Kingdom of Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a Puppet State of the Empire of Japan that was once one of the Princely States of the former French Indochina colony before Japan's takeover.

## History

### Origins

During the 19th century, the kingdom of Cambodia had been reduced to a vassal state of the Kingdom of Siam (Rattanakosin rule) which had annexed its western provinces, including Angkor while growing influence from the Vietnamese Nguyễn dynasty threatened the eastern portion of the country. After the French establishment of a colony in Cochinchina (present-day southern Vietnam) in 1862, King Norodom of Cambodia requested a French protectorate over his kingdom. At the time, Pierre-Paul de La Grandière, colonial governor of Cochinchina, was carrying out plans to expand French rule over the whole of Vietnam and viewed Cambodia as a buffer between French possessions in Vietnam and Siam. On 11 August 1863, Norodom signed a treaty acknowledging a French protectorate over his kingdom. Under the treaty, the Cambodian monarchy was allowed to remain, but power was largely vested in a resident general to be housed in Phnom Penh. France was also to be in charge of Cambodia's foreign and trade relations as well as provide military protection. Siam later recognised the protectorate after France ceded the Cambodian province of Battambang and recognised Thai control of Angkor.

### French Protectorate

The first decades of French rule in Cambodia included numerous reforms into Cambodian politics, such as the reduction of the monarch's power and abolition of slavery. In 1884, the governor of Cochinchina, Charles Antoine François Thomson, attempted to overthrow the monarch and establish full French control over Cambodia by sending a small force to the royal palace in Phnom Penh. The movement was only slightly successful as the governor-general of French Indochina prevented full colonisation due to possible conflicts with Cambodians and the monarch's power was reduced to that of a figurehead. In 1885, Si Votha, half brother of Norodom and contender for the throne, led a rebellion to dispose of the French-backed Norodom after coming back from exile in Siam. Gathering support from opposers of Norodom and the French, Si Votha led a rebellion that was primarily concentrated in the jungles of Cambodia and the city of Kampot where Oknha Kralahom "Kong" led the resistance. French forces later aided Norodom to defeat Si Votha under agreements that the Cambodian population be disarmed and acknowledge the resident-general as the highest power in the protectorate.

Oknha Kralahom "Kong" was called back to Phnom Penh to discuss peace with King Norodom and the French officials, but was taken captive on an Alouette of the French army, where he was tied to the turnace and left to burn, officially putting an end to the rebellion.

In 1896, France and the British Empire signed an accord recognizing each other's sphere of influence over Indochina, especially over Siam. Under this accord, Siam had to cede the province of Battambang back to the now French-controlled Cambodia. The accord acknowledged French control over Vietnam (including the colony of Cochinchina and the protectorates of Annam and Tonkin), Cambodia, as well as Laos, which was added in 1893 following French victory in the Franco-Siamese War and French influence over eastern Siam. The French government also later placed new administrative posts in the colony and began to develop it economically while introducing French culture and language to locals as part of an assimilation program. In 1897, the ruling Resident-General complained to Paris that the current king of Cambodia, King Norodom was no longer fit to rule and asked for permission to assume the king's powers to collect taxes, issue decrees, and even appoint royal officials and choose crown princes. From that time, Norodom and the future kings of Cambodia were figureheads and merely were patrons of the Buddhist religion in Cambodia, though they were still viewed as god-kings by the peasant population. All other power was in the hands of the Resident-General and the colonial bureaucracy. Nonetheless, this bureaucracy was formed mostly of French officials, and the only Asians freely permitted to participate in government were ethnic Vietnamese,[*citation needed*] who were viewed as the dominant Asians in the Indochinese Union.

In 1904, King Norodom died and rather than pass the throne on to Norodom's sons, the French passed the succession to Norodom's brother Sisowath, whose branch of the royal family was more submissive and less nationalistic to French rule than Norodom's. Likewise, Norodom was viewed as responsible for the constant Cambodian revolts against French rule. Another reason was that Norodom's favourite son, who he wanted to succeed him as king, Prince Yukanthor, had, on one of his trips to Europe, stirred up public opinion about French colonial brutalities in occupied Cambodia. France later tightened its control over Cambodia while expanding the protectorate's territory in 1902 and 1904 through treaties with Siam, which added Preah Vihear Province and Champasak Province to Cambodia and gave France full control over the Bassac River respectively. Prior to Cambodia's historical claim over Stung Treng Province, in 1904 an exchange occurred wherein Cambodia ceded Champasak and obtained Stung Treng from French Laos. Later territorial disputes between France and Siam over Battambang and Siem Reap Provinces led to the accidental French annexation of Trat Province in 1904. Both France and Siam agreed to do a territorial exchange based on the Franco-Siamese treaty of 1907. From this, the French gained the provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap, originally Cambodian territory until the latter part of the 18th century. The acquirement of these provinces would be the last phase of French territorial expansion in Indochina as Siam would later co-operate with the British in the region, who feared uncontrolled French expansion and control of Siam would upset the balance of powers in Indochina.

### WWI

Japan had taken over Indochina and Indonesia after gaining the Marshall, Carolina and Solomon Islands from Germany so they can get more resources. Japan had waged war against the French Colonial Authority with the aid of Cambodian Nationalists. After Japan won the war they have gained all of the territory they have gained during the war in Cambodia.

### Rebellion

A bunch of Communist Peasants trying to get rid of the Japanese, but the Japanese put down the rebellion and killed all the rebels with their loved ones.

## Government

The Government of Cambodia is a Constitutional Monarchy ruled by a Monarchy as Head of State and a Prime Minister to govern the government.

## Military

### Army

The Army has 300 Infantry Brigades, 100 Artillery Batteries, 90 Calvary Units and 80 Mechanized Infantry Units.

### Navy

The Navy has 100 Submarines, 40 Destroyers, 20 Battleships and 1 Dreadnought.

## Foreign Relations

* Great Relations with the Kingdom of Siam and the Empire of Japan
* Bad Relations with the Imperial State of Vietnam.