Contents
French Indochina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Union Indochinoise (French)
Liên bang Đông Dương (Vietnamese)
Indochinese Union (English)
Colonial protectorate federation
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1887–1953
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Flag
Capital Saigon (1887-1901)
Hanoi (1902-1953)
Language(s) French, Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao
Religion Buddhism
Political structure Colonial protectorate federation
Governor-General List of Governors-General
Historical era New Imperialism
- Established October 17, 1887
- Addition of Laos October 3, 1893
- Independence of (North) Vietnam (proclaimed) September 2, 1945
- Independence of (South) Vietnam June 14, 1949
- Independence of Laos July 19, 1949
- Independence of Cambodia November 9, 1953
Area
- 1935 750,000 km2 (289,577 sq mi)
Population
- 1935 est. 21,599,582
Density 28.8 /km2 (74.6 /sq mi)
Currency French Indochinese piastre
1. Panorama of Lac-Kaï, French outpost in China.
2. Yun-nan, in the quay of Hanoi.
3. Flooded street of Hanoi.
4. Landing stage of Hanoi
French Indochina (French: Indochine française; Vietnamese: Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, pronounced [ɗoŋm zɰəŋ tʰuə̀k fǎp], frequently abbreviated to Đông Pháp) was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin (North), Annam (Central), and Cochinchina (South), as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887. Laos was added in 1893 and Kouang-Tchéou-Wan in 1900. The capital was moved from Saigon (in Cochinchina) to Hanoi (Tonkin) in 1902. During World War II, the colony was administered by Vichy France and was under Japanese occupation. Beginning in May of 1941, the Viet Minh, a communist army led by Ho Chi Minh, began a revolt against French rule known as the First Indochina War. In Saigon, the anti-Communist State of Vietnam, led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, was granted independence in 1949. Following the Geneva Accord of 1954, the Viet Minh became the government of North Vietnam, although the Bảo Đại government continued to rule in the South. The colonial administration of Annam was dissolved in 1955 and the region was split between North and South, as provided for in the Geneva Accord.
First French interventions
France-Vietnam relations started as early as the 17th century with the mission of the Jesuit, Father Alexandre de Rhodes. At this time, Vietnam was only just beginning to occupy the Mekong Delta, former territory of the Indianized kingdom of Champa they had defeated in 1471.[1] European involvement in Vietnam was confined to trade during the 18th century. In 1787, Pigneau de Béhaine petitioned the French government and organized French military volunteers to aid Nguyễn Ánh in retaking lands lost to the Tây Sơn. Pigneau died in Viet Nam, his troops fought on until 1802. France was heavily involved in Vietnam in the 19th century; protecting the work of the Paris Foreign Missions Society in the country was often presented as a justification. For its part, the Nguyễn Dynasty increasingly saw Catholic missionaries as a political threat; courtesans, for example, an influential faction in the dynastic system, feared for their status in a society influenced by an insistence on monogamy.
In 1858, the brief period of unification under the Nguyễn Dynasty ended with a successful attack on Da Nang by Charles Rigault de Genouilly. Diplomat Charles de Montigny's mission having failed, Genouilly's mission was to stop attempts to expel Catholic missionaries. His orders, from Napoleon III, were to stop the persecution of missionaries and assure the unimpeded propagation of the faith.[2] In September, 14 French gunships, 3,000 men and 300 Filipino troops provided by the Spanish,[3] attacked the port of Tourane (present day Da Nang), causing significant damages, and occupying the city. After a few months, Rigault had to leave the city due to supply issues and illnesses.[2]
Sailing south, De Genouilly then captured the poorly defended city of Sai Gon (present day Ho Chi Minh City), on 18 February 1859. On 13 April 1862, the Vietnamese government was forced to cede the territories of Biên Hòa, Gia Định and Dinh Tuong to France. De Genouilly was criticized for his actions and was replaced by Admiral Page in November 1859, with instructions to obtain a treaty protecting the Catholic faith in Vietnam, but not to try to obtain territorial gains.[2] However, French policy four years later saw a reversal; French territory in Viet Nam continued to accumulate. In 1862, France obtained concessions from Emperor Tu Duc, ceding three treaty ports in Annam and Tonkin, and all of Cochinchina, the latter being formally declared a French territory in 1864. In 1867 the provinces of Chau Doc, Ha Tien and Vinh Long were added to French controlled territory.
In 1863, the Cambodian king Norodom had requested the establishment of a French protectorate over his country. In 1867, Siam (modern Thailand) renounced suzerainty over Cambodia and officially recognized the 1863 French protectorate on Cambodia, in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Thailand (These provinces would be ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Siam in 1906).
Establishment of French Indochina
France obtained control over northern Vietnam following its victory over China in the Sino-French war (1884-1885). French Indochina was formed in October 1887 from Annam, Tonkin, Cochinchina (which together form modern Vietnam) and the Kingdom of Cambodia; Laos was added after the Franco-Siamese War.
The federation lasted until 1954. In the four protectorates, the French formally left the local rulers in power, who were the Emperors of Vietnam, Kings of Cambodia, and Kings of Luang Prabang, but in fact gathered all powers in their hands, the local rulers acting only as figureheads.
Vietnamese rebellions
French troops landed in Vietnam in 1858 and by the mid 1880s they had established a firm grip over the northern region. From 1885 to 1895, Phan Đình Phùng led a rebellion against the colonizing power. Nationalist sentiments intensified in Vietnam, especially during and after World War I, but all the uprisings and tentative efforts failed to obtain any concessions from the French overseers.
Franco-Siamese war (1893)
