Prince Ang Duong Si Votha (1841-1891)
Prince Si Votha was once a royal contender to the Cambodian throne. Depending on whom we talk to, he can be described as a usurper, a nationalist, an independence fighter or simply a collaborator of the foreigners. He had spent most of his entire life fighting his half brother, King Norodom, for the throne. Some people were of the view that Si Votha’s rebellion was an act of nationalism because he was fighting against the French colonial rule in Cambodia. His actions were suspected to be instigated and supported by the Siamese court who did not want Cambodia, a Siamese vassalage state for hundreds of years, to become a French protectorate. Whatever people viewed him, Prince Si Votha came to symbolise the first Cambodian struggle against the French colonial rule in Cambodia. But he died without coming close to either toppling his half brother from the throne or chasing the French out of Cambodia.
Si Votha's Lineage
Prince Si Votha (also spelled Si Vattha or Sirivattha, សិរីវត្ថាin Khmer) was born in 1841 and died on the 31st of December 1891. Si Votha was a grandson of King Ang Eng (1772-1796) and a son of King Ang Duong (1796-19 Oct. 1860), who ruled Cambodia from 1841 to 1860. His life accounts did not record who was his wife but the record shows that he had one daughter named Neak Ang Mechas (Princess) Ang Duong Rath Votha. Si Votha had two half-brothers, Norodom and Sisowath. His eldest half brother, Norodom, was King Ang Duong’s heir appearent. like many of his royal siblings at that time, he was raised and educated at the Siamese court in Bangkok where he studied Khmer and Thai literature, the Buddhist cannons and the Pali language.Upon King Ang Duong's death Norodom succeeded the Cambodian throne, and with Si Votha also laid claim to the throne, a royal succession struggle ensued, when Si Votha attempted to usurp. Norodom, although pre-occupied with a rebellion that were raging in many parts of the country and with Sisowath on his side, eventually succeeded the throne with the blessing and the backing of the French colonial authority in Cambodia.
Si Votha's Rebellion
Traditionally, as a younger sibling and being a son of the minor wife of the king, Si Votha had no right to lay claim to the throne. But when Norodom was officially crowned king in 1864, in a joint coronation ceremony supervised by the French and Siamese officials, Si Votha once again made no secret of his intention to lay claim to the Cambodian throne. Norodom's throne would have been extremely unstable and precarious without French support. Si Votha, who was bitterly jealous and harboured a deep personal antagonism against Norodom, expressly made clear of his intention to contest the throne, and Sisowath, who had originally sided with Norodom, was likely to adopt the same attitude if the Siamese king allowed him to leave Bangkok to go to Cambodia. Si Votha's long history of opposition to Norodom, which led to a life of discomfort in the most isolated regions of the kingdom, suggests some deep personal antagonism between the two princes. He had devoted his entire energy to topple Norodom since the latter was crowned king in 1864 but Si Votha was not allowed to leave Bangkok by the Siamese king to conduct an armed struggle against Norodom. Finally, during the 1870s, taking advantage of a new uprising against Norodom's authority, Si Votha, without asking a royal permission from the Siamese king, had swiflty returned to Cambodia from Thailand. Begging the pardon of the king of Siam for his unauthorized departure, Si Votha left Bangkok, swiflty passed through Battambang, travelled onward to the higher region of the Mekong on to the Cambodia-Laotian border. With rebellion against Norodom and the French raging in those parts of the country already, he had little difficulty in quickly raising a large army and began to harass and harry the officials loyal to King Norodom. His troops besieged the provincial capital at Kampong Thom and ranged through the turbulent province of Kampong Svai. His troops caused much havoc throughout the region and harassed the king’s officials for much of the year. Forces dispatched under Norodom's order failed to apprehend him. As late as 1876, Si Votha remained in revolt, striking at an outpost of Norodom's government, and slipping back to his sanctuary among the Stiengs, one of the tribal groups on the fringes of Cambodian society. The French refused to help King Norodom put down Si Votha's revolt until the king conclude a treaty which agreed to a series of reforms that were demanded by the French. Under duress from the French and under pressures from Si Votha’s constant attacks, King Norodom finally agreed to French demand. And in January 1877 the treaty was concluded. On 15 January King Norodom proclaimed a series of reforms, and in return the French started their concerted efforts to defeating Si Votha's uprising. Si Votha's uprising lasted until 1885-1886. It was Norodom's prestige that ultimately brought the French to put down Si Votha's resistance. By this time, Si Votha, lurking on the northeastern boundaries of the kingdom, was a nuisance but nothing more. After a lifetime of dissidence, without coming close to taking the throne for himself, he died on the 31st of December 1891 at his sanctuary on the Khmer-Laotian border. After the failure of his efforts in 1885-1886, his followers deserted him in droves, his supports dwindling to a few companions by the time of his death. In the closing years of his life, Si Votha entered into hesitant and inconclusive negotiations with the French. Tired of long years of life in the jungle of northeastern Cambodia among the less civilised hilltribe people, Si Votha offered his submission to the French but strongly emphasised to the French that, at all costs, he will never submit to his half brother, King Norodom. Almost totally abandoned by his followers and virtually without resources, he died a broken man on the last day of 1891 at his sanctuary on the Cambodian-Laotian border. Si Votha's life long of dissidence, which were suspected to be supported and abetted by the Siamese court, had never brought him close to within certain reach of toppling Norodom from the throne. Backed by the French Norodom had enjoyed a relative stable reign and had always been able to resist Si Votha's revolt, whatever the latter popular appeals or gift of oratory.
The Aftermath of Si Votha's Rebellion
The French who wanted to rule Cambodia in relative peace were pleased by Si Votha's defeat and submission, as his action, although never been a threat to the French rule, was a nuisance pre-occupation for the French authority. Si Votha, who originally usurped against King Norodom, eventually became something of a figurehead for the resistance against the French. But his rebellion was largely unsuccessful and in 1887 Cambodia was incorporated in the French-controlled Indochinese Union. Si Votha came to symbolise the first fight against the French colonial rule in Cambodia. But his rebellion was largely born out of jealousy and animosity toward his half brother, King Norodom, rather than a desire for the independence of his country from France. His revolt, if of any substance at all, was largely to contest the throne from his half brother rather than aimed at toppling the French rule. During his time, though his struggle was considered to be the first rebellion against the French colonial rule, he was never considered an independence fighter but rather a rebellious usurper of the Cambodian throne.//End//
References
1. Milton E. Osborne, The French Presence in Cochinchina and Cambodia 2.http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~royalty/cambodia/i547.html%20/%20I548
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