Anna Leonowens: La Gouvernante Qui a Révolutionné la Cour du Roi du Siam- Documentaire Histoire- AMP

Dans un royaume fermé, une femme étrangère va devenir l’ombre qui change le destin. 👋 + de fabuleux destins, abonnez vous 👉 https://bit.ly/3eK6DnL 🙏

00:00 — Arrivée d’Anna au Siam et révélations sur son passé
03:44 — Découverte du harem royal
08:08 — Le roi Mongkut et sa vision de modernisation
11:06 — Bangkok : entre misère, grandeur et missionnaires
14:32 — Installation d’Anna et première audience royale
17:33 — Début de l’enseignement auprès des enfants du roi
20:57 — Éducation des femmes du harem
23:09 — Mort de la princesse Fing et tensions croissantes
24:51 — Influence d’Anna et agressions contre elle
27:30 — Pressions françaises et enjeux diplomatiques
28:56 — Crises personnelles et rôle grandissant d’Anna
30:12 — Libération de Madame Sunclin
33:24 — Méfiance du roi et implication politique d’Anna
37:20 — Liens familiaux, cadeaux et loyautés
37:55 — Pressions internationales et révélations
40:57 — Retournement de situation et maladie d’Anna
42:22 — Décision de quitter le Siam
43:13 — Dernière rencontre avec Mongkut
45:02 — Héritage politique : naissance de la Thaïlande moderne
48:41 — Destin de Louis et fin de vie d’Anna

Anna Leonowens est surtout connue grâce au succès d'”Anna et le Roi”, une comédie musicale interprétée par Yul Brynner et Deborah Kerr en 1956, inspirée de sa vie. En 1862, cette institutrice britannique accepte le poste de gouvernante que lui propose le roi du Siam, Mongkut. Elle est chargée d’enseigner l’éducation et le raffinement anglais au fils aîné de Mongkut, le prince héritier Chulalongkorn, mais aussi à ses femmes, à ses concubines et à ses autres enfants. Tout en respectant les coutumes locales, Anna Leonowens leur enseigne des notions occidentales telles que la démocratie, les libertés et l’abolition de l’esclavage. Anna Leonowens quittera le Siam au bout de six ans.

Les grandes aventurières : Anna Leonowens, une anglaise à la cour du Siam
Réalisé par : Jane Armstrong
Tous droits réservés

#AnnaLeonowens #Histoire #Siam #Thaïlande #RoiMongkut
#Documentaire #FiguresHistoriques #Chulalongkorn

On a warm night in 1862,
an English schoolteacher and her six-year-old son arrived
in the Buddhist kingdom of Siam. Anna Leona Wens had to give up her only
daughter in exchange for the promise of a new life that would
soon become a true legend. She will introduce the taste
of freedom to the court of the all-powerful king,
forging at the same time her own myth, whose exotic tales will
make her immortal. This is one of our
favorite stories, The King and I. However, the true story of Anna Leonauens is nothing like a musical. It is a drama where pride
and politics intertwine in a plot that the author herself has woven. The story begins in the
British colony of Singapore, in the spring of 862. Anna Leonauwence receives a letter
from King Mungut, ruler of Siam. We would be delighted and deeply
pleased if you were willing to take charge of the education
of our dear royal children. You would do your best to
teach them English language, science, and literature. We invite you to our palace
so that you can do everything you can. Distinguished Greetings,
Mahamungut, February 26, 1862. For Anna, whose reputation for excellence is well established
in Singapore, this proposal represents the
social advancement she needs to make people forget her humble origins. Born in India to a mixed-race family,
she was married at 18 to a minor military official. After losing two young children,
she gave birth to a daughter and a son before losing her husband in 1859. A couple of faithful servants,
Bibi and her husband Munchi, accompanied her on her journey. She also takes her young son,
Louis, but decides to send Hévice, her eight-year-old daughter, to a boarding school
in England, 16,000 kilometers away. On March 10, 1862, the sea and the son
set sail for the North. Anna Leone-Wenz has spent almost her entire
life in Asia, but Bangkok is a pure discovery. The place teemed with countless
rafts and boats, canals and rowboats, jugglers and ships, and resounded with the
strange cries of men, women, children and the barking of dogs. No one seemed to be
worried about it, except for me. I understood that it was wise
to conceal my fears. Upon her arrival in Bangkok, Anna is summoned to the palace of the Prime
Minister of Siam, the most powerful man in the country after the king. The Prime Minister faithfully supports
Mongut in his struggle to modernize Siam, despite the opposition
of the feudal lords. He too has learned English and knows
how useful Anna can be to the king’s cause. Good morning, Mr. Prime Minister. Thank you very much
for… But his bias towards modernity does not apply to women. Anna had been assured that she would have
her house. However, the Prime Minister orders her
