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protests, however, were unavailing. These provinces had, as a matter of fact, been occupied by Siam for many years, and from the French point of view it was all-im- portant that Siam's demands should be satisfied, and that a clear field should be left in which the influence of France might operate unchecked. Captain Doudart de Lagrée, of whom much more hereafter, occupied for some time the post of Resident at the Court of Kambo- dia, and it was on the eve of his departure on the great journey of exploration which cost him his life, that the rebellion of Pu Kombo broke out in that State. Noro- don was aided by French troops who rescued him from a precarious position in the beleaguered town of Pnom Penh, and this led to the increase of French ascendency, so that to-day though Kambodia is nominally only a protectorate of France, its finances and administration are entirely in the hands of Frenchmen.

In Tongking a Dutch factory had been established in 1637, but it was abandoned in 1700, and after that time no permanent European colony appears to have been formed in this kingdom. Tongking was conquered and annexed by Annam in 1802, after which period it was in- frequently visited by Europeans, save only a few mission- aries, until the Frenchman Dupuis, of whom something will be said in a later chapter, attempted to make the Song Koi River a highway of communication and trade with China. This led to interference on the part of France, and eventually to the practical annexation of the country after a period of prolonged and harassing warfare.

The glance which we have now taken at the history of