French Imperialism

Images of Traditional Vietnam

French military and traders arrive in Vietnam in 1601

Jesuit missionaries arrive in 1615 near Da Nang

Jesuit missionary, Alexandre de Rhodes invents quoc-ngu

Missionary efforts generate many converts (about 800,000 by 1800) and much involvement in
Vietnamese politics - persecution by Vietnamese leaders as destructive of social order

French missionaries were especially successful and politically active in Cochin China (south)

In the 1830s, the Vietnamese government imposes harsh penalties on Christians and closes
Vietnam to foreign trade

The Opium War (1840-41) in China moves the French to a military response with attacks on
areas holding condemned missionaries.

In the France of 1850-1880 a coalition of religious leaders, traders, and manufacturers pushed
for taking portions of Vietnam

1858-1862 French attack Vietnam with large force to save the life of a missionary

1862 treaty gives France part of Cochin China, exclusive "rights" in all of Vietnam, and navigation
of Mekong - later gain all of Cochin China

Visions of a French empire in southeast Asia to rival Britain's begin to emerge - 1863 control
of Cambodia; mid-1870's French turn attention to the Red River for access to the China trade

In 1873, local French imperialists briefly take and hold Hanoi

French attack the Citadel in Hanoi

The same Citadel in Hanoi today.

Between 1881-1885, the French attack the Hanoi area and secure control north to China; by 1885, the French have established a protectorate over Annam and Tonkin, as well as Cochin China.