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Ang Duong ( ; (); 12 June 1796 – 18 October 1860) was the King of Cambodia from 1848 to his death in 1860. Formally invested in 1848, his rule benefited a kingdom that had suffered from several centuries of royal dissent and decline.
His politics focused on sustained national unity and identity and the minimization of foreign interference. He issued the first substantial revision of the legal codex in centuries, and he encouraged and supervised religious and cultural reforms. Confronted with increasing Siamese and Vietnamese encroachment, he attempted to establish an alliance with colonial France on a sovereign basis. Although this alliance ultimately culminated in the 90-year period of the French protectorate of Cambodia, King Ang Duong's actions were the foundation for the modern united state of Cambodia. Ang Duong ascended the throne with the title Preah Karuna Preah Bat Samdech Preah Harireak Reamea Issathipadei Ang Duong ().
He was the progenitor of the two main royal houses of Cambodia, the Houses of Norodom and Sisowath.
Author Justin Corfield wrote in "French Indochina": "1807 the Vietnamese expanded their lands by establishing a protectorate over Cambodia. However king … Ang Duong was keen on Cambodia becoming independent of ... Thailand ... and Vietnam ... and sought help from the British Empire in Singapore. When that failed, he enlisted the help of the French." British agent John Crawfurd states: "...the King of that ancient Kingdom is ready to throw himself under the protection of any European nation..." King Ang Duong's policies paved the way for France to establish a Protectorate in 1863 which lasted for 90 years. In order to preserve the kingdom's national identity and integrity, King Ang Duong initiated secret negotiations in a letter to Napoleon III proposing some form of cooperation with France. King Ang Duong died in 1860, three years before negotiations had concluded. King Norodom Prohmbarirak signed and officially recognized the French protectorate on 11 August 1863, that was effectively incorporated into the Indochinese Union in 1867.
There has been considerable debate over the wisdom of Duong's policies. Nonetheless, the idea that he actively sought to subject his kingdom to colonial serfdom has been contested. Contrary to the assertions of some 19th century French authors, Duong did not seek the imposition of a French protectorate over his country, he rather pondered the feasibility of some ill-defined, unequal relationship with France. He certainly was aware, that the French main objective for a protectorate was the containment of the British Empire and the creation of a secure flank for Cochinchina. The historic reality of 19th century Asia reminded any local ruler to seek alignment of some form or the other with at least one of the then technological more advanced Western powers. Ang Duong's death in October 1860 and accumulating foreign pressure convinced his son King Norodom Prohmbarirak to agree to the initially rather moderate French terms.
Cambodia was able to preserve its identity, culture and traditions during the French colonial period, which might otherwise have diffused into the modern Vietnamese and Siamese nations, that could have absorbed all Cambodian territory as their modern border most likely would be the Mekong river.
Marie Alexandrine Martin (1994). 9780520070523, University of California Press. . ISBN 9780520070523
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