to move in with him in his own harem. She will live among these 200
ravishing young concubines, forced by their families
to exchange their freedom for an existence of submission
and intrigue within the palace walls. The concubines live in
luxurious isolation under the protection of armed guards. No adult male is allowed
to approach them, with the exception of the Prime Minister. In Siam, nobles kept as many
wives as they could afford. But Anna is not Siamese. Confined to the harem,
she feels even more imprisoned than within the
rigid and hierarchical British society of Singapore. This is not what she hoped to find
in replying to King Mungut’s letter. She finds it hard to live among these young women who laugh foolishly at everything and whom she considers to be little more
than slaves. The monarch who hired Anna is
one of the most extraordinary rulers in Asia. He is at once a scientist,
a scholar, and a visionary. Trapped by tradition and threatened
by the expansionist ambitions of European empires, King Mungut knows that his
heirs will need to learn foreign languages,
science, and Western ideas. His goal is to
gradually modernize Siam, while maintaining a precarious balance
between his rivals in the aristocracy and the European colonizers
who are already besieging it. The French, like the English,
may think that we are animals that they can eat
or use as beasts of burden. Killing us or harming us is not
a sin because we are not disciples of Jesus. One after another,
Siam’s neighbors were threatened by European powers:
the French, the British, and the Dutch. So far,
the king has been able to contain the British by signing a trade agreement with
Sir John Barring, but he has no allies in France. Before reigning, Mungut was a
Buddhist monk for 27 years. He is a man of immense culture and
wisdom, but today, at 58, he must face his greatest
challenge: preserving the freedom of his kingdom. Occupied with palace affairs,
he ignores his new governess. For Anna, it is a time
of discouragement and confusion. Having come to Bangkok to find freedom,
she finds herself subject to the whims of powerful men
for whom women are nothing more than objects and toys. Impatient, she decides to explore
the royal capital on her own. 19th-century Bangkok
was a city of contrasts. Luxurious royal palaces, polluted canals, tropical delights and abject poverty. Desperate, chained slaves
swarm the streets where crime and poverty reign. But in her letters to Hevis,
in England, Anna paints an enchanting portrait of Bangkok. A courageous image of a mother for her
little girl who lives so far away from her. My dear friend,
we have arrived in Bangkok. The city is crossed
by a very pretty river. We live in the
Prime Minister’s Palace. It’s a beautiful place. Even the walls are covered in gold. Louis promises he’ll buy
a boat and bring you back here. Only a few rare
Westerners preceded him here. Among them was a group
of American missionaries. The oldest of the Americans is Reverend
Dan Beach Bradley, from New York. In the 30 years he has lived in Bangkok,
he has converted a few Siamese twins. Bradley’s newspaper, the Bangkok Recorder,
is the voice of the tiny foreign community. While respecting Bradley, the king did
not support his Christian mission. Formerly, Mrs. Bradley was
the governess of the king’s children, but in my opinion,
her lessons were more like sermons than serious teaching. Anna Leona Wenz is not a believer. She will become friends with Reverend Bradley
without ever being one of his geese. The month of May passed and she
still hadn’t met the king. However, the Prime Minister eventually
gave Anna a separate house, almost a ruin, in fact. Upon entering, we are
confronted with repulsive filth. But in just a few days, the
dusty little house is transformed. It didn’t take long to purify
the stale air and restore all its luster to this sad place. With powerful sweeps of the broom,
we brought forth the dust from the ground under which it was submerged. The king’s summons finally arrives. The next day, Anna Harriet Leona Wens is to
meet the King of Siam. She had to wait almost a month,
but today the port captain, the Englishman John Bush,
escorted her for her first meeting with the all-powerful sovereign. The flood of light that inundated the
immense hall fell upon the crowd of waiting aristocrats. We’re plotting something without being announced. Lined up on the carpets,
many prostrate, mute and motionless figures huddled together. His Majesty has spotted us
and is rushing to Vernon. Stop. The hearing is brief. The king rushes out,
followed by Anna. King Mungut Ramak IV is a
whimsical tyrant, but with his children, he is very gentle. Soon, classes begin
in a pavilion nestled in the garden of the Grand Palace of Mungut. The king is already there,
waiting for the new schoolteacher. His Majesty received my son and me
