Pierre d'Espagnac, sometimes Pierre d'Espagnal (1650–1689) was a French

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionary in

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

(modern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

) during the 17th century. Pierre d'Espagnac was a member of a mission of 14 Jesuit scientists sent to Siam by

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, under the guidance of 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 ...

. As the others, he was given the title of "royal mathematician" and was sponsored by the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

.''Searching the Heavens and the Earth: The History of Jesuit Observatories''
by Agustín Udías Vallina, Agustin Udias D'Espagnac left Brest in March 1687 together with the Loubère– Céberet mission to Siam. D'Espagnac spoke Portuguese, and served for some time as an interpreter for

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

. The Jesuits were warmly received by the Siamese king

Narai King Narai the Great (, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Prasat Thong dynasty. He was the king of Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous king of the ...

, who had great interest in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. They observed an eclipse with him in April 1688. Soon however, the Siamese revolted in the Siamese revolution. Pierre d'Espagnac was next seen in

Mergui Myeik (, or ; , ; , , ; formerly Mergui, ) is a rural city in Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar, located in the extreme south of the country on the coast off an island on the Andaman Sea. , the estimated population was over 209,000. ''World Gazett ...

, one with the French troops fleeing Mergui following the advent of the 1688 Siamese revolution. He was captured in

Tavoy Dawei (, ; , ; , RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the eastern bank of the Dawei River. The city is about ...

by the Siamese, together with the

Chevalier de Beauregard The Chevalier de Beauregard (c.1665–c.1692) was a 17th-century French officer who was active in Siam (modern Thailand). He became Governor of Bangkok and Mergui, but was eventually captured by the Siamese during the 1688 Siamese revolution. De ...

and four French soldiers, as they were trying to obtain supplies for their ships. Pierre d'Espagnac seems to have been enslaved, and soon died (a year later) in slavery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espagnac, Pierre d 1650 births 1689 deaths Christian missionaries in the Ayutthaya Kingdom 17th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Thailand French expatriates in Thailand French slaves 17th-century slaves Slavery in Thailand

See also

References