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Voyage to Siam Performed by Six Jesuits sent by the French King to the Indies and China in the year 1685 by Guy Tachard 1688 Itineraria Asiatica - Siam Volume II Itineraria Asiatica is a series of historical reprints of books containing first-hand descriptions and narratives by travellers in Asia. The books, published by Orchid Press in Bangkok, are paperbacks boxed in beautiful slipcases. Voyage to Siam. King Narai had since the early 1670's attempted to establish relations with France, partly as a counterweight to English and Dutch influence in and around Siam, partly as a means to facilitate his control over the burgeoning coastal trade. In 1680, the first Siamese Embassy to Versailles was shipwrecked, and a second envoy left in 1684, reaching France safely. In late 1685 the Siamese envoys returned to Ayuthia, accompanied by a well appointed French Mission led by Chevalier Alexandre de Chaumont and counting among its members the Jesuit Guy Tachard, ""the boudoir Abbé"" de Choisy and Father Vachet of the French Overseas Mission Society. While King Narai was interested in expanding political and commercial relations, de Chaumont single-mindedly pursued the conversion of the King to the Catholic faith, ignoring advice from Abbé de Choisy to show discretion and restraint. The mission was, not unexpectedly, a failure. Three members of the mission published their version of the events: Chaumont, Choisy and Tachard.
Paperback Orchid Press Reprinted 1991 Bangkok 320 pages, 30 woodcuts and maps ISBN 9748304302 Click here for more books from the Itineraria Asiatica Series
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