with the utmost kindness. He clapped his hands and an explosion
of music announced the arrival of the princes and princesses, my future students. I have 67 children. You will educate them all, as well as
my wives who wish to learn English. Good morning, children. Good morning, good girl. It wasn’t long before my
students were seated around the long table. A Webster’s dictionary
in front of each of them. Louis will point out each letter,
and I would like you to repeat after me. A, B, C, D. Now, we’re going to write
the first letter, B. Anna is finally in her element,
the world of knowledge. Very quickly, the classroom
becomes his sanctuary. Princess Fahin,
the king’s favorite daughter, soon becomes
Anna’s favorite as well, painfully reminding Anna of her own daughter,
Evis, so far away in England. Another of his students, Chulalong Korn,
is the king’s eldest son. One day, perhaps,
he will succeed his father and have to govern a modern and independent nation. Louis and Prince Chula-Long-Corne
forge a strong friendship that will last a lifetime. Once the children’s school day is over, Anna gives
lessons to the women of the harem. They teach them
English grammar and talk to them about Siam’s place in a rapidly changing world. The
outside world that the royal concubines, confined to the palace, are
not allowed to see. To teach them what freedom is,
Anna talks about the American Civil War . A bloody conflict triggered
by the issue of slavery. She reads them excerpts from
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a poignant novel by America’s most famous abolitionist
, Harriet Beacherstow. Anna managed to communicate her passion to one woman in particular, Mrs. Sun Clean. There is one thing that every individual is
capable of: making themselves feel good. A benevolent atmosphere
surrounds every human being. And the man or woman who
powerfully, healthily, and justly feels the interests of humanity
is a faithful benefactor of the human race. The concubine then made a
bold decision, that of taking the name Sun Clean, Harriet Beechersto. The cycle of tropical seasons is coming to an end. Anna has been in Siam for a year
and exoticism has become commonplace. But on May 14, 1863,
she received a terrible message: Faïn, the golden daughter of the king, was dying. Dear Madam, our beloved daughter and
your favorite student has contracted cholera. She expressed a deep desire to
see you and often repeats your name. I beg you to grant his wish. I fear that his illness may be fatal,
as there have already been three deaths since this morning. She is the most loved of my children. Your friend who is suffering has given me a taste of my own medicine. He wept bitterly, his dear child,
calling her by the tender and touching little names that come
to the lips of Christian mothers. What could I say? What could I do except cry with
him before quietly slipping away to leave the father with his pain? Moved by her sympathy, Mungu grants
Anna the honorary title of aristocrat. But jealous nobles resent Anna’s
growing influence over the aging king. His house was burglarized and vandalized. She is no longer just a schoolteacher,
but has become a real presence within the Royal Palace. In August 1863, she was
physically assaulted. Munchi decides to leave Anna and his
wife to return to Singapore, but Anna refuses to be intimidated. She undertakes new missions
at the king’s court, writing diplomatic correspondence and translating letters. I have great difficulty reading
and writing, because the French like to use obscure formulas. You must take it upon yourself to clarify
all their confusing statements and misleading proposals for me. King Mungut knows that France has imperialist ambitions
in Southeast Asia. He entrusts Anna with part of his
correspondence with the French, a heavy responsibility for a woman
originally hired to teach the alphabet to young children. I have had to perform many demanding tasks
since my arrival in Siam, but none has tested my
endurance as much as the one I am performing today
in my dual role as governess and private secretary to Her Majesty. In 1863,
France placed neighboring Cambodia under its protectorate and seized territories
that had been under Siamese rule for centuries. Hello, nice to meet you, let me introduce myself. I am Gabriel Aubré,
sent by Napoleon in three French letters to convey
his respectful damages. The French do not intend to be
satisfied with just one new possession. They send Gabriel Aubret to Bangkok, an
impetuous young diplomat tasked with drawing King Mungut into a war
that Siam can only lose. For Anna Leona Wenz, it’s a difficult time. She must maintain a balance between her
role as a tutor and that of advisor to the king, accustomed to conflict. After more than two years spent in Siam,
they began to regard the women of the harem as
individuals in their own right and as sisters. She’s.
