Qualla: Siege of Bangkok

Siege of Bangkok: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jean Vollant des Verquains, architect and engineer, inspired by Vauban's works, Public domain. The arithmetic was absurd: 40,000 Siamese soldiers with over a hundred cannons, arrayed against 200 French troops dug into a fortress on the banks of the Chao Phraya. By every conventional measure, the siege of Bangkok in 1688 should have ended in days. Instead, it dragged on for more than four months, resolved not by force but by negotiation, producing an outcome that neither side wanted but both could accept. The French left Siam. The Siamese closed the door behind them. That door would not fully reopen for nearly 170 years, until Napoleon III sent an embassy to King Mongkut in 1856.

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Image: Jean Vollant des Verquains, architect and engineer, inspired by Vauban's works | Public domain

Siege of Bangkok: The Greek, the King, and the French Gamble

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Heinrich Damm (User:Hdamm, Hdamm at de.wikipedia.org), CC BY 2.0. The story begins with an unlikely figure: Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek adventurer who rose to become the most powerful foreign advisor in King Narai's court. At Phaulkon's urging, Narai pursued a French alliance as a counterweight to the Portuguese and Dutch, whose commercial in...

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Image: Heinrich Damm (User:Hdamm, Hdamm at de.wikipedia.org) | CC BY 2.0

Siege of Bangkok: A Palace Coup and a Broken Promise

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jean Vollant des Verquains, architect and engineer, inspired by Vauban's works., Public domain. In 1688, the court faction led by Phetracha struck. King Narai, already gravely ill, was deposed in a coup. Phaulkon was arrested, tortured, and eventually beheaded by Phetracha's own son, Ok-Phra Sorasak. The king's adopted son, Mom Pi, was executed on 20 May. Phetracha then sum...

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Image: Jean Vollant des Verquains, architect and engineer, inspired by Vauban's works. | Public domain

Siege of Bangkok: Cannons Across the River

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vollant de Verquains, Public domain. Phetracha responded with overwhelming force. Forty thousand troops encircled the French position, supported by Dutch advisors who helped construct twelve small forts around the main fortress, each bristling with seven to ten cannons. The Chao Phraya itself was sealed -- seven bat...

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Image: Vollant de Verquains | Public domain

Siege of Bangkok: The Negotiated Retreat

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vollant des Verquains, Public domain. While the siege ground on, Phetracha consolidated his grip on power by eliminating every rival. King Narai's two brothers were executed on 9 July. Narai himself died on 11 July, possibly poisoned. Phetracha was crowned on 1 August 1688 in Ayutthaya. With the throne secured, he ne...

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Image: Vollant des Verquains | Public domain

Siege of Bangkok: A Door Slammed Shut

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vollant des Verquains, Public domain. Desfarges departed Bangkok on 13 November 1688. The aftermath brought no glory. Two of the three French hostages managed to flee aboard the Oriflamme, leaving only the Bishop of Metellopolis behind. Desfarges attempted a last gesture of imperial ambition by capturing the tin-prod...

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Image: Vollant des Verquains | Public domain