Treaty In1863 (Cambodia-France: Report
Treaty in1863 [Cambodia-France]
Before 1863, Cambodia mainly served as a vassal territory for either the Thai or Vietnamese government. As stated earlier, King Norodom was seeking to end this cycle and gain power for Cambodia by signing a protection treaty with France. France viewed Cambodia as a buffer zone between southern Vietnam and British-aligned Siam. They hoped that by signing the treaty they would be protecting their own interests in southern Vietnam. In turn, Cambodia relied on French protection to stop Vietnamese invasions on the eastern border. On 11 August 1863, King Norodom signed a ‘treaty of friendship, commerce and French protection’ with the Breton sailor Admiral Pierre de La Grandière, whose gunboat was moored on the river …show more content…
The central figure in revolt was Norodom’s half brother Prince Si Votha, a seasoned guerrilla and royal pretender who had already spent many years in forest. The protesters made a motion claimed the French to delegate the power back to the king. The rebellion of the protesters didn’t reflect in demanding the independence. This strong rebellion force united the disparate factions of the Khmer aristocracy in common cause of driving the French back down the Mekong and won support of common people as well as the Chinese and Vietnamese minority who also joined the fight against French. Many French soldiers fell victim to disease, while others fell under the bullets of the rebels who eluded them in the forest and fields. By the middle of 1886, it had become clear to French Colonial Ministry that there would have to be negotiated solution to the conflict and as a result it reached the French-Khmer bilateral agreement in which French had promised that they would not try to impose total control over the Khmer administration. At the same time, the French would have to solicit the king’s support to end the uprising . As in return for a promise from French, Norodom agreed to issue a proclamation for peace and to travel the country to ask rebels to lay down their arms. Within six weeks, he had achieved what had proved impossible for French. The country then was largely at peace, but it was the peace of an exhausted and devastated
Before 1863, Cambodia mainly served as a vassal territory for either the Thai or Vietnamese government. As stated earlier, King Norodom was seeking to end this cycle and gain power for Cambodia by signing a protection treaty with France. France viewed Cambodia as a buffer zone between southern Vietnam and British-aligned Siam. They hoped that by signing the treaty they would be protecting their own interests in southern Vietnam. In turn, Cambodia relied on French protection to stop Vietnamese invasions on the eastern border. On 11 August 1863, King Norodom signed a ‘treaty of friendship, commerce and French protection’ with the Breton sailor Admiral Pierre de La Grandière, whose gunboat was moored on the river …show more content…
The central figure in revolt was Norodom’s half brother Prince Si Votha, a seasoned guerrilla and royal pretender who had already spent many years in forest. The protesters made a motion claimed the French to delegate the power back to the king. The rebellion of the protesters didn’t reflect in demanding the independence. This strong rebellion force united the disparate factions of the Khmer aristocracy in common cause of driving the French back down the Mekong and won support of common people as well as the Chinese and Vietnamese minority who also joined the fight against French. Many French soldiers fell victim to disease, while others fell under the bullets of the rebels who eluded them in the forest and fields. By the middle of 1886, it had become clear to French Colonial Ministry that there would have to be negotiated solution to the conflict and as a result it reached the French-Khmer bilateral agreement in which French had promised that they would not try to impose total control over the Khmer administration. At the same time, the French would have to solicit the king’s support to end the uprising . As in return for a promise from French, Norodom agreed to issue a proclamation for peace and to travel the country to ask rebels to lay down their arms. Within six weeks, he had achieved what had proved impossible for French. The country then was largely at peace, but it was the peace of an exhausted and devastated