René Charbonneau was 17th century French medical missionary

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

and a member of the

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

mission of the Société des Missions Etrangères. He was the first medical missionary to Siam. He arrived in the country in 1677. René Charbonneau first provided his services to the Siamese King

Narai King Narai the Great (, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Prasat Thong dynasty. He was the king of Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous king of the ...

as an architect, to establish a wooden fort on the frontier with the country of

Pegu Bago (formerly spelled Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...

. In 1681 or 1682, King Narai, who was seeking to reduce Dutch and English influence, named René Charbonneau the Governor of the island of

Phuket Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...

, a position which he held until 1685. Phuket was already highly valued at that time for its production of

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

. Charbonneau had received orders from King Narai to allow ships of all nations to trade freely in Phuket. In 1686, Charbonneau was replaced in this position by Sieur de Billy, the former

maître d'hôtel The ; ), head waiter, host, waiter captain, or ''maître d'' ( , ) manages the public part, or "front of the house", of a formal restaurant. The responsibilities of a ''maître d'hôtel'' generally include supervising the waiting staff, welcom ...

of the French ambassador to Siam, Chevalier de Chaumont. René Charbonneau worked as a nurse in the French hospital established in 1669 in

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

by the Catholic Bishops Lambert and Ballue, with Father Laneau as the chief physician. The hospital provided medical care to about 200-300 people daily.''History and Evolution of Western Medicine in Thailand'' Somrat Charuluxananana, Vilai Chentanez, ''Asian Biomedicine'' Vol. 1 No. 1 June 2007, p.9

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Notes

References

* Smithies, Michael (2002), ''Three Military Accounts of the 1688 "Revolution" in Siam'', Itineria Asiatica, Orchid Press, Bangkok, {{DEFAULTSORT:Charbonneau 1670s in the Ayutthaya Kingdom Paris Foreign Missions Society missionaries French Roman Catholic missionaries 17th-century French people Christian missionaries in the Ayutthaya Kingdom Roman Catholic missionaries in Thailand Roman Catholic medical missionaries French expatriates in Thailand

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