René Charbonneau was 17th century French medical missionary Brother and a member of the
Siam mission of the
Société des Missions Etrangères. He was the first medical missionary to Siam and arrived in the country in 1677.
René Charbonneau first provided his services to the Siamese king
Narai as an architect, to establish a wooden fort on the frontier with the country of
Pegu.
In 1681 or 1682, king Narai, who was seeking to reduce Dutch and English influence, named René Charbonneau Governor of the island of
Phuket, a position which he held until 1685. Phuket was already highly valued at that time for its production of
tin. Charbonneau had received orders from king Narai to allow ships of all nations to trade freely in Phuket. In 1686, Charbonneau was replaced in this position by Sieur de Billy, the former
maître d'hôtel of the French ambassador to Siam
Chevalier de Chaumont.
René Charbonneau also worked as a nurse in the French hospital established in 1669 in
Ayutthaya by the Catholic Bishops Lambert and Ballue, with Father Lano as the head doctor. The hospital provided medical care to about 200-300 people daily.
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