There must be descendants of the French in Cambodia
There must be descendants of the French in Cambodia
When men travel to other places, they normally get girlfriends and have children. This also happened when people travelled in the past.
In some places, there are a lot of Cambodians with brown hair, and a few with blond hair. I have asked them if they are part French. They have also said no. But it was possibly so many generations ago, that they don't know.
A lot of people are part Chinese. In some cases they will tell you they had a Chinese grandparent.
Does anyone know about history, and the mixed race French children from long ago.
In some places, there are a lot of Cambodians with brown hair, and a few with blond hair. I have asked them if they are part French. They have also said no. But it was possibly so many generations ago, that they don't know.
A lot of people are part Chinese. In some cases they will tell you they had a Chinese grandparent.
Does anyone know about history, and the mixed race French children from long ago.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
- John Bingham
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Re: There must be descendants of the French in Cambodia
There are of course descendants of Portuguese, Spanish, English, Dutch and French settlers here. The Portuguese were first, and they had a village in Russei Keo for centuries. By the mid 50s Portuguese names were still common in the neighborhood but the people had interbred and assimilated to such a degree to be indistinguishable from Khmers. I worked in that neighborhood way back and met people who claimed to have Portuguese ancestry but they had Khmer names by then. There is a street near the Chruoy Changva bridge named after a Portuguese Col de Monteiro, who was King Norodom's secretary.
As for the French, the first settlers were nearly exclusively male, and they did indeed often cohabit with local women. As the protectorate developed, this practice was discouraged and French officers often had French wives with them. There is a good book called "Bad Frenchmen" by Gregor Muller which covers this.
As with the Portuguese many mixed French-Khmers would have eventually become indistinguishable from the local people. Many would have left after independence and before the wars, or tried to conceal their past, those who remained may have been targeted during the Pol Pot regime.
As for the French, the first settlers were nearly exclusively male, and they did indeed often cohabit with local women. As the protectorate developed, this practice was discouraged and French officers often had French wives with them. There is a good book called "Bad Frenchmen" by Gregor Muller which covers this.
As with the Portuguese many mixed French-Khmers would have eventually become indistinguishable from the local people. Many would have left after independence and before the wars, or tried to conceal their past, those who remained may have been targeted during the Pol Pot regime.
Silence, exile, and cunning.
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Re: There must be descendants of the French in Cambodia
A French friend of mine (it's possible to have at least one) told me on a visit a few years ago that his grandfather was in the colonial army and stationed in Indochina before WW2.
When the old man died at a ripe old age his family started going through is private papers and such, and to their surprise found he had had a mistress and a lovechild in Cambodia which they never knew.
He sent a small amount of money somehow regularly, until the correspondence stopped in the 1970's.
When the old man died at a ripe old age his family started going through is private papers and such, and to their surprise found he had had a mistress and a lovechild in Cambodia which they never knew.
He sent a small amount of money somehow regularly, until the correspondence stopped in the 1970's.
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