Cambodia in the Mid-Nineteenth Century: A Heroic Quest for Survival (1840–1863)

In the heart of the nineteenth century, Cambodia stood on the brink of the abyss, caught in a vice between the expansionist ambitions of Vietnam and Siam.

Cambodian village in the 19th century. DC Cam (AI colorization)

The master’s thesis by Bun Srun Theam, Cambodia in the Mid-Nineteenth Century: A Quest for Survival, 1840–1863, defended in 1981 at the Australian National University, offers a masterful analysis of these pivotal years. Recently published in full online on angkordatabase.asia, this work by a historian in exile reveals how King Ang Duong and his successor Norodom struggled to preserve Khmer identity in the face of the threat of extinction.

The Author: An Exiled Witness to Khmer History

Bun Srun Theam embodies the tragic trajectory of so many Cambodian intellectuals. Appointed Chargé d’Affaires of Cambodia in Canberra in September 1974, he petitioned for political asylum in Australia to escape the terror of the Khmer Rouge regime.

His thesis, the result of years of rigorous research, has become an essential reference for historians of Southeast Asia. Opposed to all forms of extremism, Theam draws on a wide range of primary sources: Khmer royal chronicles (Preah Reach Pongsavadar), Thai annals (Phraratchaphongsawadan), Vietnamese archives (Dai-Nam Thuc-Luc), and French reports, thereby challenging simplistic narratives that dismiss French sources as mere colonial propaganda.

Theam portrays Cambodia not as a French invention, but as a kingdom genuinely under threat. “Cambodia in the mid-nineteenth century was free of foreign military presence thanks to French pressure on Vietnam and Western rivalry in Siam,” he writes, emphasizing the pragmatism of King Duong, who viewed France as the lesser evil compared to his neighbors. This balanced perspective makes his work a powerful antidote to reductive postcolonial narratives.

Geopolitical Context: A Kingdom Under Siege

From 1840 to 1863, Cambodia emerged from a humiliating period of Vietnamese domination (1807–1839). The Nguyen dynasty, after absorbing Champa and Cochinchina, sought to assimilate the Khmer kingdom: the imposition of Annamite officials, the destruction of temples, and forced conversions to Confucianism. Khmer chronicles report a decimated population—ravaged by famine, deportations, and epidemics—and an economy ruined by endless corvée labor.

The year 1840 marked a turning point. A national rebellion, instigated by provincial oknha and supported by the population, drove out the Vietnamese occupiers. The Thai then intervened, taking advantage of French pressure on Hué. After devastating Sino-Vietnamese wars (1840–1845), a modus vivendi was established in 1846: Bangkok and Hué recognized Duong as king, granting him a degree of relative independence. The kingdom, reduced to a fraction of its Angkorian expanse—Battambang and Siem Reap under Thai control, the Mekong Delta under Vietnamese domination—counted around one million inhabitants, predominantly Khmer Buddhists.

Khmer Society: Traditions and Fractures

Theam excels in depicting a decentralized society, heir to Angkor. Unlike the centralized states of Hué and Bangkok, power rested on regional oknha, quasi-autonomous figures who administered provinces (chauvay srok) and royal appanages. The king, a semi-divine figure, ruled through a network of 318 high dignitaries—121 of them at court—assisted by thousands of clients (kamlang). The super-governors (sdach tranh) of the six dey (territories)—such as the Decho of Kampong Svay or the Archun of Thbaung Khmum—wielded real authority, far from the capital at Oudong.

Minorities shaped this mosaic society: Chinese merchants (17 oknha), Cham-Malay Muslims (8 oknha, fishermen and traders), Vietnamese immigrants, and Thai and Lao populations assimilated through Buddhism. Highland peoples (Stieng, Phnong, Kouy) lived on the margins. Slavery—affecting 30–40% of the population, including prisoners of war, debt slaves, and royal serfs—was a heavy burden, although Duong introduced reforms: banning debt slavery and allowing redemption.

Buddhism permeated all aspects of life. Monks (2,000 to 5,000) educated the youth during the Vassa, and wat served as spiritual and cultural centers. Superstitions and neak ta (tutelary spirits) governed daily life; “magical” rebellions (1820, 1850s, 1866), led by invulnerable sei, challenged authority—an echo of practices that would persist into the Lon Nol era.

The Reigns of Duong and Norodom: Diplomacy as Salvation

Crowned in 1848, Ang Duong (r. 1848–1860) set about rebuilding: roads to Kampot, local coinage, judicial reforms. Yet the threat remained. As early as 1856, through missionaries Montigny and Jean Dupond, he appealed to France—Napoleon III and Mgr Miche—whom he saw as a bulwark against Bangkok and Hué. Without Western interest in trade and navigation, “the Thais would have replaced the Vietnamese as occupiers.”

Norodom (r. 1860–1904), Duong’s second son, inherited a fragile kingdom. In 1863, he signed the French protectorate, thereby avoiding an inevitable partition. Theam offers a nuanced view: not a capitulation, but a strategy for survival, corroborated by Thai and Vietnamese chronicles.

Legacy: Timeless Resilience

This 216-page thesis, with its methodical chapters—from Vietnamese domination to the Montigny mission—sheds light on the roots of modern Cambodia. Theam projects onto the nineteenth century the torments of the twentieth: a kingdom encircled, seeking distant allies. Digitized for the first time, it invites reflection on Khmer identity, poised between memory and historiography.

About the edition: Available on angkordatabase.asia, accompanied by a photograph of a Cambodian village from the 1860s (Phnom Penh Post).