King Norodom I (1834-1904)By Augusto Viana
The Manila Times (RP)
In 1872 the Philippines had a royal visitor. King Norodom I of Cambodia arrived in Manila on August 8, 1872, as part of a goodwill tour which took him to Da Nang and Hue in Vietnam and to Hong Kong, Macau and Manila. He arrived in Manila with an entourage of 85 retainers aboard the French warship the Bourayne.
The King, then 38 years old stayed at a mansion of the Count of Aviles on San Sebastian Street, now Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo Street in Quiapo. Later on August 12 the King wished to meet the people whose men fought bravely in Vietnam. Filipino troops under Carlos Palanca helped the French conquer Indo-China and were greatly respected as palace guards and artillerymen.
Upon arriving in Bulacan, the King and his party were met with much festivities by the leading citizens. Their daughters and ladies were in their best clothes and were presented to the King who acknowledged each lady with a gift.
Two sisters, Josefa, then aged 20, and Ana, then 14, caught his interest. They were among the prettiest among the ladies. The King was smitten by Josefa’s charm. He started the ball by dancing with the selected ladies.
In one of the pauses during the dance King Norodom proposed to marry Josefa and make her the “first queen” of his country. Respectful and well-mannered, Josefa politely declined saying that she promised to devote her life to the service of God and her parents.
King Norodom later presented the two sisters precious jewelry. Josefa received a gift of solid gold shaped like a heart with a letter asking her to accept his personal honor. The letter prevented Josefa from returning the gift for fear that she might break the royal heart twice.
When King Norodom returned to Cambodia, he arranged to take to his country a group of Filipino musicians to form a royal brass and reed band at the palace. He also promoted the officers of his Tagalog militia in appreciation of his visit to the Philippines. King Norodom died on August 17, 1904 and was succeeded by his brother Sisowath.
Josefa Roxas died in 1885. She was only in her thirties. The gift that King Norodom gave her was found in the collection of Dr. H. Otley Beyer. The gift given to her sister Ana was stolen along with other heirlooms. The thieves tried to sell the jewel to Estrella del Norte, one of the largest and most popular jewelry and watch stores in the country up to the 1950s. Its manager recognized King Norodom’s inscription and Ana Roxas was able to retrieve the item. She gave it to the Madonna and Child of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval at Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros.
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The author is chief history researcher of the National Historical Institute.
The King, then 38 years old stayed at a mansion of the Count of Aviles on San Sebastian Street, now Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo Street in Quiapo. Later on August 12 the King wished to meet the people whose men fought bravely in Vietnam. Filipino troops under Carlos Palanca helped the French conquer Indo-China and were greatly respected as palace guards and artillerymen.
Upon arriving in Bulacan, the King and his party were met with much festivities by the leading citizens. Their daughters and ladies were in their best clothes and were presented to the King who acknowledged each lady with a gift.
Two sisters, Josefa, then aged 20, and Ana, then 14, caught his interest. They were among the prettiest among the ladies. The King was smitten by Josefa’s charm. He started the ball by dancing with the selected ladies.
In one of the pauses during the dance King Norodom proposed to marry Josefa and make her the “first queen” of his country. Respectful and well-mannered, Josefa politely declined saying that she promised to devote her life to the service of God and her parents.
King Norodom later presented the two sisters precious jewelry. Josefa received a gift of solid gold shaped like a heart with a letter asking her to accept his personal honor. The letter prevented Josefa from returning the gift for fear that she might break the royal heart twice.
When King Norodom returned to Cambodia, he arranged to take to his country a group of Filipino musicians to form a royal brass and reed band at the palace. He also promoted the officers of his Tagalog militia in appreciation of his visit to the Philippines. King Norodom died on August 17, 1904 and was succeeded by his brother Sisowath.
Josefa Roxas died in 1885. She was only in her thirties. The gift that King Norodom gave her was found in the collection of Dr. H. Otley Beyer. The gift given to her sister Ana was stolen along with other heirlooms. The thieves tried to sell the jewel to Estrella del Norte, one of the largest and most popular jewelry and watch stores in the country up to the 1950s. Its manager recognized King Norodom’s inscription and Ana Roxas was able to retrieve the item. She gave it to the Madonna and Child of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval at Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros.
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The author is chief history researcher of the National Historical Institute.
7 comments:
Yes! Could have been! I could have been to the moon! I could have been rich! I could have been marry a very beautiful woman! I could have been a very powerful leader!
But then again it is only a wish! So in real life it doesn't count!
The womanized Khmer leaders never end to these days...Chey Chetha maried Yuon wife...Sihanouk married half-Youn wife...Khmer Kingdom falls because this impurity!!!
Only real Khmer King can really look after the Khmer interests.
I don't think British Monarchy is like that...nor Thai Monarchy...nor Japanese Emperor. Sound like I am racist...but Kingdom of a nation has to be unique and PURE.
Khmer monarchy's blood line contains very little Khmer's blood, but a lot foreigners. It is about time we abolish it. They are no longer serving Khmer's interest.
Jeat Khmer.
you probably not racist, i'm sure you said it in good faith. However, you're just blind. That's all. The only thing worst then a racist, is a person who refuse to catch a glimpse of light and truth. You're probably in this internal box for your whole life now, been blind for a long time then I can say. Its time to step out an start seeing things differently, with lights on.
They say love is blind. King Edward (I think) of the United Kingdom abdicated because he was not allowed to marry Mrs. Simpson, an American divorcee. Love knows no boundary of race or culture.
But the important thing is the King or the national leader, who decides to marry someone outside his own culture, will not neglect his duties to the nation. In the Cambodia context, the Khmer kings after the fall of Angkor usually ignored their duties and were more interested in beautiful women, good wines, and gambling.
It shouldn't be a problem if King Norodom I married a Filipino Queen. The Philippines is far away from Cambodia, so there would be no fear of annexation of Khmer territory. When the Khmer King married the Viet Queen next-door, her people were allowed to settle down in Khmer territory until they outnumbered and chased away the native residents.
Can anyone get those jewelleries back to Cambodia? They are surely Khmer treasures.
All of your comments are rubbish compare to what Cambodia lost her land to Vietnam ( Saigon and Kampuchea Krom ). French should be reposable for this lost. We all Khmer should shout out loud about Saigon.
To 11:24PM
I agree! Cambodian people are too ignorant about what is going on in the world especially dealing with such issue as the Khmer Krom!
Is it because these Cambodian people fail to educate themselves about what is going on in the world? Or is it because these Cambodian people don't get enough information? or is it they had been reading too much of Vietcong propaganda? Some of these Cambodian people are plain stupid!
It says alot when Cambodian leader like AH HUN SEN deny the existence of the Khmer Krom! It is hurt to be Khmer! Is this how Khmer treated another Khmer?
Thank God almighty for making that woman Josefa (sounds like a shemale to me) refused the Khmer King's offer. Who knows, if it happened, part of Cambodia was probably settled and polluted by them horny Flips already. Look at the Khmer territory of the Mekong Delta, now it is all populated by horny Viets. Look at Laos, now it is all populated by horny Laotians. Look at Thailand, now it is all populated by horny Thais. Thank goodness that shemale Jose-Fa decline his royal horniness. It served him right. He was a 38 years-old man going for a 20 years old shemale person. That is not right.
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