill, an opportunity grasped by Phetracha to lock him in his palace and launch an insurrection against Falcon and the French. Falcon was murdered in a gruesome way which is graphically described in the manuscript and his possessions confiscated. Many French priests were also murdered and the insurrectionaries laid siege to the French fortresses. After negotiations the French were allowed to leave by ship with the surviving priests. They took with them a number of Mandarins as hostages to guarantee the safety of the priests held hostage by Phetracha.

The French departed from Bangkok with ten ships, sailed to the Coromandel Coast in India and to the commercial port of Pondicherry (Pundechere) which had been set up in 1674 by the French East India Company. The French ships eventually sailed back to the port of Junselan (Chunselan) in what is known as the island of Phuket off the coast of Thailand where the French general released the Mandarins accompanied by a Jesuit without any conditions in the hope that Phetrarcha would reciprocate by releasing the priests. He also dispatched a small ship to find out from the Dutch in Jakharta (Batavia) if a French rescue fleet had arrived. However, in the Bangka Strait (Estrecho de Bahia) the ship encountered another small ship en route from Timor to Siam whose crew reported that the Dutch fleet which had just arrived at the port of Chapara had brought news that the French King had declared war on the Dutch. With this news the French general decided to return to Pondicherry. This news neatly ends the narrative of the manuscript for it was this war between the French and the Dutch which marked the end of the French military involvement in Siam.

The Siamese Revolution of 1688 has been blamed for the isolation that Siam experienced in the following centuries. It should however be born in mind that the Portuguese and the Dutch were permitted to remain in the country and the released French priests were allowed to carry on their religious mission unimpeded.

1Relación del P. Antonio de Santo Domingo, su viaje a las islas Nicobar y su regreso a las Islas Filipinas, ed. Lorenzo Pérez, Archivum Franciscanum Historicum, XI (1918). 80-96.