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French Intervention (1883 AD - 1954 AD)
by Ch'ng Yaohong
Vietnamese were no happier living under French domination
than they had been under the Chinese. In 1893, Emperor Ham Nghi
and Phan Dinh Phung organised a royalist movement, Can Voung staged
an unsuccessful uprising at Ha Tinh. The Can Vuong movement lasted
until one of the leaders was killed by a traitor. Emperor Duy
Tan's effort to form a revolutionary movement saw to his rapid
replacement as sovereign of Viet Nam by Khai Dinh. By the end
of the 19th century, various nationalist resistance movements
have been formed. The most radical group was the Eastward Movement
led by Phan Boi Chau and Cuong De. It was established in 1907
and among the aristocrats and intellectuals involved in the group
were names such as Phan Chau Trinh and Prince Cuoung De, Prince
Canh's great-grandson. In an effort to break away from royalist
thinking, they embraced the idea of democracy.
Anti Colonial Struggle
Poor economic conditions contributed to native hostility
to French rule. Although French occupation brought improvements
in transportation and communications, and contributed to the growth
of commerce and manufacturing, colonialism contributed little improvement
in livelihood of the population. In the countryside, peasants struggled
under heavy taxes and high rents. Workers in factories, in coal
mines, and on rubber plantations laboured in abysmal conditions
for low wages.
By the early 1920s, nationalist parties began
to demand reform and independence. In 1930 the revolutionary Ho
Chi Minh formed the Indochinese Communist party. Until World War
II started in 1939, such groups received no success. In 1940,
however, Japan demanded and received the rights to place Vietnam
under military occupation, restricting the local French administration
to figurehead authority.
Seizing the opportunity, the Communists organised
the broad Viet Minh Front and prepared to launch an uprising at
the war's end. The Viet Minh (Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh/League
for the Independence of Vietnam) emphasised moderate reform and
national independence rather than specifically Communist aims.
When the Japanese surrendered to the Allies in
August 1945, Viet Minh forces arose throughout Vietnam and declared
the establishment of an independent republic in Hanoi. Ho Chih
Minh proclaimed himself President of the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam. In an attempt to camouflage the existence of communism
within the government, the Indochinese Communist Party announced
its dissolution in November. But in reality, it still functioned,
albeit illegally and secretly. The French, however, were unwilling
to concede independence and in October drove the Viet Minh and
other nationalist groups out of the south. For more than a year
the French and the Viet Minh sought a negotiated solution, but
the talks, held in France, failed to resolve differences, and
war broke out in December 1946.
Expulsion of French
The conflict lasted for nearly eight years. The
Viet Minh retreated into the hills to build up their forces while
the French formed a rival Vietnamese government under Emperor Bao
Dai, the last ruler of the Nguyen dynasty, in populated areas along
the coast. Viet Minh forces lacked the strength to defeat the French
and generally restricted their activities to guerrilla warfare.
In
1953-1954 the French fortified a base at Dien Bien Phu. After months
of siege and heavy casualties, the Viet Minh overran the fortress
in a decisive battle. As a consequence, the French government could
no longer resist pressure from a war-weary populace at home and
in June 1954, agreed to hold negotiations to end the war. At a conference
held in Geneva, the two sides accepted an interim compromise to
end the war. They divided the country at the 17th parallel, with
the Viet Minh in the North and the French and their Vietnamese supporters
in the South. To avoid permanent partition, a political protocol
was drawn up, calling for national elections to reunify the country
two years after the signing of the treaty. Partition After Geneva,
the Viet Minh in Hanoi refrained from armed struggle and began to
build a Communist society. In the southern capital, Saigon, Bao
Dai soon gave way to a new regime under the staunch anti-Communist
president Ngo Dinh Diem. With diplomatic support from the United
States, Diem refused to hold elections and attempted to destroy
Communist influence in the South. By 1959, however, Diem was in
trouble. His unwillingness to tolerate domestic opposition, alleged
favouritism of fellow Roman Catholics, and the failure of his social
and economic programs seriously alienated key groups in the populace
and led to rising unrest. The Communists decided it was time to
resume their revolutionary battle. Soon, the United States would
be drawn into this war that had left many scarred for life, mentally
and physically.
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History
-The Beginning
-Au Lac Dynasty
-Trieu Dynasty
-Chinese Domination
-Chinese Domination2
-Ngo Dynasty
-Dinh Dynasty
-Tien Le Dynasty
-Ly Dynasty
-Tran Dynasty
-Ho Dynasty
-Le Dynasty
-Nguyen Dynasty
-French Intervention
-Vietnam War
-Modern Vietnam
Timeline
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