Vietnamese_Nationalism_and_French_Colonialism

Vietnam has a history of being dominated by foreign powers. However in all circumstances and against all odds they have managed to overthrow these powers, driving them back from whence they came. The extraordinary feats accomplished by this relatively small and primitive country can be derived from a strong sense of nationalism. Nationalism, in this sense is a bond that one establishes with their country, believing it to be of importance, and worth fighting for. The Vietnamese developed their sense of nationalism over many years and originated from their traditional farming techniques. The Vietnamese originally came out of China as early as 300 B.C, and migrated south into the Red River Delta near the coast. From China they brought their basic economy of wet rice farming which required co-operative labour to help with the ploughing, flooding, planting, and harvesting. The Red River Delta frequently flooded, depositing rich, fertile land periodically. The flooding river also provided the ‘wet’ bit in wet rice farming. As a result many, small, scattered, and communal villages emerged along the Delta. This independent village system became a part of Vietnamese society. Neighbouring villages would often link with each other to repel the frequent foreign invaders and as a result the Vietnamese peasants developed a strong sense of national identity. Starting in 111 B.C the Chinese dominated the country of Vietnam for nearly 1000 years. They influenced Vietnamese culture in many ways, most importantly by introducing their philosophy of Confucianism. This philosophy underlined certain cultural ideas and values such as respect for authority, duty to the family, and a desire for learning. The system of Confucianism also introduced the idea of a government with a complex bureaucracy. This philosophy is important in understanding the roots of Vietnamese nationalism because it shows us the values the majority of the people would have held. The Vietnamese people resented paying taxes to their Emperor and being ruled by a foreign power, a corollary of this was that a resistance started to build up against the Chinese. The method of resistance used was Guerrilla Warfare which involved using the dense jungle, which they knew well, to their advantage. Eventually in 938 A.D the Chinese recognized Vietnamese independence following the sinking of a Chinese naval fleet which were destroyed by sticking spikes, tipped with iron, along the river. The Vietnamese had successfully cast out the Chinese, a 1000 year rule ended. The Chinese had been strong and well equipped whilst the Vietnamese had poor weapons and came mostly from the primitive peasant villages, their sense of nationalism is what gave them the desire to fight for their independence and the determination to see it through generations. After they received their independence the Vietnamese created a political structure very similar to the Chinese, they established an Emperor who presided over a complex network of administrators and ministers knows as Mandarins. However in 1407 the Chinese invaded Vietnam again and set up a ruthless rule. Vietnamese culture, religion, and society were banned. During this ruthless reign Le Loi led a resistance against the Chinese and again cast them out in 1428. Le Loi’s resistance movement is famous in Vietnam history and can be seen as a key moment where nationalism was used to create an army and used to expel the Chinese. Le Loi made the Chinese sign an accord recognizing Vietnamese independence. Confident they would no longer return Le Loi established the capital at Hanoi and made way for the Golden Age of Vietnam. The most important event of the 15th century was when a new Emperor was placed in power to mark the Golden Age. The Emperor relied on the goodwill of the people to obey his rules and taught the principle ‘The laws of the Emperor were less than the customs of the village’. This was important because it meant that while the Vietnamese people respected authority they would ultimately make their decisions as a collective village and decide on the best course of action for their village. In conclusion, over the years the Vietnamese people have developed a strong sense of nationalism which has been used with effect to motivate and persevere in the face of oppression. It has been used to cast out the Chinese from their land and granted them their independence. Now that the Chinese were gone a power vacuum arose which was to be filled with the French. When the French started expanding their colonial empire into Vietnam around the mid 1800’s they were not met with welcome. As we have seen before the Vietnamese have been badly treated in the past, and they resented every second of it - the French took this to another level. The French introduced a feudal system into Vietnamese society, where the Vietnamese were thought lower than the white Europeans. This meant that the Vietnamese were horribly mistreated and as a result got lower paid jobs and filled the lower levels of a new French Hierarchy of society. The French’s aim in Vietnam was to establish a rich and stable economy, this was accomplished buy industrialization, mining, opening rubber plantations, and expanding the rice trade. Whilst this expansion may sound good, in reality all it did was take minerals and resources away from the Vietnamese and into the hands of the French. Some statistics say that 90% of all rubber plantations were owned by the French and that 2/3 of mined coal were sent back to France, this clearly reinforced the claim that the French were essentially ‘sucking Vietnam dry’. The Vietnamese who could plainly see what was happening began plotting and fighting to overthrow the French. The French also disrupted the traditional Vietnamese society. The French moral code was drastically different then the familiar Confucianism philosophy, however the French persisted in trying to erase the ‘old fashioned’ values with new ones that could keep up with the modern world. As a result the traditional communal system was abolished when the village leaders were forced to hand over power to the French, who passed their land onto high ranking Mandarins. Another way in which the French tried to confirm their power was by re-educating the populace. Many new schools were opened teaching western subjects as the traditional Chinese characters and classical literature was phased out. Secondary education was slow to develop however most Catholic Vietnamese travelled to France to receive further education. In conclusion, the French established a feudal society in Vietnam in its attempt to create economical reform. Most of the resources mined in Vietnam were shipped back to France, as it was the French that had the best, high paying jobs whilst the Vietnamese were used primarily for labour. By re-educating the population the French had hoped to gain the support of the educated Vietnamese who were offered further learning opportunities in France, presuming they were Catholic and not to disposed to French Rule. The French rule ultimately disrupted the traditional way of living for many people; however the oppressed Vietnamese began a small resistance using their strong sense of nationalism to unite the people against a common cause.