The Phaulkon Legacy

By Walter J Strach III

In the seventeenth century, a determined and driven young Greek made his way by ship to Southeast Asia in search of wealth and fame. His name was Constantine Phaulkon. He arrived in Siam, learned the language, and soon became a dear friend to King Narai. Befriending the king was the first step to securing his legacy, but he had much more in mind.

Phaulkon was appointed to the position of foreign minister of trade. He lured the French to join his life of luxury in Siam, and he soon secured several Europeans in positions of power. With the help of King Narai he has the Society of Jesuits believing Siam is about to become a Jesuit state. Only time will tell how history will view his actions.

His story is told through the eyes of twentieth-first-century historian Dylan Montgomery, who specializes in Southeast Asia. His friend Theo is recovering from lifes bumpy road when they decide to investigate Phaulkon. How did a single man recreate the political fiber of a nation, and what became of his great wealth after his death? Dylan and Theo set out together to solve one of modern historys great mysteries: the truth about Constantine Phaulkon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491706350

Walter J Strach III

Walter J. Strach III is an educational consultant, specializing in training special education math teachers. He received a BA in Asian Studies from San Diego State University and an MA in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii. He has a passion for the history and cultures of Southeast Asia and has traveled extensively throughout the region. He currently lives in San Jose, California, with his wife, Palita.

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Preface

Timeline Of Relevant Events In Siamese History

Dramatis Personae

๑ • 1 • α

๒ • 2 • β

๓ • 3 • γ

๔ • 4 • δ

๕ • 5 • ε

๖ • 6 • ς

๗ • 7 • ζ

๘ • 8 • η

๙ • 9 • θ

๑๐ • 10 • ι

๑๑ • 11 • ια

๑๒ • 12 • ιβ

๑๓ • 13 • ιγ

๑๔ • 14 • ιδ

๑๕ • 15 • ιε

๑๖ • 16 • ις

๑๗ • 17 • ιζ

๑๘ • 18 • ιη

๑๙ • 19 • ιθ

๒๐ • 20 • κ

๒๑ • 21 • κα

๒๒• 22 • κβ

๒๓ • 23 • κγ

๒๔ • 24 • κδ

๒๕ • 25 • κε

๒๖ • 26 • κς

๒๗ • 27 • κζ

๒๘ • 28 • κη

๒๙ • 29 • κθ

๓๐ • 30 • λ

๓๑ • 31 • λα

๓๒ • 32 • λβ

๓๓ • 33 • λγ

๓๔ • 34 • λδ

๓๕ • 35 • λε

๓๖ • 36 • λς

๓๖ • 36 • λς

๓๗ • 37 • λζ

๓๘ • 38 • λη

๓๙ • 39 • λθ

๔๐ • 40 • μ

๔๒ • 41 • μα

Author’s Notes

Further Reading

About The Author

Dedicated to my wife, Palita.

For the many sacrifices made

and the endless support given,

I am eternally indebted.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is impossible to adequately thank everyone who has assisted me in this undertaking. First, I would like to thank Gerald Bultema for giving me the inspiration to write a novel and for countless additional guidance during our morning walks. Additionally, I would like to thank Theo Pappas for his continued friendship and the inspiration for the protagonist in this story. I could never have conjured up those idiosyncratic traits on my own, nor could I have asked for a better partner to run the Miwok trails. Thanks to Dirk Van der Cruysse for generously allowing the use of his map of Southeast Asia. Additionally, my gratitude to Amine Rastgar for his artistic talent illustrating Wat Prang Khaek. I owe a great deal of thanks to James Rea for his storm analysis over Southeast Asia and the cape of South Africa. He has been forecasting storms in Thailand for longer than I’ve been around. The copious amounts of Singha beer have preserved his memory well.

I am grateful to Jane Bartow, Jerry Bartow, Joan Mikitis, and Charyn Fly, my inner circle group of critics. They have greatly assisted me in taking my ideas and crafting them into a novel worth reading.

My dear friend and colleague Jenny Rice deserves special mention for reading the whole bloody manuscript and never wavering on her opinions. There are very few friends who would stand up to me on a topic that has been of central importance to me for so long. You are truly amazing!

