The Cambodian–Spanish War (
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
: ''Guerra Hispano-Camboyana'';
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
: ''Digmaang Kambodyano-Espanyol'';
Khmer: សង្គ្រាមកម្ពុជា-អេស្ប៉ាញ)
(1593-1597) was an attempt to conquer
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
on behalf of King
Satha I
Satha I (also spelled Sattha; km, សត្ថាទី១; 1539–1596), also known as Barom Reachea IV, was the Cambodian king ruled from 1576 to 1584. He was the eldest son of Barom Reachea III.
During his reign, Blas Ruiz and Diogo Velos ...
and
Christianize Cambodia's population by the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
Empires.
Along with the Spanish,
Spanish Filipino
Spanish Filipinos ( es, español filipino / hispano filipino / castellano filipino; cbk, español filipino / hispano filipino / conio; Filipino/ tl, Kastilà / Espanyól / Tisoy / Konyo; ceb, Katsílà / Ispaniyul; hil, Katsílà / Espany� ...
s, native Filipinos, and Japanese mercenaries participated in the invasion of Cambodia.
Background
Each country that participated in the war possessed different motives for their invasion of Cambodia. Specifically, the Thai interference and the Spanish expedition was a result of a power struggle between rival factions in Cambodia's government.
Both Spanish and Portuguese took part in the invasion of Cambodia because
King Philip II ruled both
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
as the
Iberian Union
pt, União Ibérica
, conventional_long_name =Iberian Union
, common_name =
, year_start = 1580
, date_start = 25 August
, life_span = 1580–1640
, event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession
, event_end = Portuguese Restoration War
, ...
.
In February 1593, Thai ruler
Naresuan
King Naresuan the Great (( th, สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช, , ) or Sanphet II ( th, สรรเพชญ์ที่ ๒), ( my , နရဲစွမ် (သို့) ဗြနရာဇ်); 1555/1556 – ...
attacked Cambodia.
Later on, in May 1593, 100,000 Thai (Siamese) soldiers invaded Cambodia.
The increasing Siamese expansion, which later got the approval of
China, drove the Cambodian king
Satha I
Satha I (also spelled Sattha; km, សត្ថាទី១; 1539–1596), also known as Barom Reachea IV, was the Cambodian king ruled from 1576 to 1584. He was the eldest son of Barom Reachea III.
During his reign, Blas Ruiz and Diogo Velos ...
to search for allies overseas, ultimately finding it in Portuguese adventurer
Diogo Veloso and his Spanish associates
Blas Ruiz de Hernán Gonzáles and Gregorio Vargas Machuca.
The Iberians tried to bring reinforcements from
Portuguese Malacca
Portuguese control of Malacca, a city on the Malay Peninsula, refers to the 130 year period (1511–1641) when it was a possession of the Portuguese East Indies. It was conquered from the Malacca Sultanate as part of Portuguese attempts to ...
, but were unsuccessful, and the same happened in the
Spanish Philippines
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, where governor
Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas
Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas (1 January 1519 – 25 October 1593Some sources say October 19 or October 23) was a Spanish politician, diplomat, military officer and imperial official. He was the seventh governor-general of the Philippines from Ma ...
rejected an alliance with Cambodia, preferring the option to try to arbitrate the conflict with Siam. In reality, Dasmariñas was likely more interested in a campaign in the Moluccas. As a consequence, the Thai conquered
Longvek in July 1594, and Satha was executed or fled to
Laos.
[
The three Iberians, now accompanied by Pantaleón Carnero and Antonio Machado, were captured and sent to Siam. However, Veloso and Vargas convinced Naresuan to send them as emissaries to Manila, where they escaped, while Ruiz and the rest managed to seize the junk that carried them as prisoners. They all reunited in Manila, where they organized a military expedition.][
]
Conflict
The first Spanish expedition arrived in 1596 in three ships under the command of Juan Juárez Gallinato, having 140 Spanish soldiers and some Philippine islanders and Japanese Christian mercenaries. Gallinato's ship was driven away by a storm, but the other two, commanded by Ruiz and Veloso, reached Cambodia, where they learned the throne had been taken by the king's former vassal Preah Ram I
Preah Ram I (1544–May 1596), also known as Reamea Chung Prey, was the Cambodian king ruled from 1594 to 1596.
In 1594, Cambodia was attacked by Siamese, Chey Chettha I and Satha I fled the capital. Preah Ram I seized the throne during the ...
. The presence of the Iberians became troublesome after they clashed with and defeated a force of 2000 Chinese, and in view of the king's hostility, Veloso advised the expedition to assault his palace and capture him. The assault was unsuccessful, as the king died, and the expedition was forced to rejoin Gallinato and escape. Gallinato then ordered the fleet to search for allies in Laos, but their failure forced them away, and the expedition disbanded shortly after.
In October of the same year, Ruiz and Veloso found an heir to Satha, his second son Barom Reachea II, who was supported by Laos. With their help, the young king invaded Cambodia and was enthroned in May 1597. The king granted the Iberians territorial rights over two provinces on the east and west sides of the Mekong River. Veloso later secured permission and funds to build a fort, but the situation was still unstable. In 1599, he commanded four ships from Manila but two of them were wrecked in a storm. The Malay Muslim admiral Laksamana, who opposed the Iberians, took advantage of the situation to provoke an attack on one of their men, Luis Ortiz. The Spaniards retaliated by attacking a Malay camp, but Malays, Chams
The Cham ( Cham: ''Čaṃ'') or Champa people ( Cham: , ''Urang Campa''; vi, Người Chăm or ; km, ជនជាតិចាម, ) are an Austronesian ethnic group. From the 2nd century to 1832 the Cham populated Champa, a contiguous territ ...
and their allies attacked and slaughtered the Spaniards and Portuguese, including Diogo Veloso. Only a few Filipinos and one Spaniard survived the massacre.
Because of its defeat, Spain's planned Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
of Cambodia failed. Laksamana later had Barom Reachea II executed. Cambodia became dominated by the Thai in July 1599.
See also
* Luis Pérez Dasmariñas
Luis Pérez Dasmariñas y Páez de Sotomayor was a Spanish soldier and governor of the Philippines from December 3, 1593 to July 14, 1596. In 1596, he sent unsuccessful expeditions to conquer Cambodia and Mindanao.
Pérez Dasmariñas was a knight ...
* Blas Ruiz
* Diogo Veloso
* Post-Angkor Period
The post-Angkor period of Cambodia ( km, ប្រទេសកម្ពុជាក្រោយសម័យអង្គរ), also called the Middle Period and Dark Age ( km, យុគ្គអន្ធកាល, lit=Isolationism, link=yes; ( km ...
* Castilian War
* Spanish–Moro conflict
The Spanish–Moro conflict ( fil, Sagupaang Kastila at Moro) was a series of battles in the Philippines lasting over several centuries. It began during the Spanish Era and lasted until the Spanish–American War, when Spain finally began t ...
* Cambodian–Dutch War
* Spanish East Indies
The Spanish East Indies ( es , Indias orientales españolas ; fil, Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya) were the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire in Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1898, governed for the Spanish Crown from Mexico City and Madri ...
* Siamese–Cambodian War (1591–1594)
The Siamese–Cambodian War (1591–1594), was a military conflict fought between the Ayutthaya Kingdom and the Kingdom of Cambodia. The war began in 1591 when Ayutthaya invaded Cambodia in response to continuous Khmer raids into their territor ...
* El Piñal
References
Wars involving the Philippines
Wars involving Spain
Wars involving Cambodia
{{Cambodia-hist-stub