Kosa Pan ( th, ปาน; 1633 – 15 November 1699) was a Siamese

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and minister who led the second Siamese embassy to France sent by King

Narai King Narai the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( th, รามาธิบดีที่ ๓ ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Pr ...

in 1686.Rajanubhab, D., 2001, ''Our Wars With the Burmese,'' Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd., He was preceded to France by the first Siamese embassy to France, which had been composed of two Siamese ambassadors and Father Bénigne Vachet, who had left Siam for France on January 5, 1684.

Family

Through his father, Pan was allegedly a descendant of

Phraya Kiarti The Thai nobility was a social class comprising titled officials (''khunnang'', th, ขุนนาง) in the service of the monarchy. They formed part of a hierarchical social system which developed from the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (14th ...

, a Mon noble who sided with

Naresuan King Naresuan the Great (( th, สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช, , ) or Sanphet II ( th, สรรเพชญ์ที่ ๒), ( my , နရဲစွမ် (သို့) ဗြနရာဇ်); 1555/1556 – ...

during the fourth Burmese-Siamese War, as well as being either a grandnephew or a grandson of King

Ekathotsarot Ekathotsarot ( th, เอกาทศรถ, , ) or Sanphet III ( th, สรรเพชญ์ที่ ๓); 1560 – 1610/11) was the King of Ayutthaya from 1605 to 1610/11 and overlord of Lan Na from 1605 to 1608/09, succeeding his brother Nare ...

. Pan was a great-great-grandfather of King

Rama I Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharaj (, 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), personal name Thongduang (), also known as Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam (now Tha ...

, the founder of the

Chakri Dynasty The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the ...

. His older brother,

Lek Lek or LEK may refer to: * Lek mating, mating in a lek, a type of animal territory in which males of a species gather * Albanian lek, the currency of Albania * Lek (magazine), a Norwegian softcore pornographic magazine * Lek (pharmaceutical comp ...

(เหล็ก), held the post of foreign minister before him.

Early life

Pan was born to a Siamese woman Chao Mae Wat Dusit in

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is conside ...

in 1633. Chao was then a wet nurse for

Phetracha Phetracha (alternative spellings: ''Bedraja'', ''P'etraja'', ''Petraja'', ''Petratcha''; also called ''Phra Phetracha''; th, เพทราชา, ; 1632– 5 February 1703) was a king of the Ayutthaya kingdom in Thailand, usurping the throne fr ...

in 1632, and later for Prince

. Pan was a kind of foster brother to them. Chao's connection, if any, with the then-reigning Sukhothai dynasty of the

is unclear, with some speculating her to be a daughter or niece of King

Names

''Pan'' ( th, ปาน; ) was his given name. As foreign minister, he was styled ''Chaophraya Kosathibodi'' ( th, เจ้าพระยาโกษาธิบดี; ). He is colloquially called ''Kosa Pan'' ( th, โกษาปาน; ). He is also known by his former style as a first-class diplomat: ''Ok-phra Wisut Sunthon'' ( th, ออกพระวิสุทธสุนทร; ). Contemporary French documents recorded his name as ''Ooc, Pravisoutsonthoon Raatchathoud'' (ออกพระวิสุทธสุนทร ราชทูต). His success in diplomatic negotiations earned him the epithet ''golden-tongued diplomat'' ( th, ราชทูตลิ้นทอง or นักการทูตลิ้นทอง).

Embassy to France (1686)

SiameseEmbassyToLouisXIV1686NicolasLarmessin

To accompany the return of the 1685 French embassy to Siam of

Chevalier de Chaumont Alexandre, Chevalier de Chaumont (1640 – 28 January 1710 in Paris) was the first French ambassador for King Louis XIV in Siam in 1685.Chakrabongse, C., 1960, Lords of Life, London: Alvin Redman Limited He was accompanied on his mission by Ab ...

and

François-Timoléon de Choisy François Timoléon, abbé de Choisy (; 16 August 1644 – 2 October 1724) was a French cross-dresser, abbé, and author. He wrote numerous works on church history as well as travelogues, memoirs and fiction. Biography De Choisy was born in Pari ...

, Pan was selected by

Constantine Phaulkon Constantine Phaulkon (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Γεράκης, ''Konstantinos Gerakis''; γεράκι is the Greek word for "falcon"; 1647 – 5 June 1688, also known as Costantin Gerachi, ''Capitão Falcão'' in Portuguese and simply as ' ...

, the Prime Counsellor to King Narai, to lead an embassy to France. Pan set out for France in 1686 on two French ships with two other Siamese ambassadors, Ok-luang Kanlaya Ratchamaitri and Ok-khun Si Wisan Wacha, and by the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Father

Guy Tachard Guy Tachard (; 1651 – 1712), also known as Père Tachard, was a French Jesuit missionary and mathematician of the 17th century, who was sent on two occasions to the Kingdom of Siam by Louis XIV. He was born in Marthon, near Angoulême. In 1 ...

. The embassy was bringing a proposal for an eternal alliance between France and Siam. Pan's embassy was met with a rapturous reception and caused a sensation in the courts and society of Europe. The mission landed at

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French mi ...

and journeyed to

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, constantly surrounded by crowds of curious onlookers.Chakrabongse, C., 1960, ''Lords of Life,'' London: Alvin Redman Limited The embassy stayed in France from June 1686 to March 1687.

1688 Siamese revolution

Upon his return to Siam, Pan was pressured to become a supporter of

's anti-French faction of dissatisfied nobles, who resented the power that the French held in Siam. The following revolution toppled

and ousted the French forces. Pan was sent to negotiate with their officials. He was appointed by Phetracha as his Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Pan was met in Siam in 1690 by the German naturalist

Engelbert Kaempfer Engelbert Kaempfer (16 September 16512 November 1716) was a German naturalist, physician, explorer and writer known for his tour of Russia, Persia, India, Southeast Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He wrote two books about his travels. ''A ...

. The naturalist noted "pictures of the Royal family of France and European maps" hanging "in the hall of his an'shouse": In 1699, Pan and Phetracha received a visit from the Jesuit Father

. The meeting was formal and did not produce any closer relations.

Death

Pan was later accused of having affinity to the French and loyalty to his former King, Narai. He was disgraced, and King

ordered his nose cut off. He reportedly committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

on 15 November 1699, according to the Dutch. His duties were taken over by Okya Maha Amath, one of the King's favorites. Pan is said to be the direct ancestor of King

, founder of the present ruling dynasty of Thailand.Smithies (2002), p. 180

Notes

References

* Gunn, Geoffrey C. (2003) ''First Globalization: The Eurasian Exchange, 1500-1800'' Rowman & Littlefield * Smithies, Michael (1999), ''A Siamese embassy lost in Africa 1686'', Silkworm Books, Bangkok, * Smithies, Michael (2002), ''Three military accounts of the 1688 "Revolution" in Siam'', Itineria Asiatica, Orchid Press, Bangkok, * Suarez, Thomas (1999) ''Early Mapping of Southeast Asia'' Tuttle Publishing

External links

; E-books * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosa Pan Ambassadors of Ayutthaya to France 17th-century diplomats 1633 births 1699 deaths Year of birth unknown Chaophraya Thai people of Mon descent Nobility of the Ayutthaya Kingdom