French gunboats steam up the Tonlé Sap and drop anchor facing the royal palace. Their guns do not fire. They do not need to. Inside the palace, Cochinchina's governor Charles Thomson hands King Norodom I a document to sign: a convention transferring control of the kingdom's internal affairs to the French.

King Preah Norodom (1834-1904) was a central figure in the history of Cambodia, reigning from 19 October 1860 to 24 April 1904.