1893 Franco-Siamese crisis

Franco-Siamese crisis (1893)

French ships Inconstant and Comète under fire in the Paknam incident, 13 July 1893. The Graphic.
Date13 July 1893 – 3 October 1893
Location
Result French victory
Territorial
changes
Land on east bank of the Mekong ceded to French Indochina
Belligerents

French Third Republic French Republic

Kingdom of Siam
Commanders and leaders
French Third Republic Auguste Pavie
French Third Republic Jean de Lanessan
Chulalongkorn
Devavongse
Bhanurangsi
Andreas du Plessis
Casualties and losses
3 killed
3 wounded
16 killed
20 wounded

The Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893, known in Thailand as the Incident of Rattanakosin Era 112 (Thai: วิกฤตการณ์ ร.ศ. 112, RTGSwikrittakan 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.