Finally, there are two people who deserve special thanks. First, thanks to Allen The Doc Wittenborn, who introduced me to Constantine Phaulkon fifteen years ago. I have treasured his continued friendship and pearls of wisdom for the past twenty years. Without such mentorship, I never would have undertaken this project. Second, I thank Dr. Surojit Gupta for his editorial prowess on this project. Dr. Gupta’s first exposure to Phaulkon came in 2000 when he edited my poor academic writing. More than a dozen years later, he has once again reminded me I still possess many bad writing habits. Without his insight, patience, and generosity, this project would never have been completed.

NB: In each numerical chapter heading, the corresponding number to the left of the Arabic numeral is written in Thai script, and to the right in Greek, e.g.,

32840.png ∙ 15 ∙ ιε

History is prophecy, looking backwards.

—Flaubert

He [King Narai] also thought he had found in Mr. Constance a minister worthy of him, having the sharpest mind for state councils, full of zeal and courage in implementing policies. He would have looked in vain throughout his kingdom for a better instrument for his glorious undertakings, and a man more capable to establish the alliance which he ardently desired to effect with our invincible monarch, since he had been informed of the power of this ruler in Europe, and from whom, having him as a friend and ally, he could expect considerable help in case of need.

—Jean Vollant de Verquaines

Map of Ayutthaya in the Seventeenth Century

Image217thCenturyMapofAyutthaya.jpg

Map of Southeast Asia in the Seventeenth Century

Image317thCenturyMapofSoutheastAsia.jpg

PREFACE

Is history shaped by great men, or great events? That question was posed on the first day of the History of Modern Singapore, an undergraduate course taught by Mr. Kwa Chong Guan at the National University of Singapore. In addition to his affiliation as an Adjunct Associate Professor of History at the National University of Singapore, Mr. Kwa is the nephew of the founding father of the modern Republic of Singapore, the legendary Mr. Lee Kwan Yew.

Kwa argued that history was shaped by great events and not great men, and none of the students ever questioned him. I was a doctoral candidate at NUS and had been assigned as one of Mr. Kwa’s teaching assistants. The position came with few privileges. In a lecture hall with four hundred students, I had a front row seat where I mulled over the question. Kwa’s statement resonated with everything I had learned in the first graduate historiography seminar I took at the University of Hawaii several years earlier.

After nearly a decade of research on three continents, I believe I have found an exception to Mr. Kwa’s statement—Constantine Phaulkon. Portrayed as both an icon and iconoclast in the European source material, his actions consisted of a series of calculated moves over a period of eight years, changed the course of history.

Since Pope Alexander VI issued bulls in 1493 resulting in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, early forms of colonization appeared in the form of religious conquests. After the palace revolution of 1688, on the eve of modern colonization in Siam, France and its European counterparts turned to military conquests to serve their objectives.

Why, then, has such a fascinating story been marginalized in a footnote of history books for over three centuries? The answer lies in who writes history. History has been written by the winners. French and European failures in Siam, both with commerce and religion, were considered egg on the face of the French and were left out of the bodies of history texts.

So is history shaped by great men or great events? Keep this question in mind as you are thrust into one of the most dynamic and significant historical arenas in the modern period.

The following pages contain a story that goes beyond a superficial treasure hunt. It contains a tale that involves Persians, pirates, popes, King Louis XIV of France, and betrayal that is almost too wild to be believed. There is a determined Greek who makes his way to exotic Southeast Asia in search of wealth and fame. Shortly thereafter he becomes the favorite of the King of Siam and brings in Europeans to govern towns within the kingdom and French troops as reinforcements. With the help of King Narai, he has the Society of Jesuits believing Siam is about to become a Jesuit state.

The story comes to life through the eyes of a modern day academic and his friend who is dealing with adversity and struggling to find his way. Together they set out to solve one of modern history’s great mysteries.

How did one man deceive two kings and a pope? Can one man be responsible for the expulsion of Westerners from Siam in 1688 and a nonimmigrant policy that remains in place in Thailand today? Continue reading to find out.

