The Contestation over the Indochinese Peninsula between the Siamese Court and the Nguyễn Lord from the Late Eighteenth Century to the Early Nineteenth Century

Abstract

Between the late Eighteenth century and the early Nineteenth century, it represented the chaotic period in mainland Southeast Asia. The Fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 brought about the interregnum in the Chaophraya basin. During this time, the Siamese Court was struggling to restore the kingdom after the fall of Ayutthaya (1351-1767 AD) to Inwa (Burmese) troops (in 1767 AD). In the wake of this defeat, Taksin, one of the general, was able to amass the military troops and drove the remaining Inwa army out. He eventually established a new capital at Thonburi. His policy to restore the Siamese power was the power expansion to the east where is the current area of Cambodia and the Mekong delta. This policy unavoidably brought about the confrontation with the Nguyễn family whom was also expanding the power to that area. However, the emergence of Tây Sơn movement to fight against the Nguyễn lords was the critical point that shifted the policy in confronting with Siam. Historiographically, the national histories of both Thailand and Vietnam are mainly presented from their own perspectives. The comparative studies between Thai and Vietnamese sources are rarely found. This paper chiefly utilizes Vietnamese primary sources, which have not been referred in Thai works i.e., the true record of the Great South (Đại Nam thựclục), the genealogy of the Mạc family of HàTiên (HàTiêntrấn HiệptrấnMạcthịgiaphả) and GiaĐịnh gazetteer (Gia Địnhthànhthôngchí). The purposes of this paper are that to answer 1) why Siamese court and the Nguyễn family attempted to expand their power in the Indochinese Peninsula; 2) how the Vietnamese perceived the Siamese aggression at the Mekong delta. Furthermore, this study also tries to knit this warfare from the related multi-language sources.