Articles by "HISTORY OF CAMBODIA"
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French in Cambodia

One year after Sisowath was crowned, Battambang and Siem Reap provinces were returned to Cambodia in April 1907. These two provinces, together with the temples of Angkor, had belonged to
Thailand since 1794, so this was a very great moment in the history of Cambodia.

Under Sisowath (1904-1927) and Monivong (1927-1941), Cambodia seemed peaceful, but actually France was no charity and paid for their administration and development projects from taxes imposed on the population. Although people weren't happy with this situation, actual signs of this were rare. In fact, if thousands of farmers from all over the country hadn't asked Sisowath to reduce taxes in 1916 or Bardez, a senior French officer, hadn't been killed while collecting taxes in 1925, we wouldn't have known the extent of the people's suffering.

Again, if these taxes, collected mostly from poor farmers by force, had been used to help them, they probably wouldn't have minded so much. But most of them were used to keep the king happy in his palace and develop towns like Phnom Penh and Battambang, which were connected by rail between 1923 and 1932. Only a minimum amount was used to develop education, health or bring much needed improvements to poor rural areas.

Another great moment, however, came to Cambodia in 1953 and we may imagine how happy and hopeful the general population were at the prospect of independence from France brought about by His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk.
By VCN TEAM
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THE MONARCHY UNDER THE FRENCH

1 Why did the French choose Sisowath to be king after King Norodom ?

2 How did the French use the monarchy ?

After 1886, the French gradually increased their control over the Cambodian administration and by the end of the century Norodom had lost most of his power. Neither he nor the French, however, ever had much control over the countryside. It must have been an additional advantage to the French, therefore, that Sisowath was popular there, although that wasn't the main reason they chose him as king on the death of his half-brother, Norodom.

When Sisowath was crowned in 1906, two years after Norodom's death, he was sixty-six years old. Unlike Norodom, he hadn't put any obstacles in the way of the French, and it was for this cooperation, of course, that he was chosen as king. This, in fact started a trend, for the French continued to choose kings whose main function was to be a screen behind which they could control the administration. If the French had controlled it openly, they wouldn't have succeeded so easily. Consequently, it was to their advantage that while the kings seemed powerful, they were actually in control.

If the French hadn't chosen Sisowath, Prince Yukanthor, Norodom's favourite son, would probably have become king. Yukanthor, however, made himself unpopular with the French when he challenged them about their lack of justice. Although most of what he said was true, he was not allowed to return to Cambodia from France and eventually died in Bangkok in 1934.
By VCN TEAM
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