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French Indochina (; , , 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 1946, the
Viet Minh, a communist army led by
Ho Chi Minh, began a revolt against French rule known as the
French 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.
European involvement in Viet Nam 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.
In September, 14 French gunships, 3,000 men and 300 Filipino troops provided by the
Spanish, 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.
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.
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).
French marine infantrymen in Tonkin, 1884
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.
Expansion of French Indochina (in blue).
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)
Siamese army in the disputed territory of
Laos in 1893.
Territorial conflict in the Indochinese peninsula for the expansion of French Indochina led to the
Franco-Siamese War of 1893. In 1893 the French authorities in Indochina used border disputes, followed by the Paknam naval incident, to provoke a crisis. French gunboats appeared at Bangkok, and demanded the cession of Lao territories east of the
Mekong. King
Chulalongkorn appealed to the British, but the British minister told the King to settle on whatever terms he could get, and he had no choice but to comply. Britain's only gesture was an agreement with France guaranteeing the integrity of the rest of Siam. In exchange, Siam had to give up its claim to the Tai-speaking
Shan region of north-eastern Burma to the British, and cede
Laos to France.
Further encroachments on Siam (1904-1907)
Occupation of
Trat by French troops in 1904.
The French, however, continued to pressure Siam, and in 1906–1907 they manufactured another crisis. This time Siam had to concede French control of territory on the west bank of the Mekong opposite
Luang Prabang and around
Champasak in southern Laos, as well as western Cambodia. France also occupied the western part of
Chantaburi. In 1904, in order to get back Chantaburi Siam had to give
Trat to French Indochina. Trat became part of Thailand again on March 23, 1906 in exchange for many areas east of the
Mekong river like
Battambang,
Siam Nakhon and
Sisophon.
French Indochina in 1913.
In the 1930s,
Siam engaged France in a series of talks concerning the repatriation of Siamese provinces held by the French. In 1938, under the
Front Populaire administration in
Paris, France had agreed to repatriate
Angkor Wat,
Angkor Thom,
Siam Reap,
Siam Pang and the associated provinces (approximately 13) to Siam. Meanwhile, Siam took over control of those areas, in anticipation of the upcoming treaty. Signatories from each country were dispatched to Tokyo to sign the treaty repatriating the lost provinces.
Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang
On February 10, 1930, there was an uprising by
Vietnamese soldiers in the French
colonial army's
Yen Bai garrison. The "
Yên Bái mutiny" was sponsored by the
Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDD). The VNQDD was the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The attack was the largest disturbance against the colonisation of Vietnam since Phan Dinh Phung and the "Can Vuong monarchist movement" of the late 19th century. The aim of the revolt was to inspire a wider uprising among the general populace in an attempt to overthrow the colonial authority. The VNQDD had previously attempted to engage in clandestine activities to undermine French rule, but increasing French scrutiny on their activities led to their leadership group taking the risk of staging a large scale military attack in the
Red River Delta in northern Vietnam.
French-Thai War (1940-1941)
During
World War II,
Thailand took the opportunity of French weaknesses to reclaim previously lost territories, resulting in the
French-Thai War between October 1940 and 9 May 1941. The Thai forces generally did well on the ground, but Thai objectives in the war were limited. In January,
Vichy French naval forces decisively defeated Thai naval forces in the
Battle of Koh Chang. The war ended in May at the instigation of the Japanese, with the French agreeing to minor territorial gains for Thailand.
World War II
In September 1940, during
World War II, the newly created regime of
Vichy France, which was a
puppet state of
Nazi Germany, granted Japan's demands for military access to Tonkin with the
invasion of French Indochina (or
Vietnam Expedition). This allowed Japan better access to China in the
Second Sino-Japanese War against the forces of
Chiang Kai-shek, but it was also part of Japan's strategy for dominion over the
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
Thailand took this opportunity of weakness to reclaim previously lost territories, resulting in the
French-Thai War between October 1940 and 9 May 1941.
On 9 March 1945, with
France liberated,
Germany in retreat, and the
United States ascendant in the Pacific,
Japan decided to take complete control of
Indochina. The Japanese launched the
Second French Indochina Campaign. The Japanese kept power in Indochina until the news of their government's surrender came through in August.
First Indochina War
After the war, France petitioned for the nullification of the 1938
Franco-Siamese Treaty and attempted to reassert itself in the region, but came into conflict with the
Viet Minh, a coalition of
Communist and Vietnamese
nationalists under French-educated dissident
Ho Chi Minh. During World War II, the United States had supported the Viet Minh in resistance against the Japanese; the group had been in control of the countryside since the French gave way in March 1945.
After persuading
Emperor Bao Dai to abdicate in his favour, on September 2, 1945 President Ho declared independence for the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam. But before September's end, a force of
British,
French, and
Indian soldiers, along with captured Japanese troops, restored French control. Bitter fighting ensued in the
First Indochina War. In 1950 Ho again declared an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which was recognized by the fellow Communist governments of
China and the
Soviet Union. Fighting lasted until March 1954, when the Viet Minh won the decisive victory against French forces at the gruelling
Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
Indochina in 1954.
Geneva Agreements
On April 27, 1954, the
Geneva Conference produced the Geneva Agreements; supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Indochina, granting it independence from France, declaring the cessation of hostilities and foreign involvement in internal Indochina affairs, delineating northern and southern zones into which opposing troops were to withdraw, they mandated unification on the basis of internationally supervised free elections to be held in July 1956.
It also settled a number of outstanding disputes relating to the
Korean War. It was at this conference that France relinquished any claim to territory in the Indochinese peninsula. Neither the U.S. nor South Vietnam signed the Geneva Accords. South Vietnamese leader Diem rejected the idea of nationwide election as proposed in the agreement, saying that a free election was impossible in the communist North and that his government was not bound by the Geneva Accords.
The events of 1954 marked the beginnings of serious involvement in
Vietnam by the
United States which led to the
Vietnam War. Laos and Cambodia also became independent in 1954, but were both drawn into the Vietnam War.
See also
