Page 225 - A History of Siam

A HISTORY OF SIAM 211

On December ist, 1687, a new Treaty was signed,
even to the French East
granting greater privileges
India Company than that of 1685.
C6bert left after the was
Ayut'ia immediately Treaty
and La Loub&re in with
signed, January 1688, taking
him the fourth Siamese embassy to Europe. 1 The
French troops remained, and seem to have had a most
wretched time. Many of the soldiers died of fever,
and the survivors made themselves very unpopular by
their insolence in far more
; particular, they paid
attention to the fair sex than was at all
thought becoming.
A had this time
strong anti-foreign party by sprung
up and had gained general popular support. The
was distasteful both to the and
King's policy nobility
to the common The whole realm was filled with
people.
the forts were
Europeans, garrisoned by foreign troops.
The most Minister was a Greek. To add to
powerful
their troubles the was at war with the East
country
India Company, a war for which Phaulkon was supposed
to be
responsible.
Moreover, the religious prejudices of the people were
aroused. Catholic were in favour and held
priests high
valuable The was of Christian
privileges. King suspected
tendencies. He had no son, but had adopted a young
man named P'ra 1 whom he to make his
Pia, hoped
successor. P'ra Pia was a Catholic. Phaulkon did all
he could to the of Catholicism, and
encourage spread
became more and more
daily unpopular.
At the head of the if it can be so
anti-foreign party,
called, was P'ra P'etraja, a General who was in command
of the and who had
elephants, greatly distinguished"
1 This embassy never got beyond the Cape of Good Hope. The envoys took
with them more elephants, rhinoceroses and other animals as presents for the
French King. All the animals died before reaching the Cape.
1
According to some contemporary writers, P'ra Pia was commonly supposed
to be a natural son of King Narai.