Walter Strach

Tucson, Arizona

January 2013

TIMELINE OF RELEVANT EVENTS

IN SIAMESE HISTORY

1348: Kingdom of Ayutthaya established

October 26, 1656: King Narai ascends the throne

January 31, 1670: Louis XIV signs a letter to King Narai

March 25, 1674: Louis Laneau enthroned as bishop in Ayutthaya

1679: Constantine Phaulkon enters the service of the Foreign Minister

May 1682: Phaulkon marries Maria Guyomar

1685: Constantine Phaulkon appointed to the post of Foreign Minister

October 18, 1685: French Embassy audience with King Narai

September 1, 1686: Siamese Embassy audience with King Louis XIV

October 18, 1687: Disembarkation of French troops in Bangkok

May 18, 1688: Coup d’état in Lopburi; Phaulkon arrested

June 5, 1688: Constantine Phaulkon executed

July 11, 1688: Death of King Narai; Petracha ascends the throne

April 1691: Laneau and his priests are released from prison; their seminary and Church are returned to them

1695: Count Claude de Forbin visits Cephalonia

March 16, 1696: Death in Ayutthaya of Louis Laneau

1703: Luang Sorasak (Süa or Tiger) ascends the throne after the death of his father King Petracha

April 1767: Burmese army sacks Ayutthaya.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Seventeenth Century

Richard Burnaby: Traveled from Batam to Siam with Phaulkon and took him on as his assistant. Burnaby and George White employ Phaulkon in several trading ventures. Both men trade outside of the British East India Company and see Phaulkon as a way to further their financial gains.

Chevalier de Chaumont (1640-1710): A naval ship captain and major-general in the French naval armies in the Levant. Chaumont’s military background does not make him a good diplomat for the delicate mission to convert the king of Siam to Catholicism. His pious nature and unwillingness to take orders make things difficult for him.

Abbé de Choisy (1644-1724): Introduced to women’s clothes and high culture by his mother, the flamboyant Choisy knew everyone at Louis XIV’s court at Versailles and had been a youthful playmate of the king’s younger brother, Philippe d’Orléans. When he heard the king was considering an embassy, he had aspirations of being appointed ambassador.

General Marshal Desfarges (died 1690): French general who plays a critical role in establishing French troops in Siam. He lacks education and was inadequate for the position he holds in Siam. Desfarges seems incapable of giving a straight answer, and there are those who question his loyalty.

Count Claude de Forbin (1656-1733): French naval commander who accompanies the chevalier de Chaumont to Siam as a major on the Oiseau. Forbin decides not to return to France with Chaumont, opting to enter the service of the king of Siam as a general in the Siamese army and the governor of Bangkok. Why return?

Aanetta Foca Supianto (Gerakis): Mother of Constantine Phaulkon and wife of Don Giorgio Gerakis. Aanetta came from a noble family that produced two emperors during the Byzantine Empire in the sixth and seventh centuries, Phocas Flavius and Nicephore II. During the period of the ninth through the twelfth centuries, the family members were scholarum domesticus for the emperor and general chief. Like her husband, her rich lineage is a distant memory.

Don Giorgio Gerakis (1610): Father of Constantine Phaulkon and innkeeper in Argostoli on the Venetian island of Cephalonia. In addition to running the family inn, Don Giorgio is a priest and a noble governor of Cephalonia. Richer in title than in wealth, the family has struggled to survive, leading Constantine to search for a better life abroad.

Charles de La Breuille (1663-1720): A member of the Society of Jesuits, La Breuille was part of the group led by Father Tachard requested by King Narai of Siam as part of a scientific mission. He was imprisoned after the Revolution of 1688.

King Narai [สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช] (1633-1688): Siamese King who has reigned since 1656. Progressive and outward thinking, Narai welcomes Christian and Muslim clergy to openly practice their faiths in Siam. He is intrigued by the renaissance in France and wants to forge a relationship with King Louis XIV.

Louis Laneau (1637-1696): A French bishop and member of the Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris (MEP). Laneau spent the majority of his life in Indochina and Siam. In1669 he was nominated Bishop of Metellopolis and apostolic vicar of Siam. In 1674 he became bishop of Ayutthaya and founder of the St. Joseph’s Seminary in Siam.

Abbé de Lionne (1655-1713): Born Artus de Lionne, missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society, and son of Louis XIV’s foreign minister, Hugues de Lionne. Artus has worked in Siam since 1681, returning to France in 1686 to act as translator for the Siamese ambassador, Kosa Pan. He returns to Siam in 1687 with the Siamese Embassy and plays an integral role in the negotiations between the French and the Siamese during the Revolution of 1688.

