Si Votha

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 precarious without French support. Sisowath would likely have adopted the same attitude as Si Votha if the Siamese king had allowed him to leave Bangkok. Si Votha's long history of opposition to Norodom, which led him to lead a life of discomfort in the most isolated regions of the kingdom, suggests some deep personal antagonism between the two princes.

During the 1870s, taking advantage of a new uprising against Norodom's authority, Si Votha swiftly returned to Cambodia from Thailand. Begging the pardon of the king of Siam for his unauthorized departure, Si Votha left Bangkok, swiftly passed through Battambang, and travelled onward to the higher region of the Mekong. He had little difficulty in quickly raising a large band of supporters and began to harry the officials loyal to King Norodom. He besieged the provincial capital at Kampong Thom[3] and went through the turbulent province of Kampong Svai. Forces dispatched under Norodom's orders 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 concluded a treaty which advocated several reforms. By January 1877, the treaty was concluded and on 15 January, King Norodom proclaimed a series of reforms under the new treaty. In return, the French now bent their efforts to defeating Si Votha's uprising. Si Votha's uprising lasted until 1885-1886. It was Norodom's prestige that ultimately brought Si Votha's resistance to an end. Si Votha, lurking on the northeastern boundaries of the kingdom, was a nuisance but nothing more.

After a lifetime of dissidence, Prince Si Votha died in December 1891. After the failure of his efforts in 1885-1886, his followers became fewer, dwindling to a few companions by the time he died. In the closing years of his life, Si Votha entered into hesitant and inconclusive negotiations with the French. Having grown tired of living amongst the less civilized hill tribe people in the jungle of northeastern Cambodia, Si Votha eventually submitted to the French. However, he strongly emphasized his refusal to submit to his half-brother, King Norodom.

Almost totally abandoned by his followers and virtually without resources, he died on the last day of 1891. Si Votha's life of perpetual dissidence had never brought him within certain reach of toppling Norodom from the throne. Backed by the French, Norodom had always been able to resist Si Votha's uprisings, despite the latter's popular appeal or gift of oratory.

The French, who were attempting to expand their influence in Cambodia at the time, were pleased by Si Votha's defeat, as he had been an outspoken critic of European colonialism in the area. Si Votha became something of a figurehead for resistance against the French. Si Votha's rebellion was largely unsuccessful, however, 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. During his time he was never considered an independence fighter but rather a rebellious usurper of the Cambodian throne.

1. Milton E. Osborne, The French Presence in Cochinchina and Cambodia

2. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~royalty/cambodia/i547.html#I548