โดยเฉพาะกับประเทศฝรั่งเศส ในรัชสมัยของพระองค์นั้น กรุงศรีอยุธยา ได้ส่งคณะทูตไปเข้าเฝ้าพระเจ้าหลุยส์ที่ ๑๔ ยังประเทศฝรั่งเศส รวมทั้งสิ้น ๔ ชุดด้วยกัน คณะทูตชุดแรก ที่ไปเจริญสัมพันธไมตรี กับประเทศฝรั่งเศส ใน พ.ศ.๒๒๒๓ มีพระพิพัฒนาราชไมตรี เป็นราชทูต หลวงวิสารสุนทรเป็นอุปทูต และขุนนครศรีวิชัย เป็นตรีทูต โดยมีบาทหลวงเกม (Gayme) บาทหลวงชาวฝรั่งเศส ที่เข้ามาเผยแผ่ศาสนาคริสต์ในอยุธยา และสามารถพูดภาษาไทยได้ดีทำหน้าที่เป็นล่าม
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พระเจ้าหลุยส์ที่ ๑๔ ทรงมีความมุ่งมั่นในการเผยแผ่คริสต์ศาสนาอยู่แล้ว จึงทรงเห็นชอบตามคำกราบทูลของบาทหลวง และทรงแต่งตั้งให้เชอวาลิเอร์ เดอ โชมองต์ เป็นเอกอัครราชทูต และมีบาทหลวงเดอชัวซีย์เป็นผู้ช่วยทูต เชิญพระราชสาส์นของพระองค์มาถวายสมเด็จพระนารายณ์ คณะทูตของพระเจ้าหลุยส์ที่ ๑๔ ได้เดินทางโดยเรือรบฝรั่งเศส ๒ ลำ ออกจากท่าเมืองเบรสต์เมื่อวันที่ ๓ มีนาคม พ.ศ.๒๒๒๘ และเข้ามาถึงปากน้ำเจ้าพระยาในวันที่ ๒๓ กันยายน ปีเดียวกัน สมเด็จพระนารายณ์โปรดให้ประกอบพิธีต้อนรับอย่างมโหฬาร ในการที่คณะทูตฝรั่งเศสเข้าเฝ้าครั้งนี้ สมเด็จพระนารายณ์โปรดให้สิทธิพิเศษไม่ต้องถอดรองเท้าและหมอบคลานเหมือนกับ ทูตของประเทศอื่น และหลังจากที่ เชอวาลิเอร์ เดอ โชมองต์ เข้าเฝ้าถวายพระราชสาส์นของพระเจ้าหลุยส์ที่ ๑๔ แล้ว สมเด็จพระนารายณ์ ยังโปรดฯ ให้คณะทูตเข้าเฝ้าเป็นพิเศษอีก หลายครั้ง โดยมีฟอลคอนหรือเจ้าพระยาวิชาเยนทร์รอรับอยู่ด้วย
Krung Si Ayutthaya – France in the Reign of King Narai the Great
By Chollada Bangluangsanti
The Royal Statue of King Narai in Lop Buri
Krung Si Ayutthaya was said to have widely diplomatic relationship and trading with foreign countries both in Asia and Europe in the reign of King Narai.
In this reign, King Narai sent 4 groups of royal envoys to have audiences with King Louise XIV of France. The first group of royal envoys went to France for friendly relations in 1680. The envoy extraordinary was Phra Phipattanaratchamaitri. The counselor was Luang Wisansunthorn and Khun Nakhonsriwichai was the third minister. The interpreter was Father Gayme, a French priest who came to propagate Christianity in Krung Si Ayutthaya and could speak Thai very well.
The group of envoys left Ayutthaya and travelled by a cargo ship called “Vodous”. They arrived at a town called Bantam on Java Island and had stayed there for 6 months. After that they continued travelling by a passenger ship called “Soleil d’Orient” in 1682. This ship was disappeared in the ocient without reasons. Later, the King commanded forming another group of royal envoys from subordinate officials. They were Khun Phichaiwanitch and Khun Phichitmaitri. Both of them also did the duties as news sleuths. On this trip, four Thai students were allowed to go with the envoys to study academic matters and practiced French tradition and culture. The king also asked France to send the plenipotentiary to Thailand for friendly relations, too. This group of envoys did not officially have an audience with King Louise XIV because they did not have the royal letter of King Narai with them, but they only have a minister’s letter to present.
