Vietnam was among the many areas in SEA colonised by western imperial powers
Only Siam (Thailand) was not colonised
19th century: French army was too powerful, Vietnamese could not resist
The French wanted raw materials like - rubber, coal, rice
Vietnam was also a great market for French products: opium (what else? )
Colonising Vietnam also gave the French access to China
The french wanted to “civilised vietnam”
bring catholicism, western education and “modernity” to the Vietnamese people
Seen as barbarians for their torture techniques
Violence is the hallmark of french
Vietnamese rulers forced to cede territories to the french
Humiliation of the Vietnamese: bc they can’t protect their own territories
The colonial economy:
Vietnamese workers endured a lot of suffering at plantations
Heavy taxation of Vietnamese locals: French were monopolies of salt and alchohol
Vietnamese elites were chosen and trained as administrators - they became fluent in French
There was terrible poverty, since it fuelled much hatred toward the French and saw the rise of anti-colonial movements
Fall of Saigon - 1975
Massive protests in America - great social unrest
Congress refused to pass any more budgetary support for Vietnam
Fuel, arms supply diminished.
No more American Air forces to support
Final push decided - Saigon fell 1975
The rise of Ho Chi Minh (& general Vo Nguyen Giap)
HCM was born in a scholar family
in his 20s: became a pastry chef on a ship ⇒ travelled to the US, Europe
Realised that Western imperial powers would not release their colonies easily - frustrated
Read Lenin’s Theses on the National and Colonial Questions
received the idea: it is the right of the nation to fight against the colonisers
Collaboration with the Chinese and Soviets as central to achieve independence of Vietnam
Resistance against the french
HCM declared the independence of Vietnam when Japan surrendered in 1945
France did not recognise it, tried to recolonise Vietnam (1956 - 1954)
Defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu
Geneva accord 1954 split Vietnam into North & South
Defeat of the French : 1954
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Waited for a cloudy day at the French base so that the French cannot use air force
The Vietnamese dug trenches around the French base
French was stunned, they did not want to recolonise anymore
The Cold War & American intervention
The defeat of the French made Americans want to intervene
Previously, the Americans had success in the Korean war
They thought that if they could do it in Korean, why not do it in Vietnam.
A long struggle: 1954 - 1975
Effects of the Wars
Many Vietnamese became refugees
Many ended up in America, Australia, Europe
Harrowing journey. Much struggle
Agent Orange: used by the Americans during carpet orange
but its dioxin contaminant caused severe, long-term health problems for Vietnamese civilians and American soldiers, leading to cancers, birth defects, skin issues, and neurological disorders, with lingering effects seen in generations exposed
Children born as a result of affairs between Vietnamese woman and American soldiers
