HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1916 Cochinchina uprising was a series of defiant protests and attempted revolts in February against the French authority of southern
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, which had been the colony of
Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...
since 1862. The organization and motivation of the uprisings were unclear, since many different organizations of Vietnamese revolutionaries with different ideologies were involved. Some were supporters of the mystic and geomancer Phan Xich Long, who had claimed to be a descendant of the boy Emperor
Hàm Nghi Emperor Hàm Nghi (, vi-hantu, lit. "entirely right", ar, هام نغي; 3 August 1872 – 4 January 1943), personal name Nguyễn Phúc Ưng Lịch, also Nguyễn Phúc Minh, was the eighth emperor of the Vietnamese Nguyễn dynasty. He reign ...
, who had been deposed by the French for attempting a revolt with the aim of securing independence some three decades earlier. Long had been imprisoned three years earlier after declaring himself Emperor and attempting to storm Saigon with the help some purported magic potion to restore the monarchy. Long's supporters sought his release from jail. There were also a loose alliance of secret organizations from the provinces in the Mekong Delta region. The centre of the planning appeared to be the Nui Cam Pagoda in
Châu Đốc Châu Đốc is a city in An Giang Province, bordering Cambodia, in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. As of 2013, the city had a population of 157,298, and cover an area of . The city is located by the Hậu River (a branch of the Mekong Rive ...
, while many participants also appeared to have been sympathisers and affiliates of Prince
Cường Để Cường Để (, ; born Nguyễn Phước Dân ( vi-hantu, 阮福民); 11 January 1882 - 5 April 1951) was an early 20th-century Vietnamese revolutionary who, along with Phan Bội Châu, unsuccessfully tried to liberate Vietnam from French colo ...
, who was living in exile. Cường Để was a direct descendant of Emperor Gia Long, who founded the Nguyễn dynasty in 1802. Cường Để was a descendant of Gia Long's eldest son Prince Cảnh, but Canh died of smallpox before his father, so the succession passed to Emperor Minh Mạng and his descendants.Marr, p. 102. A later report from the Governor General of French Indochina to the French Minister of Colonies asserted that Cường Để was the "chef occulte" of the rising, through the actions of his "most loyal partisans and most active agents in Cochinchina". The centrepiece of the plot was to seize the central prison of Saigon, in order to facilitate the release of Phan Xich Long and many other revolutionaries who had been imprisoned. This would also have provided access to the French armoury and their firearms, which would have given an upgrade to the firepower of the Vietnamese, who were armed with spears and machetes. The prison was also viewed among the populace as a symbol of the hated French colonial rule, so its capture was intended to provide a psychological boost to foment the general public into joining the uprising. On February 14, 1916, around three hundred men landed at Saigon's waterfront and began to move in groups towards the penitentiary, shouting slogans as they marched. However, some of the groups came across police patrols, and retreated back towards the piers after being fired upon with pistols.Marr, p. 230. The groups that did reach the prison found the gates securely protected, and retreated chaotically. Despite the failure to capture the jail, many areas in the Mekong Delta proceeded with their planned actions against the French. At
Bien Hoa Bien may refer to: * Bien (newspaper) * Basic Income Earth Network * Bień, Poland {{disambiguation ...
, on the northern outskirts of Saigon, a revolt was attempted at the local jail. In
Thủ Dầu Một Thủ Dầu Một () is the capital city of Bình Dương province, Vietnam, located at around . The city has an area of 118.66 km², with a population of 417,000 (as of 2018), and is located 20 km north of downtown Ho Chi Minh City, o ...
, another town northwest of Saigon, a march towards Saigon was planned, but was quickly dispersed by the authorities. At Bến Tre to the south in the Mekong Delta, a march by villagers resulted in the burning and destruction of the local archives and registers offices. After French authorities broke up the march, the participants retreated and began to attack any Vietnamese collaborators that they could lay their hands on. At
Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is the largest city of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in southern Vietnam. The city area is , consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Sơn Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the p ...
, a port town to the southeast of Saigon, an armed group made a failed attempt to seize the military post. In
Vĩnh Long Vĩnh Long () is a city and the capital of Vĩnh Long Province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Vĩnh Long covers and has a population of 147,039 (as of 2009). The name was spelled 永 隆 ("eternal prosperity") in the former Hán Nôm writing sys ...
in the delta, the Nghia Hoa society led a protest march to the office of the local French administrator, while a group that had come north from
Cần Thơ Cần Thơ, also written as Can Tho or Cantho (: , : ), is the fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque r ...
with the intention of joining them was forcibly dispersed before reaching their destination. A bomb was uncovered in
Mỹ Tho Mỹ Tho () is a city in the Tiền Giang province in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. It has a population of approximately 169,000 in 2006 and 220,000 in 2012. It is the regional center of economics, education and technology. The majorit ...
, while the town of
Long Xuyên Long Xuyên () is the capital city of An Giang province, in the Mekong Delta region of south-western Vietnam. History In 1789, a group of explorers established a small outpost in the Tam Khe canal, naming it Dong Xuyen. Sooner after a marketpl ...
in the far south saw ransackings and kidnappings for ransom. In the town of
Tây Ninh Tây Ninh () is a provincial city in south-eastern Vietnam. It is the capital of Tây Ninh Province, which encompasses the town and much of the surrounding farmland. Tây Ninh is approximately to the northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's la ...
, on the western border with
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
, an armed rebel unit led by the self-proclaimed General Vuong Van Le briefly patrolled the surrounding areas. The French community in Cochinchina was taken aback by the revolt that had occurred and demanded a strong response from the colonial authorities. Hundreds of Vietnamese were quickly apprehended, and summary justice was dispensed by a French War Council. Eventually, 51 people were put to death and an unknown number of dissidents were jailed. Despite some criticism back in France about the severity of the reaction, the local authorities prevailed in implementing their strong response.Marr, p. 231.


Notes


References

* {{Vietnamese independence movement Vietnamese independence movement Cochinchina Uprising, 1916 Conflicts in 1916 French Indochina Military history of Vietnam during World War I Rebellions in Asia