Marie Guyomar de Pinha (1664): Born in Siam to a Japanese mother and Portuguese-Bengali father, Marie married Phaulkon once he was in the service of the king despite protests from her father. She and Phaulkon live a life of affluence, owning lavish homes in both Ayutthaya and Louvo.

Kosa Pan [โกษาปาน] (1651-1700): The ratchathut, or first ambassador, Pan is a Siamese diplomat who leads the Embassy to France in 1686, and is foster brother to King Narai. He succeeds Phaulkon as minister of foreign affairs and trade, the post his brother held prior to Phaulkon.

General Petracha [สมเด็จพระเพทราชา] (1632-1703): Siamese general in charge of the Elephant Corps and a devout nationalist. A half-brother to King Narai, Petracha does not see eye to eye with Narai on the role of foreigners in Siam. Petracha and Phaulkon are archrivals who vie for the king’s ear.

Constantine Phaulkon [born Κωσταντής γεράκι—Costantin Gerakis] (1647-1688): Born on the Ionian island of Argostoli, he came to Siam, mastered the language, and quickly became the favorite of King Narai. Phaulkon has appointed numerous Westerners to public office in an attempt to preserve his longevity. He was appointed to the position of foreign minister of trade and given the title of Chao Phraya Vichayen (เจ้าพระยา วิชาเยนทร์). Will it work, or come back to haunt him?

Mon Pi (1666-1688): King Narai’s adopted son and chosen successor. Mon Pi suffers from mental retardation, and there are doubts about his ability to lead. His close relationship with Phaulkon concerns many of the Siamese.

Kanlaya Ratchamaitri: The uppathut, or second ambassador, Ratchamaitri is a seasoned diplomat and a favorite of King Narai. He decides to accept the position to France to report to King Narai how Versailles compares with the court of Beijing.

Sankhom Moo [สาน] (1659-1717): Leader of the grassroots movement against Phaulkon and the French, Pig Face is politically aligned with General Petracha and his son Sorasak, Tiger, and has his allegiance tested during the 1688 revolution.

Luang Sorasak, the Tiger King [พระเจ้าเสือ] (died 1709): Son of General Petracha, Sorasak was named the Tiger King because he was as evil as a tiger. The Royal Chronicles states, He was of vulgar mind, uncivil behavior, savage conduct, cruel habit. He engaged Himself in no charitable business, but in that against the royal traditions. Also, He lacked inhibition, but was consumed by unholy sin.

Father Guy Tachard (1651-1712): French Jesuit missionary and mathematician sent to Siam as part of a scientific expedition. He is intrigued by Constantine Phaulkon and has become a close friend in hopes of forging an alliance between France and Siam.

Siwisan Wacha: The trithut, or third ambassador, at age thirty, is the youngest ambassador sent to the court of Versailles. His father is the Siamese ambassador to Portugal. He aims to prove he belongs at the embassy and is not riding his father’s coattails.

George White: George and his brother Samuel are the two most infamous interlopers, Englishmen who trade outside of the English East India Company. George introduced Phaulkon to Siam, and White and his partner Burnaby are currently scheming to use Phaulkon’s position to boost their profits.

Twenty-First Century

Julian Durand (August 14, 1984): Art historian from France who finds the ethical dilemma between working for profit and working to do the right thing a moving line. He has been hired by Owl Eyes to locate and retrieve mysterious relics.

Jean-Pierre Gerakis: Proprietor of a timber mill in Marseilles, France. Jean-Pierre is familiar with his famous forebear and is in possession of several artifacts Phaulkon sent from Siam.

Pangis Gerakis: A retired attorney and descendant of Phaulkon who still lives on the Gerakis family property in Argostoli. Pangis is in the process of having the family’s church rebuilt on the spot where the original stood. It was destroyed in an earthquake in 1953.

Ajarn Krit (November 9, 1951): Professor of History at Rajabhat University in Lopburi, Thailand. Professor Krit was the former curator of the National Museum in Bangkok and is the curator for the Narai museum in Lopburi. Not motivated by financial gain, Krit’s sole purpose is to promote the preservation of art and antiquity in Thailand. Krit assisted Dylan Montgomery with his graduate thesis when he was conducting fieldwork research in Thailand. The two have remained good friends ever since.

Dylan Montgomery (January 20, 1970): A historian of Southeast Asia fluent in several languages. After living in the region for over a decade, he found the transition back to the United States difficult and little demand for his services.

