The French army and Siam, 1893–1914

Abstract

Concerning the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893, the forcing of the mouth of the Chao Phraya River by French gunboats under Siamese fire is generally known, as well as the treaty of October 1893 that gave the left bank of the Mekong River to France. Little, however, has been written about the land operations between French and Siamese armies in the region of the Khone Falls, or about the occupation of Chanthaburi district up until 1905. Important for the history of Thailand, these latter episodes moreover illustrate French colonial doctrine very aptly in France’s conquest and pacification of Tonkin. The French exported that doctrine everywhere in their empire—reliance on the use of native troops, integration of political and military action, and primacy accorded to civil administration. The present article examines how the governors-general of French Indochina perceived the rapid modernisation of Kingdom of Siam, as they buttressed France’s farthest and richest colony.