Guy Tachard Second voyage du pere Tachard et des Jesuites envoyes par le roy 1689

Guy Tachard (; 1651 – 1712), also known as Père Tachard, was a French

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

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

of the 17th century, who was sent on two occasions to the

Kingdom of Siam Kingdom of Siam may refer to: * Sukhothai Kingdom (1238–1351) * Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351–1767) * Thonburi Kingdom (1768–1782) * Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932) * Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and official ...

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

. He was born in Marthon, near

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

. In 1680, Tachard went to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

(

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

) with

Jean II d'Estrées Jean, Comte d'Estrées, (3 November 1624 in Solothurn, Switzerland – 19 May 1707 in Paris), was a Marshal of France, and an important naval commander of Louis XIV. He was born into a noble family from Picardy. His aunt was Gabrielle d'Estr� ...

. Tachard was involved in embassies to Siam, which came as responses to embassies sent by the Siamese

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 ...

to France in order to obtain an alliance against the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

First embassy to Siam (1685)

Tachard was sent in 1685 with five other Jesuits under Superior

Jean de Fontaney Jean de Fontaney (1643–1710) was a French Jesuit who led a mission to China in 1687.Mungello, p. 329 Jean de Fontaney had been a teacher of mathematics and astronomy at the College Louis le Grand. He was asked by king Louis XIV to set up a miss ...

, on a first French embassy to Siam led by

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 ...

, and accompanied by

Claude de Forbin Claude, chevalier, then count de Forbin-Gardanne (6 August 1656 – 4 March 1733) was a French naval commander. In 1685–1688 he was on a diplomatic mission to Siam. He became governor of Bangkok and a general in the Siamese army, and left Siam ...

. The objective of the Jesuits was to complete a scientific expedition to the Indies and China. Enticed by the Greek

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 ' ...

, he returned to France to suggest an alliance with the king of Siam

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 ...

to Louis XIV. The five other Jesuits Fathers continued to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

where they arrived in February 1688:

(1643–1710),

Joachim Bouvet Joachim Bouvet (, courtesy name: 明远) (July 18, 1656, in Le Mans – June 28, 1730, in Peking) was a French Jesuit who worked in China, and the leading member of the Figurist movement. China Bouvet came to China in 1687, as one of six Jesuit ...

(1656–1730),

Jean-François Gerbillon Jean-François Gerbillon (4 June 1654, Verdun, France – 27 March 1707, Peking, China) was a French missionary who worked in China. He entered the Society of Jesus, 5 Oct, 1670, and after completing the usual course of study taught grammar and ...

(1654–1707),

Louis Le Comte Louis le Comte (1655–1728), also Louis-Daniel Lecomte, was a French Jesuit who participated in the 1687 French Jesuit mission to China under Jean de Fontaney. He arrived in China on 7 February 1688. He returned to France in 1691 as Procurator of ...

(1655–1728) and Claude de Visdelou (1656–1737). The two ships of the embassy returned to France with a Siamese embassy on board, led by the Siamese ambassador

Kosa Pan Kosa Pan ( th, ปาน; 1633 – 15 November 1699) was a Siamese diplomat and minister who led the second Siamese embassy to France sent by King Narai in 1686.Rajanubhab, D., 2001, ''Our Wars With the Burmese,'' Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd., ...

, who was bringing a proposal for an eternal alliance between France and Siam. The embassy stayed in France from June 1686 to March 1687.

Second embassy to Siam (1687)

A second embassy to Siam was sent in March 1687. organized by Colbert, of which Tachard was part again. The embassy consisted in five warships, led by

General Desfarges Marshal Desfarges, also spelled Des Farges (died 1690), was a French general of the 17th century who took an important role in French efforts at establishing a presence in Siam (modern Thailand). Desfarges led two battalions (636 soldiers) on board ...

, and was bringing the Siamese embassy home. The mission was led by

Simon de la Loubère Simon de la Loubère (; 21 April 1642 – 26 March 1729) was a French diplomat to Siam (Thailand), writer, mathematician and poet. He is credited with bringing back a document which introduced Europe to Indian astronomy, the "Siamese method" ...

and

Claude Céberet du Boullay Claude Céberet du Boullay (1647–1702) was a 17th-century French diplomat who participated in the La Loubère-Céberet embassy as "envoy extraordinary" to the kingdom of Siam (modern Thailand) in 1687. He was co-representative of the mission wi ...

, director of the

French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in the ...

. A young Jesuit had been brought by Tachard: the future composer

André Cardinal Destouches André Cardinal Destouches (sometimes called des Touches) (baptised 6 April 1672 – 7 February 1749) was a French composer best known for the ''opéra-ballet'' ''Les élémens''. Biography Born in Paris, the son of Étienne Cardinal, a ...

. However, apart from the reaffirmation of the 1685 commercial treaty, the mission achieved little else. The disambarkment of French troops in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

and

Mergui Myeik (, or ; mnw, ဗိက်, ; th, มะริด, , ; formerly Mergui, ) is a rural city in Tanintharyi Region in Myanmar (Burma), located in the extreme south of the country on the coast off an island on the Andaman Sea. , the estimate ...

led to strong nationalistic movements in Siam directed by

Phra Petratcha 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 f ...

and ultimately resulted in the 1688 Siamese revolution in which king Narai died, Phaulkon was executed, and Phra Petratcha became king. Desfarges negotiated to return with his men to

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

. In the later part of 1689, Desfarges captured the island of

Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

in an attempt to restore French control. Innocent XI Dec 1688

Meanwhile, Tachard returned to France with the title of "Ambassador Extraordinary for the King of Siam", accompanied by

Ok-khun Chamnan Ok-khun Chamnan Chaichong ( th, ออกขุนชำนาญใจจง) was a Siamese diplomat who visited France and Rome on an embassy in 1688. He was preceded by the embassy of Kosa Pan in 1686. Failed embassy to Portugal (1684) Ok-khun ...

, and visited the Vatican in January 1688. He and his Siamese embassy met with

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689. Poli ...

and translated Narai's letter to him.

Other travels

In 1690, when Tachard tried to return to Siam, a revolution had happened, King Narai was already dead and a new king was on the throne. Tachard had to stop at

and return to France without obtaining a permission to enter the country. In 1699, Tachard again went to Siam, and managed to enter the country this time. He met with

, now Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the new king Petracha, but the meeting remained purely formal and led to nothing.Smithies 2002, p.185 Tachard travelled a fifth time to Asia and died in Chandernagor in 1712.

Works

* Tachard, Guy (1688) ''A relation of the voyage to Siam : performed by six Jesuits sent by the French king, to the Indies and China in the year 1685'' * Tachard, Guy (1689) ''Second Voyage'' * Guy Tachard, Michael Smithies, Choisy,

(2000) ''A Siamese Embassy Lost in Africa 1686: The Odyssey of Ok-khun Chamnan'', Silkworm Books, Cape of Good Hope (South Africa),

Notes

References

* Colvin, Ian D. (2005) ''The Cape of Adventure: Strange and Notable Discoveries, Perils, Shipwrecks'', Kessinger Publishing * 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, * Vongsurat Vat Ana, Raphael (1992): ''Un jésuite à la cour de Siam'', Paris, Ed. France-Empire, 1992, 330pp. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tachard, Guy 1651 births 1712 deaths 17th-century French Jesuits 17th-century French mathematicians 18th-century French Jesuits 18th-century French mathematicians People from Charente 17th-century French diplomats Christian missionaries in the Ayutthaya Kingdom Catholic clergy scientists Jesuit scientists

First embassy to Siam (1685)

Second embassy to Siam (1687)

Other travels

Works

See also

Notes

References