Franco-Siamese War

The Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893, known in Thailand as the Incident of Rattanakosin Era 112 (Thai: วิกฤตการณ์ ร.ศ. 112, RTGS: wikrittakan roso-roisipsong, [wí krít tàʔ kaːn rɔː sɔ̌ː rɔ́ːj sìp sɔ̌ːŋ]) was a conflict between the French Third Republic and the Kingdom of Siam. Auguste Pavie, French vice consul in Luang Prabang in 1886, was the chief agent in furthering French interests in Laos. His intrigues, which took advantage of Siamese weakness in the region and periodic invasions by Vietnamese rebels from Tonkin, increased tensions between Bangkok and Paris. The conflict concluded with the Paknam Incident, in which French gunboats sailed up the Chao Phraya River to blockade Bangkok. The Siamese subsequently agreed to cede the area that constitutes most of present-day Laos to France, an act that led to the significant expansion of French Indochina.

This conflict succeeded the Haw wars (1865–1890), in which the Siamese attempted to pacify northern Siam and Tonkin.

Franco-Siamese War Media

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  Punch Magazine cartoon showing the "French wolf" looking across the Mekong toward the "Siamese lamb"

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  Siam Pre-1893 Partition (1893)

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  Siam Post-1893 Partition (1900)

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  Siamese army in Laos in 1893

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  Siamese Elephant-mounted artillery in Laos in 1893

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  The French gunboat Comète (1884–1909)

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  The gunboat Lutin (1877–1897) was stationed in central Bangkok in March 1893