Pierre d'Espagnac
Encyclopedia
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
) during the 17th century.
Pierre d'Espagnac was a member of a mission of 14 Jesuit scientists sent to Siam by Louis XIV, under the guidance of Father Tachard. As the others, he was given the title of "Royal Mathematician" and was sponsored by the Academy. D'Espagnac left Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
in March 1687 together with the Loubère-Céberet mission to Siam.
D'Espagnac spoke Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, and served for sometime as an interpreter for Constantine Phaulkon
Constantine Phaulkon
Constantine Phaulkon was a Greek adventurer, who became first counsellor to King Narai of Ayutthaya.Born on the Ionian island of...
.
The Jesuits were warmly received by the Siamese king Narai
Narai
Somdet Phra Narai or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi III was the king of Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous Ayutthayan king. His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw the great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the...
, who had great interest in astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
. They observed an eclipse with him in April 1688. Soon however, the Siamese revolted in the Siamese revolution
Siamese revolution (1688)
The Siamese revolution of 1688 was a major popular upheaval in the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom which led to the overthrow of the pro-foreign Siamese king Narai...
.
Pierre d'Espagnac is next seen in Mergui
Mergui
Myeik is a city in Tanintharyi Division in Myanmar , located in the extreme south of the country on the coast of an island on the Andaman Sea. the estimated population was over 209,000. The area inland from the city is a major smuggling corridor into Thailand.-History:Myeik was the southernmost...
as part of the French troops fleeing Mergui following the advent of the 1688 Siamese revolution. He was captured in Tavoy by the Siamese, together with the Chevalier de Beauregard
Chevalier de Beauregard
The Chevalier de Beauregard was a 17th century French officer who was active in Siam . He became Governor of Bangkok and Mergui, but was eventually captured by the Siamese during the 1688 Siamese revolution....
and four French soldiers, as they were trying to obtain supplies for their ships. Pierre d'Espagnac seems to have been enslaved, and soon died (a year later) in slavery.