Owl Eyes: Man of mysterious Middle Eastern origins. His objective is to acquire that which he cannot have. He possesses a thirst for cultural revenge. If he can’t purchase the object in question, he’ll steal it or kill in order to obtain it.

Theodore K. Papadopolous Jr. (May 21, 1965): A man haunted by his failures to his parents, his family, and his career. Theo is well educated and book smart. He’s trying to find his way again as rapidly approaches age fifty. His friendship with Dylan provides an intellectual stimulation that’s absent among his colleagues.

๑ • 1 • α

Louvo, Kingdom of Siam

May 18, 1688

Constantine Phaulkon, the foreign minister of Siam, sat on the floor in the drawing room. The Greek had told his retinue of European bodyguards and advisers, normally present, to stay home. Today he was not acting in his official capacity as foreign minister, favorite to the king of Siam. He had a more important role to play—papa to his three-year-old son Jorge.

Phaulkon lobbed the takraw, a woven rattan ball, to his son. The takraw bounced off of Jorge’s forehead and landed in his outstretched arms. The youth wrapped his fingers around a woven portion of the ball, cocked his left arm behind his head, and launched the ball past his father. You are getting so strong, Phaulkon said with a smile on his face. He laughed as he sprang up to retrieve the ball, which came to rest under his desk.

As Phaulkon was about to crawl under the desk to retrieve his son’s toy, he noticed a servant standing in the doorway. Initially annoyed at the interruption, he turned to the servant and said, "Khun, what is it? You know I am not to be disturbed when I am playing with my son. With a house full of servants, Phaulkon never bothered to learn their names. Instead he chose to refer to them as you."

I’m sorry, Lord Phaulkon, but you have a visitor from the palace. The servant stood in the doorway, afraid Phaulkon would chastise him further if he entered the room.

Tell him I’ll see him this afternoon.

Feeling at ease, the servant took several steps into the foreign minister’s drawing room. He said it was urgent and couldn’t wait.

Phaulkon threw the ball back to his son and motioned with his hand for the servant to usher in their guest.

Image5PhaulkonsSealBW.jpg

The servant had excused himself to announce the arrival of their guest to the foreign minister. While the servant was gone, the messenger took the opportunity to observe the sights around him. Biblical pictures painted by Japanese artists hung on the wall. The messenger recognized the Japanese kanji characters the artist used to sign his name. The table was lavish; forty places were set for dinner daily, and on the table he counted a dozen bottles of European wine, probably French and Portuguese. The foreign minister often hosted the French Jesuits and European dignitaries. Large silver candlesticks, gifts from Louis XIV himself, stood in the center of the table. Among the lavish décor, the objects that grabbed the messenger’s attention were two white lotus flowers, each placed in a teak bowl near the center of the table. Although gray and wilted from the hot and sultry climate, the messenger thought about how perfect the white flowers with the canary yellow centers must have looked on the table the previous evening. The sweet fragrance of the flowers had been replaced by the pungent scent of decay.

The messenger knew Phaulkon commanded a retinue of twenty European bodyguards that accompanied him whenever he went out. Aside from the king of Siam and the French noblemen of the embassy, everyone had to crawl before him. The foreign minister was a man of prominence.

The messenger was escorted into the room as Phaulkon crawled out from under his desk and sprang to his feet. The foreign minister listened attentively to the messenger as he whispered to Phaulkon the events that had transpired.

Sir, I came to tell you the king is in trouble. The messenger spoke as if he were out of breath to make it seem like he ran from the palace, just a few hundred yards down the road. The messenger was given strict orders to make a compelling argument and not to return without Phaulkon.

What is it?

It’s the prince, sir. Sorasak lured him out from the king’s chambers and beheaded him.

Oh, dear God!

You must come to the palace immediately.

How did this happen?

The messenger explained how the king’s adopted son, Phra Pi, had been kidnapped and then beheaded by the xenophobic General Petracha and his son. In shock, Phaulkon stood and leaned against the chair, bracing himself with his arm. His knee shook from fear under his robe, but he dared not show weakness. Not now, not ever.

Thank you. The servants will show you out. Phaulkon needed time to think before he went to the palace.

The messenger, now annoyed at his failure, continued. But I was instructed to accompany you back to the palace.

The foreign minister tightened his grip on the chair. "I