Guy Tachard
Guy Tachard (Father Tachard; * 1651 in Marthon near Angoulême , † 1712 in Chandannagar , India ) was a French Jesuit , missionary and mathematician . He was twice at the court of the Siamese king Narai (1685 and 1687).
Life
In 1680 Tachard went to the Caribbean island world with Jean II. D'Estrées .
Tachard died in 1712 on his last trip to Asia in Chandannagar, India.
First trip to Siam (1685)
In 1685 Tachard was sent to Siam with five Jesuit missionaries under the Prior Jean de Fontenay , led by the Chevalier de Chaumont and the Abbé de Choisy . For their protection, the naval officer Claude de Forbin (1656-1733) was posted, who led two ships. The Jesuits were on a missionary trip to India and China . The mission achieved the conclusion of a trade agreement between Siam and France.
The two ships of the embassy, led by Kosa Pan , returned to France with Siamese ambassadors. They also met with Pope Innocent XI in December 1688 . together, with Tachard translating a letter from King Narai.
Second trip to Siam (1687)
On another trip, Tachard went to Siam under Simon de La Loubère in March 1687 . Five warships under Admiral Desfarges brought the Siamese ambassadors back home. This mission was unsuccessful, only the previously concluded trade agreement was confirmed. The political situation in Ayutthaya was tense, and many nobles were dissatisfied with the growing influence of foreigners at court, especially that of Chancellor Constantine Phaulkon . The French military leader behaved little diplomatically and raised numerous members of the court against the French. Later on, the upstart Phetracha was able to take advantage of the hour, overthrow and kill King Narai and let himself be put on the throne.
Tachard previously returned to France as "Ambassador Extraordinary of the King of Siam" accompanied by Ok Chamnan.
Third trip to Siam (1690)
Before his third trip to Siam, the so-called revolution of 1688 took place, as a result of which King Narai was executed and Phetracha ascended the throne as the new king. Tachard had no knowledge of these events and set out on his way to Pondicherry in India, where he waited in vain for approval of his entry into Siam. He therefore returned to France without having achieved anything.
Fourth trip to Siam
In 1699 Tachard returned to Siam again and met his old friend Kosa Pan , the foreign and trade minister under King Phetracha. The encounter is described as extremely formal with no results.
plant
- Voyage de Siam des pères jesuites envoyez par le Roy aux Indes et à la Chine. Paris 1686 ( online at Google Books ).
- (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 .
- (1689) Second Voyage .
- Guy Tachard, Michael Smithies, Choisy, Simon de la Loubère: A Siamese Embassy Lost in Africa 1686: the odyssey of Ok-khun Chamnan . Cape of Good Hope (South Africa): Silkworm Books 2000. ISBN 974-7100-95-9 .
literature
- Ian Colvin : The Cape of Adventure. Strange and notable discoveries, perils, shipwrecks . Kessinger Publ. 2005. ISBN 0-7661-9781-6 .
- Geoffrey C. Gunn: First Globalization. The Eurasian Exchange, 1500-1800 . Rowman & Littlefield, London 2003. ISBN 0-7425-2662-3 .
- Michael Smithies: A Siamese embassy lost in Africa 1686 . Silkworm Books, Bangkok 1999. ISBN 974-7100-95-9 .
- Michael Smithies, Claude Céberet, Guy Tachard and Simon de la Loubère : Mission Made Impossible. The second French embassy to Siam 1687 . Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2002, ISBN 974-7551-61-6 .
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tachard, guy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French Jesuit, missionary and mathematician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1651 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Marthon at Angoulême |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1712 |
| Place of death | Chandannagar , India |