She’s. She’s.
She’s. She’s.
She’s. Well done.
Very well done. From England,
she occasionally receives letters from her daughter, Evis,
letters that remind her of the personal sacrifice she
made in coming to her own. Then, a new crisis erupts. Madame Sun Clean Harriet Beecherstau is
imprisoned for daring to ask the king to elevate her brother to the rank of aristocrat. She was chained up. She sat up and made
room for me next to her. She wasn’t crying,
but the usual sadness on her face seemed even deeper. In her, I saw a perfect example
of suffering, humility, and patience. Furious and worried about Sónklin’s life, Anna will ask the Prime
Minister directly for a pardon for her student, arguing that Sónklin’s education is far
more important than a punishment for a breach of etiquette. But the Prime Minister refuses. For a man of such importance,
it would be a loss of face to obey a woman’s orders. Yet, such a profound sense of justice moved the Prime Minister. When classes resume
the next day, Sónklin is there. The
poor creature embraced me ardently, thanking me in the flowery
and extravagant terms of her people. Then, removing an emerald ring from her finger
, she slipped it onto mine, saying: “This way,
you will always remember your grateful friend.” Soon,
everyone knew the role Anna played in the liberation of Sommeclin. King Mungut is wary of
a woman’s influence, especially if she is a foreigner. But he needs Anna to complete
his children’s education. Gone are the days when the young woman
was merely the widow of a modest civil servant. Anna then agrees to provide Reverend Bradley with confidential information
for his newspaper, the Bangkok Recorder. Increasingly aware of her influence, Anna is convinced that
she and the American missionary can help Siam. But they went too far. Caught between European ambitions and foreign pressures, the powerful King of Siam finds himself isolated. Palace intrigues do not worry the children of the Royal House in the slightest. We are in and Louis-Léonore Wens
and Prince Tula-Long-Corne are the best of friends. Louis grew up among concubines
and slaves, an existence few children of the Victorian era experienced. The prince is 14 years old, but in Siam,
the king’s eldest son is not automatically the heir to the throne. Anna urges my desire to proclaim
Tshula-Longkorn, her successor. You told me that I should name my eldest son, Chula Lungorn,
my official heir, like the Prince of Wales in England.
I refused. The king wants his son to
earn the right to rule. Anna knows that King Mungut’s children
love her very much, but the thought of her own daughter,
in England, never leaves her. For Hévice’s birthday,
she sends him many gifts. Our friends here haven’t forgotten you. Among your gifts, you will find a
turquoise ring given by your brother and a very precious medallion
from your dear mother. I put a lock of your
brother’s and sister’s hair in heaven there, as well as that of your dear Louis
and myself, your loving mother. These are dangerous times
for the Buddhist kingdom. King Mungut fears that England
and France are preparing to seize his country. It is up to us to decide
which direction to take. Will we swim upstream
to befriend the crocodile, or swim out to sea
to catch up with the whale? The French diplomat Gabriel Aubrey attempts
to provoke the king and give France a pretext to invade the country. That’s what it’s all about , the reign of the pandemic. I don’t want to hear any more about it.
It’s clear ? He brutalizes a Buddhist priest,
hurls crude insults in the palace, and demands
the dismissal of the Prime Minister. But the king resisted the pressure
and ordered that the diplomatic scandal be hushed up. Foolishly, Anna ignored the official silence.
