Cambodian rebellion (1820)

Cambodian rebellion (1820)
Part of Vietnamese invasions of Cambodia
Date 1820 Location Cambodia, Cochinchina Result Vietnamese victory
Belligerents
Khmer anti-Vietnamese rebels	Nguyễn dynasty (Vietnam) Cambodia
Commanders and leaders
Kai † Kuy Chaophraya Tei  Narin Kol  Naike	Nguyễn Văn Trí Nguyễn Văn Thoại Ang Chan II Phraya Decho (Mu) † Chaophraya Tuan (Pho)
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	~600 dead

The Cambodian rebellion of 1820, also known as the Neak sel Rebellion (lit. "the holy man's rebellion"), was a Cambodian revolt against Vietnam led by a monk named Kai.

Background

At the time, Cambodia was in the grip of a "Dark Age", with internal affairs subject to interference from Siam and Vietnam. In 1813, Siam intervened in a royal dispute in Cambodia, prompting the Cambodian King Ang Chan to seek assistance from Vietnam. Vietnam subsequently stationed troops in Cambodia, transforming it into a protectorate. To strengthen its control over Cambodia, Vietnam constructed three major roads within the country to facilitate military transport. In 1817, it seized the important port of Châu Đốc, and two years later, it dug the Vĩnh Tế Canal between the port and Hà Tiên, annexing Cambodian territory south of the canal.

In 1819, Khmer and Vietnamese labors were forced to reconstruct the Vĩnh Tế Canal. The Khmer labors were heavily exploited by being forced to do hard work, which resulted in thousands of deaths from fatigue and consequent disease during the canal's construction. Kai, a monk originally from Wat Sambaur who claimed supernatural powers, revolted against the Vietnamese.

Rebellion

Kai occupied the Khmer holy site Ba Phnom and subsequently declared king. Most of his followers were recruited in the area around Tây Ninh. Many Buddhist monks joined his forces. The rebels marched toward Phnom Penh, and three Cambodian generals, Chaophraya Tei (or Somdet Tei, Samdech Tei), Narin Kol and Naike, joined them.

King Ang Chan wanted to flee the capital and sent a letter to Saigon to ask for help. Lê Văn Duyệt, the viceroy of Cochinchina, ordered Nguyễn Văn Thoại and Nguyễn Văn Trí to assemble an expeditionary force. The Vietnamese army defeated the rebels, killed many of them. Kai escaped, but was pursued and killed with many monks in Kampong Cham.Kai's assistance, the novice Kuy, escaped to live among the Lao. Other leaders had to surrender, including Chaophraya Tei, Narin Kol and Naike. They were put to death in Phnom Penh and Saigon.

Aftermath

This rebellion served as a pretext for Vietnam to re-establish its military presence in Cambodia, since the following year, Vietnam sent Thoại Ngọc Hầu again to "protect" the country.

Notes

Footnote

Citations

References

• Chandler, David P. (1975). "An Anti-Vietnamese Rebellion in Early Nineteenth Century Cambodia: Pre-colonial Imperialism and a Pre-Nationalist Response". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 6 (1): 16–24. doi:10.1017/S0022463400017070. S2CID 153585240.
• Chandler, David P. (2008). A history of Cambodia (4th ed.). Westview Press. ISBN 978-0813343631.
• Harris, Ian (2005). Cambodian Buddhism, History and Practice (PDF). University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2765-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 16, 2015.
• 金应熙 (1979). "十九世纪前半柬埔寨人民反抗越南侵略的两次起义". 中山大学学报(社会科学版) (in Chinese) (1): 84–95. ISSN 1000-9639.

See also

• Cambodian rebellion (1811–12)
• Cambodian rebellion (1840)
• Anti-Vietnamese sentiment