Siamese Revolution of 1688 - Ousting of French Forces (1688)

Ousting of French Forces (1688)

Large-scale attacks were launched on the two French fortresses in Siam, and on June 24, 1688, the French under du Bruant and the Chevalier de Beauregard had to abandon their garrison at Mergui. Du Bruant managed to escape under fire and with many casualties by seizing a Siamese warship, the Mergui. He and his troops were stranded on a deserted island for four months before being captured by a British warship. They ultimately returned to Pondicherry by way of Madras.

In the Siege of Bangkok, Phetracha besieged the French fortress in Bangkok with 40,000 men and over a hundred cannon, for a period of four months. The Siamese troops also apparently received Dutch support in their fight against the French. On September 9, the French warship Oriflamme, carrying 200 troops and commanded by de l'Estrilles, arrived at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, but was unable to dock at the Bangkok fortress as the entrance to the river was being blocked by the Siamese.

Phaulkon's Catholic Japanese-Portuguese wife, Maria Guyomar de Pinha, who had been promised protection by being ennobled a countess of France, took refuge with the French troops in Bangkok, but Desfarges returned her to the Siamese under pressure from Phetracha on October 18. Despite the promises that had been made regarding her safety, she was condemned to perpetual slavery in the kitchens of Phetracha. Desfarges finally negotiated to return with his men to Pondicherry on November 13, on board the Oriflamme and two Siamese ships, the Siam and the Louvo, provided by Phetracha.

Some of the French troops remained in Pondicherry to bolster the French presence there, but most left for France on February 16, 1689 aboard the French Navy Normande and the French Company Coche, with the engineer Vollant des Verquains and the Jesuit Le Blanc aboard. The two ships were captured by the Dutch at The Cape, however, because the War of the Augsburg League had started. After a month in the Cape, the prisoners were sent to Zeeland where they were kept at the prison of Middelburg. They were eventually able to return to France through a general exchange of prisoners.

On April 10, 1689, the French officer Desfarges—who had remained in Pondicherry—led an expedition to capture the island of Phuket in an attempt to restore some sort of French control in Siam. The occupation of the island led nowhere, and Desfarges returned to Pondicherry in January 1690. Recalled to France, he left 108 troops in Pondicherry to bolster defenses, and left with his remaining troops on the Oriflamme and the Company ships Lonré and Saint-Nicholas on February 21, 1690. Desfarges died on his way back trying to reach Martinique, and the Oriflamme sank shortly thereafter on February 27, 1691, with most of the remaining French troops, off the coast of Britanny.

A Siamese-formed rebellion led by Thammathian broke out in 1690 against Phetracha's rule, but was suppressed. The governors of several regional provinces likewise refused to accept Phetracha's rule, and stood in rebellion until 1691. Phetracha's reign lasted until 1703, when he died and was succeeded by his eldest son Sanphet VIII.

A contemporary who participated in the events, the French engineer Jean Vollant des Verquains, wrote in 1691 about its historical significance: "The revolution which occurred in the Kingdom of Siam in the year 1688 is one of the most famous events of our times, whether it is considered from the point of view of politics or religion."