What. She tells Dan Bradley that Louis
overheard the argument between Aubrey and the king. When
the French provocations were published in the Bangkok Recorder,
Aubrey cried foul and sued the
American pastor for defamation. Anna promises Bradley that she will use her
influence to clear him of all accusations. She is determined to help Bradley
and prove that her article tells the truth. But Mungut refuses to listen to him. He forbids Louis from testifying
and sternly reminds Anna that she is only one of the king’s secretaries
and certainly not his equal. Dan Bradley loses the lawsuit and his newspaper ceases publication. The king then dictated a letter
to Sir John Bauring, asking him to intervene
against France in his own name. Then, he reversed his decision. But fearing that Bauring might feel
insulted, he orders Anna to invent an excuse for her change of heart, even if she has to
take the blame herself. Anna refuses, realizing that she has
become a pawn on the king’s chessboard. It’s more than she can bear. She becomes seriously ill. Exhausted and defeated, she accepts her fate,
but the thought of Louis and Evis brings her back to life. For a moment, people thought I was going to
die. Were it not for the terrible prospect of leaving
my children, one in England, the other in Siam,
I would have welcomed with unalloyed pleasure the idea of ​​eternal rest. I was so weary of my existence, which
remained tumultuous in the East. In Bangkok, where she has been for five years, she understands that she must leave again. This is not his country,
and Mongou is not its king. She opened the eyes of the children
and concubines to a new world of freedom, sharing in return their
universe of tradition and grace. His final encounter with
the king is sad and solemn. Tired of Anna’s interference,
but grateful for her teachings, Mongeout begs her to reconsider her
decision after a vacation abroad. Madam, you are much loved by our
people, the inhabitants of the palace, and the royal children. We are all saddened
by your departure. You are a good and sincere lady. I often get angry and lose my temper with
you, but I have a lot of respect for you. Come back to my service, because I
trust you more and more each day. Bye. On July 5, 1867, Anna Leona Wens left Siam and its king. Encouraged by her American friends
in Bangkok, she embarked for the United States. The following year, Mongegout died,
covered in malaria, while observing a lunar eclipse. Prince Chula Longorn ascended
the throne at the age of 15. The fate and freedom of Siam are
in the hands of a teenager. Meanwhile
, Anna Leonowens continues her quest for independence on the other side of the world. Anna Leonowens’ life was
forever marked by the five years she spent at the court of the King of Siam. She will never return to Asia,
but after a stay in New York, she settles in Canada with her daughter,
Evis, and her beloved grandchildren. Two years after leaving Bangkok,
she wrote the greatly embellished account of her stay in the
golden palaces of Siam. His book is spiced up by
daring descriptions of the royal harem. There are about twenty of them,
draped in transparent fabrics, belted with gold. Arms and chest bare
through supple and flowing movements. Their cheeks were flushed,
their eyes made bright by the swirls of their bewitching dance. America is fascinated
by Anna’s exotic stories. The book is a bestseller,
and Anna enters the circle of the literary elite, alongside her heroine,
Harriet Beecher-Stowe. One of her most cherished treasures is a letter from the young King Chula Longhorn,
whose education meant so much to her. I am pleased to
announce that our government has entrusted me with taking the reins
of the country, despite my youth. And I am happy to see
the love that the people have for me. Love that certainly stemmed from the respect
and veneration he felt for my dear father. Please accept, Madam,
my most respectful regards. Mahchou the Long Horn, King of Siam. With great diplomatic finesse,
the young sovereign succeeded in repelling the ambitions of European nations in Siam. His reign saw the birth
of modern Thailand. Thanks to its policy of openness to the
outside world, Thailand will be the only country in
Southeast Asia never to be colonized by European powers. A wise king, educated and shaped by the lessons of Anna Leona Wens. Louis Leona Wens returns to Bangkok, where he
is the daughter of a Siamese princess. And with the support of his childhood friend,
he becomes a brilliant businessman in Thailand. Anna died in Montreal in 1915,
at the age of 84. In the 1940s and 50s, Broadway and Hollywood embraced his legend. The charming and highly romanticized love story
of Anna Leona Wens and King Mungutrama IV,
told in The King and I, became one of the
most popular and frequently performed musicals of all time. But
this is a letter from a Siamese princess that testifies to the true treasure
that a Westerner offered to a centuries-old kingdom: freedom of thought. You wouldn’t recognize us,
we’ve changed so much. We are a liberated people. Some did not want to leave their
master and mistress, but most, intoxicated with happiness, fled
like deer before the hunter. I pray to God that I may
always be tenderly loved by you and your children, and I bless your work. Són Kleen, Harriet on November 11, 1872,
at the Grand Palais-Royal.