#prince leng sisowath

[autodidact-adventures]

Cambodian History (Part 27): Prince Sisowath and the Franco-Khmer Accord

Reforms Under Sisowath

As they’d planned, the French crowned Sisowath as the new king.  Not long before Norodom’s cremation, Sisowath was crowned king at Udong, by Governor-General Paul Beau in the name of the French Republic.  He was 64 years old.

Although they were still held back by Khmer bureaucracy, the French would achieve more in the first few years of Sisowath’s reign, than in the entirety of Norodom’s.  They abolished slavery, overhauled the legal code, and established a system of competitive entry to the civil service.  The first steps towards private landed property began, with the distribution of title deeds, and the introduction of a cadastral program [showing the extent, ownership and value of land, for taxation purposes].

Measures against corruption were taken (especially in taxes).  Some public works schemes were carried out - such as roads, bridges and government buildings, and dredging Phnom Penh’s port.

A limisted civil list was introduced, to curb the spending on minor royalty.  Apanage was the system whereby provincial administration was given to high mandarins and members of the royal family (almost as personal fiefdoms).  This was abolished.  A new 3-tier system of local government bodies was set up, under the Résidents’  supervision.

But in general, and in most respects, the French were still content for Cambodia to remain an economic backwater, as it had been since the protectorate was set up.  They were more concerned with Vietnam.  So long as Cambodia paid its way, and public money was used for public purposes, that was good enough.

King Sisowath

King Sisowath was a docile, pliable supporter of France.  He was a competent & courageous military commander (as he had proved during the Pou Kombo affair).  His pliability was a mixture of self-interest, Realpolitik (pragmatic rather than moral/ideological politics), faith in France’s ability to protect Cambodia, and a genuine respect for French culture.

His coronation was the beginning of a new stage in Franco-Khmer relations.  His reign, and Prince Monivong’s reign after him, was stable and peaceful.  Norodom supporters among the royal family believed that one of them should have taken the throne, but their palace intrigues were ineffective.  Influential civil servants were Francophiles (such as Thiounn).

In 1906, Sisowath toured France.  It was his first (and last) overseas trip since his stay as a guest-hostage in Bangkok, as a child.  He was impressed and delighted by what he saw - crowds of civilians cheered along the roads; displays of military power were incredible; the President of the Republic welcomed him at the Elysée Palace (Paris); the civic and industrial wonders of France were awe-inspiring.

Sisowath asked publicly for the return of the Angkor & Battambang provinces, which was a major diplomatic gaffe.  But in 1908, after delicate negotiations, Siam agreed to return them.  There was an anti-French revolt by the Apheuvongs family (who had governed the provinces on Siam’s behalf since 1795) but it was unsuccessful.  Not long afterwards, a French archaeological team began restoring the Angkor ruins.

World War 1

Sisowath supported the French wholeheartedly during the Great War.  About 2,000 Cambodians served as tirailleurs (sharpshooters or light infantrymen) in French colonial regiments.  Hundreds worked in munitions factories in France, joining 100,000′s of other colonial workers.  Some of the Khmer Krom minority in Vietnam served in other Indochinese regiments.

Some Khmers won medals on the Western Front, and in the Balkans.  Members of the royal family also served - Prince Monivong trained at the Saint-Maixent military academy and became a brigadier, although he didn’t serve at the front, in case he needed to succeed the throne.  Prince Leng Sisowath was killed during the war.