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Constantine Phaulkon

Type Figure Region Southeast Asia Time 1647–1688 Also known as 康斯坦丁·法尔康、Constantine Phaulkon、Konstantinos Gerakis、Κωνσταντῖνος Γεράκης、Chaophraya Wichayen

Constantine Phaulkon (1647–1688), a Greek from Cefalonia, served as interpreter for the English East India Company in Siam and rose to power under Ki…

Timeline

  1. 1647–1678Cefalonia · Ionian IslandsBorn in Cefalonia in 1647. As a youth he was employed aboard English merchant ships, learning English, Portuguese, Malay, and other languages. From roughly 1670 to 1678 he served as interpreter and commercial assistant at the English factory in Siam, quickly mastering Thai and becoming one of the few multilingual intermediaries between Europeans and the Ayutthaya court.
  2. 1678–1685Ayutthaya · AyutthayaAfter around 1678 he switched to King Narai's court, rising from interpreter to acting Phrakhlang (minister of finance and foreign trade), and by about 1685 effectively served as prime minister. He steered the king toward using France as a counterweight to the Dutch and English, and accompanied the king at Lopburi. His autocratic power and favoritism toward Catholic missionaries displeased the traditional nobility and the sangha.
  3. 1685–1688Lopburi · LopburiIn 1685 the French Chaumont embassy arrived in Siam, with Phaulkon directing the negotiations; in 1686 Kosa Pan's embassy reciprocated with a visit to Louis XIV. France obtained garrison rights in Bangkok and elsewhere, and the crisis deepened. In March 1688 Narai fell gravely ill; in May Phetracha's coup placed the king under house arrest, and on June 5 Phaulkon was beheaded for treason. Narai died on July 11, and Siam promptly expelled most of the French presence.

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