Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
requested help from the Vietnamese - who then promptly annexed the whole of the
Mekong delta and took effective control of large parts of Cambodia, with the king
reduced to a puppet ruler. In 1812, Ang Chan relocated the court to Phnom Penh,
from where he proceeded to send secret emissaries to Bangkok, assuring them of his
continued allegiance.
The Thai king, Rama III, decided in the early 1830s to re-exert his influence on
Cambodia and, seizing upon the opportunity provided by the death of the Vietnamese
viceroy in 1832, sent in an army to oust the Vietnamese - who had already left by the
time Thai troops arrived, taking Ang Chan with them. The Thais sought to install as
king one of Ang Chan's two brothers who had been living in exile in Bangkok, but later
abandoned the idea, unable to gain any popular support for either. The Vietnamese,
keeping Ang Chan under close supervision, returned to Phnom Penh a couple of years
later; he died shortly afterwards, leaving no male heir. They duly installed Chan's second
daughter,
Mei
, as queen (1835-41), thinking she would be malleable, and set about
imposing Vietnamese culture and customs on the Cambodians. Their disregard for
Theravada Buddhism and their attempts to enforce the use of the Vietnamese language
sowed deep resentment, and anti-Vietnamese riots flared repeatedly from 1836.
Losing their patience, the Vietnamese blamed Queen Mei for their own failure to
install a disciplined Vietnamese-style administration, and arrested her in 1840; though
the Cambodians had not liked being forced to accept a Vietnamese-appointed queen,
they now resented her detention and rioted again. Thai troops poised on the border
marched in and forced the Vietnamese out, and despite sporadic skirmishes the
Vietnamese never regained control. They withdrew from Cambodia in 1847; the
following year, Chan's brother,
Duang
(1848-59), was crowned king at Oudong with
full Buddhist ceremony.
Meanwhile, the
French
had arrived in Southeast Asia, but were rebuffed in their
attempt to establish trading arrangements with Vietnam. On the pretext that French
missionaries were being persecuted, they invaded the Mekong delta, annexing the
southern provinces of Vietnam. In Cambodia, Duang feared another Vietnamese
invasion and asked the French for help; they eventually sent a diplomatic mission but it
was turned back before it could reach him at Oudong and Duang died before any
discussions could be held, leaving it to
Norodom
(1859-1904) to agree a treaty with
the French in 1863.
The French protectorate
Norodom's
treaty
with France afforded Cambodia French protection in exchange for
wide-ranging mineral and timber rights, along with freedom for the French to preach
Christianity and to move around the country. Having signed the treaty, however,
Norodom continued the double-dealing of his predecessors, and continued secretly to
reassure the Thais of his loyalty to Bangkok.
With riots flaring in the provinces against Norodom and his French allegiances, the
French pressed for a new treaty allowing them to install administrative
residents
in all
provincial centres - effectively taking over the day-to-day running of the country.
Rebellion sprang up across the nation, which the French, even with the assistance of
Vietnamese troops, had di
culty in quelling. Despite this resistance a new treaty was
13th century
1432
Gradual decline of Angkor under Jayavarman VII's successors.
Hinduism is once again in the ascendancy, with many Buddha
images defaced or destroyed. Thai forces regain large swathes of
territory formerly ruled from Angkor
Thai forces sack Angkor. King Ponhea
Yat abandons the ancient city and
establishes a new capital at
Phnom Penh