The former group of Thai royal envoys disappeared. The next group of envoys informed King Narai’s purpose that he wanted the French to send their envoys to Thailand in order to write a commercial contract. Additionally, a group of French priests who came to teach Christianity in Krung Si Ayutthaya told King Louise XIV that if he had sent the royal letter to invite King Narai to become a Christian in Roman Catholic, King Narai might not have refused. Moreover, the people in Ayutthaya would certainly have turned to believe in Christianity in Roman Catholic as well.
King Louise XIV was concentrated in propagating Christianity. So, he agreed with the priests’ suggestions, and appointed Chevalier de Chaumont as the ambassador and a priest called Abbe de Choisy as the attaché. They brought the royal letter to present to King Narai. King Louise XIV’s royal envoys travelled by two French war ships. They left Brest, a French seaport, on March 3, 1685, and reached the Chao Phraya River’s estuary on September 23 of the same year. King Narai commanded arranging a grand ceremony to welcome the group of envoys. In addition, they were allowed especially not to take off their shoes and not to prostrate in having the audience with the king like the envoys from other countries. After Chevalier de Chaumont presented King Louise XIV’s royal letter to King Narai, he was also allowed specially to have audiences with the King. Falcon or Chao Phraya Wichayen also stayed to receive them.
Chao Phraya Wichayen also encouraged Ayutthaya and France to write a contract for friendly relations, but Chevalier de Chaumont was not interested. He kept persuading King Narai to become a Christian according to King Louise XIV’s command. King Narai did not agree with him, but he aimed to make friendly relations with the French. As a result, he allowed the French priests to teach Chriatianity and academic matters, and a hospital in European style was allowed to establish freely.
Chevalier de Chaumont and the group of envoys had stayed in Krung Si Ayuttaya for two months and then went back to France. King Nanai put his third group of royal envoys into the care of the French envoys. They were Phra Wisutsunthorn or Kosaparn, Luang Kallayanaratchamaitri and Khun Sriwisanwaja appointed on October 28, 1685 as the ambassador, the charge d’affaires and the third minister respectively. They went with the ship that would have brought the Thai envoys back. The group of envoys left Ayutthaya by a ship called “Loiso and Malin” on December 22, 1685. They travelled with King Louise XIV’s royal envoys and reached Brest, a seaport, on June 18, 1686. At that time, King Louise XIV was sick. Therefore, the Thai group of envoys was not allowed to have an audience with the king, and the French officials took the envoys for sightseeing at many towns. After that they went to Paris on August 12, 1686, a few days before the day specified to have an audience and present the royal letter. The group of Thai envoys with Phra Wisutsunthorn as the ambassador stayed in France for eight months and twelve days. They asked King Louise XIV to leave France and went back to Ayutthaya. King Louise XIV allowed them to go back with his other group of envoys comprising Cluade Ceberert de Boullay, a director of the East India Company, and Simon de la Loubert, a French barrister, mathematician, philosopher, and music composer, as the second ambassador. This group of envoys arrived in Ayutthaya on September 27, 1687.
(On the left) King Narai participated and watched a “luna eclipse” with French priests and Siam noblemen in 1685.
(On the right) King Narai watched a “solar eclipse” in 1688.
When Ceberert, the first French ambassador, finished making and signing the contract involving special rights of the East India, a French company, he went back to France at the late year of 1687. But la Loubert had stayed in Krung Si Ayutthaya in order to gather various informations about Ayutthaya for another one month. When he had all the information, he went back to France on January 3, 1688. King Narai was pleased to have Father Tachard, a French priest, to bring his royal letters with him and present one to King Louise XIV and the other one to Pope Innocent XI in Rome. Three subordinate officials also went with the royal presents: Khun Wiset, Khun Chamnan and Khun phubane. There were also many Thai students went with them to study academic matters. The ship of La Loubert’s group of envoys left the Chao Phraya River’s estuary on January 4, 1688 and reached France in July of the same year. The diplomatic relationship between Ayutthaya and France was in glory in the reign of King Narai. On the contrary, in the reign of King Pate Racha, he was suspicious that France had a plan to occupy Krung Si Ayutthaya. As a result, he wanted to chase the French out of the kingdom and turned to find some help from Hollanda (The Natherlands). Finally, this event stopped the diplomatic relationship between Ayutthaya and France.
(ซ้าย) พระนารายณ์ทรงร่วมสังเกตปรากฏการณ์ “จันทรุปราคา” ร่วมกับบาทหลวงฝรั่งเศสและขุนนางสยาม พ.ศ.๒๒๒๘
(ขวา) พระนารายณ์ทรงทอดพระเนตร “สุริยุปราคา” พ.ศ.๒๒๓๑
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