Background
King Narai had sought to expand relations with the French, as a counterweight to Portuguese and Dutch influence in his kingdom, and at the suggestion of his Greek councilor Constantine Phaulkon. Numerous embassies were exchanged in both directions, including the embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont to Siam in 1685 and the embassy of Kosa Pan to France in 1686.
This led to a major dispatch of French ambassadors and troops to Siam in 1687, organized by the Marquis de Seignelay. The embassy consisted of a French expeditionary force of 1,361 soldiers, missionaries, envoys and crews aboard five warships. The military wing was led by General Desfarges, and the diplomatic mission by Simon de la Loubère and Claude Céberet du Boullay, a director of the French East India Company. Desfarges had instructions to negotiate the establishment of troops in Mergui and Bangkok (considered as "the key to the kingdom") rather than the southern Songkla, and to take these locations if necessary by force.
King Narai agreed to the proposal, and a fortress was established in each of the two cities, which were commanded by French governors. Desfarges noted in his account of the events that he was in command of the fortress of Bangkok, with 200 French officers and men, as well as a Siamese contingent provided by King Narai, and Du Bruant was in command of Mergui with 90 French soldiers. Another 35 soldiers with three or four French officers were assigned to ships of the King of Siam, with a mission to fight piracy.
The disembarkment of French troops in Bangkok and Mergui led to strong nationalist movements in Siam directed by the Mandarin and Commander of the Elephant Corps, Phra Phetracha. By 1688 anti-foreign sentiments, mainly directed at the French and Phaulkon, were reaching their zenith. The Siamese courtiers resented the dominance of the Greek Phaulkon in state affairs, along with his Japanese wife Maria Guyomar de Pinha and European lifestyle, whilst the Buddhist clergy were uneasy with the increasing prominence of the French Jesuits. The Siamese mandarinate under the leadership of Phetracha complained about the occupation force and increasingly opposed Phaulkon.
Read more about this topic: Siege Of Bangkok
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