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Ang Mey
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Ang Mey

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Ang Mey

Ang Mey (Khmer: អង្គម៉ី [ʔɑŋ məj]; 1815 – December 1874) was a monarch of Cambodia. Her official title was Samdech Preah Mahā Rājinī Ang Mey. She was one of the few female rulers in Cambodia's history, and the first one since Queen Tey. Installed on the Cambodian throne by the Vietnamese, her reign was dominated by the two wars between Siam and the Nguyễn dynasty: the Siamese–Vietnamese War (1833–1834) and the Siamese-Vietnamese War (1841–1845).

Queen Ang Mey, also known by her Vietnamese title Ngọc-Vân-công-chúa (Princess Ngọc Vân), was proclaimed monarch on the death of her father by the Vietnamese faction at court with the title of "Chân Lạp quận chúa" (Duchess of Cambodia) in January 1835, then deposed in August 1840 with the demoted title of "Mỹ-Lâm-quận-chúa" (Duchess of Mỹ Lâm). She was reinstated in 1844, and again removed from the throne by the Vietnamese and taken to Huế with her sisters in 1845.

Ang Mey was born in 1815 as the second daughter of Ang Chan II, King of Cambodia during the Oudong period, by his second wife, Neak Moneang Krachap.[citation needed]

After King Ang Chan II died in 1834, there was no heir apparent to the Cambodian throne. The king had no son but four daughters: Princess Baen, Mey, Peou and Sngon. This delighted Vietnam and Siam, both of which wanted to eliminate the royal rulers in Cambodia. Although Ang Chan's surviving brothers, Ang Im and Ang Duang, immediately laid claim to the throne, the Vietnamese then occupying Cambodia did not allow them to be crowned.

Instead, the Vietnamese emperor and the Cambodian courtiers chose to install Ang Chan II's eldest daughter, Princess Ang Baen, as the sovereign. However, she was passed over due to her being sympathetic to the Thai court's interests and her refusal to marry the emperor's son. Ang Mey was an alternative to her sister, Baen. A Thai manuscript stated that the Vietnamese had tried to persuade Ang Mey to marry the son of emperor Gia Long in order to facilitate the incorporation of Cambodia into Vietnam; however, this plan was abandoned at strong objections from Cambodian nobles.

In May 1835, Ang Mey was crowned with the title of quận chúa (郡主) or "Commandery Princess," a title of princess which was lower than công chúa (公主), bestowed by the court of Hué. Her three sisters were given the title huyện quân (縣君), or "sub-prefecture ladies". The Vietnamese kept close guard over the Ang princesses. Queen Ang Mey had two companies of soldiers, 100 men in total, for her personal protection. The other three Cambodian princesses were each assigned thirty soldiers. Ostensibly for their safety, the guards were in reality assigned to ensure that they did not escape.

During Ang Mey's reign, all Cambodian women were ordered to wear Vietnamese-style garments vi:áo ngũ thân instead of the khmer sampot (similar to the sarong), and had to grow their hair long in Vietnamese style. The market sold only Vietnamese food. Khmer classical dance had assimilated elements of Vietnamese and Chinese tradition. Cambodian officials had to don Vietnamese ceremonial garb. Wats were destroyed in order to eradicate the Khmer identity. Places also received Vietnamese names. The area around Phnom Penh was renamed Tran Tay, or "Western Commandery". The Cambodian people, not accustomed to be ruled by a Queen and despairing of the "Vietnamization" of their country, asked the Siamese to install a male ruler, Ang Duong, brother of Ang Chan II.

In 1840, the elder sister of Ang Mey, Princess Baen, was discovered corresponding with her mother and uncle who were living in Battambang and planning to escape to them. The princess was imprisoned pending her trial in Phnom Penh. The Vietnamese emperor, Minh Mạng, demoted Mey and the other princesses. In August 1841 they were all arrested and deported to Vietnam along with the royal regalia. Around that time, some of Ang Mey's relatives were imprisoned on the island of Poulo Condore. According to Thai and Cambodian sources, Ang Baen was drowned in the Mekong river, although Khin Sok states that Baen was tortured to death by the Vietnamese general and her body thrown in the river.

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