Bangkok: Orchid Press, Date: 2002. The coup d'état of 18 May, 1688 in the Siamese 'Versailles' at Lopburi led to the establishment of the last Ayutthayan dynasty. But it was not just another internal palace coup in face of the imminent death of the reigning monarch, Narai. For the King's favourite, Phaulkon, had been instrumental in bringing a French expeditionary force into the country in October of the previous year, which had secret orders to seize Bangkok, the 'key of the kingdom', and Mergui, its chief port on the Andaman Sea. Phaulkon's original plan was to place Frenchmen in key positions in the country, perhaps with a view to ruling through a pliant successor, but the unexpected appearance of so many troops eclipsed that project and Phaulkon's hold on power. The powerful courtier, Petracha, head of the elephant corps, playing on nationalist feelings, proceeded throughout 1688 to outmanoeuvre both Phaulkon and the French. Phaulkon was killed on Petracha's orders and the French were forced to flee, eventually negotiating a treaty of surrender in Bangkok, before they were allowed to leave. The French general, Desfarges, played treacherous role in these affairs, abandoning Phaulkon at a crucial juncture and refusing to give shelter to his widow in the French fort, largely because he wished to keep the money Phaulkon had handed to him for safe-keeping before he was betrayed. Desfarges left an account to justify his actions, hopin ...

ISBN10: 9745240052, ISBN13: 9789745240056, [publisher: White Lotus Press, Bangkok] Softcover Three Military Accounts of the 1688 Revolution in Siam
[APO, AP, U.S.A.] [Publication Year: 2002]
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