Indochina wars
French Indochina
!Indochine française 1928
French Indochina
The French colonization and occupation of Vietnam were a result of secular imperialism, driven by economic interests and strategic considerations. In addition to exploiting Vietnam's resources, the French saw the region as a strategic buffer to facilitate access to resources in China. France, however, used the pretext of protecting Christians, who were persecuted by the Nguyen, as a justification for their invasion of Vietnam. While Gia Long tolerated Catholicism, his successors Minh Mạng and Thiệu Trị were orthodox, fundamentalist Confucians, admiring ancient Chinese culture. They forbade Catholic proselytism and resisted European and American attempts to establish colonial trade posts, which France tried to impose. This was seen by colonial powers as "provocative".
French Indochina
Isolationist and chauvinist policy led the Vietnamese to refuse industrial modernization, so that they were not able to resist military power of a French invasion. In August 1858, Napoleon III ordered the landing of French forces at Tourane, (present-day Da Nang), beginning a colonial occupation that was to last almost a century. By 1884, the French had complete control over the country, which now formed the largest part of French Indochina. It took the Vietnamese people almost a century to expel the last colonial influence in their country.
Reading List
Report Issue