The Lê Văn Khôi revolt ( vi, Cuộc nổi dậy Lê Văn Khôi, 1833–1835) was an important revolt in 19th-century Vietnam, in which southern Vietnamese,

Vietnamese Catholics Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Over ...

, French Catholic missionaries and Chinese settlers under the leadership of Lê Văn Khôi opposed the Imperial rule of Emperor Minh Mạng.

Origin

The revolt was spurred by the prosecutions launched by Minh Mạng against southern factions which had opposed his rule and tended to be favourable to Christianity. In particular, Minh Mạng prosecuted

Lê Văn Duyệt Lê Văn Duyệt)., group=n (1763 or 1764 – 30 July 1832) was a Vietnamese general who helped Nguyễn Ánh—the future Emperor Gia Long—put down the Tây Sơn wars, unify Vietnam and establish the Nguyễn dynasty. After the Nguyễn ca ...

, a former faithful general of Emperor Gia Long, who had opposed his enthronement. Since Lê Văn Duyệt had already died in July 1832, his tomb was profaned and inscribed with the words "This is the place where the infamous Lê Văn Duyệt was punished".

Start of the revolt

Lê Văn Khôi, the adoptive son of general Lê Văn Duyệt, had also been imprisoned, but managed to escape on 10 May 1833. Soon, numerous people joined the revolt, in the desire to avenge Lê Văn Duyệt and challenge the legitimacy of the Nguyễn dynasty.

Catholic support

Lê Văn Khôi declared himself in favour of the restoration of the line of Prince Cảnh, the original heir to Gia Long according to the rule of primogeniture, in the person of his remaining son An-hoa. This choice was designed to obtain the support of Catholic missionaries and Vietnamese Catholics, who had supported the line of Prince Cảnh with Lê Văn Duyệt. Lê Văn Khôi further promised to protect Catholicism.McLeod, p. 30 On 18 May 1833, the rebels managed to take the

Citadel of Saigon The Citadel of Saigon ( vi, Thành Sài Gòn ) also known as the Citadel of Gia Định ( vi, Thành Gia Định ) was a late 18th-century fortress that stood in Saigon (also known in the 19th century as Gia Định, now Ho Chi Minh City), Viet ...

(''Thanh Phien-an''). Lê Văn Khôi was able to conquer six provinces of Gia Dinh in the span of one month.Chapuis, p. 192 The main actors of the revolt were Vietnamese Christians and Chinese settlers who had been suffering from the rule of Minh Mạng.

Siamese support

As Minh Mạng raised an army to quell the rebellion, Lê Văn Khôi fortified himself into the Saigon fortress and asked for the help of the Siamese.

Rama III Nangklao ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระนั่งเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, ; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), birth name Thap ( th, ทับ), also styled Rama III, was the third king of Siam u ...

, king of Siam, accepted the offer and sent troops to attack the Vietnamese provinces of Ha-tien and An-giang and Vietnamese imperial forces in Laos and

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 ...

. The Siamese troops were accompanied by 2,000 Vietnamese Catholic troops under the command of Father Nguyen Van Tam. These Siamese and Vietnamese forces were repelled in summer 1834 by General Truong Minh Giang. Lê Văn Khôi died in 1834, during the siege, and was succeeded by his 8-year-old son Le Van Cu.

Defeat and repression

It took three years for Minh Mạng to quell the rebellion and the Siamese offensive. When the fortress of Phien An was invaded in September 1835, 1,831 people were executed and buried in mass graves (now situated in

District 3 District 3 can refer to: *III District, Turku, in Finland * District 3, Düsseldorf, in Germany *District 3, Grand Bassa County, in Liberia * District 3, Malta, an electoral district of Malta *District 3, a police district of Malta * Wiedikon, als ...

, Saigon). Only six survivors were temporarily spared, among whom were Le Van Cu, but also the French missionary Father Joseph Marchand, of the

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons de ...

. Marchand had apparently been supporting the cause of Lê Văn Khôi, and asked for the help of the Siamese army, through communications to his counterpart in Siam, Father Taberd. This revealed the strong Catholic involvement in the revolt. Father Marchand was tortured and executed on 5 November 1835, as was the child Le Van Cu. The failure of the revolt had a disastrous effect on the Christian communities of Vietnam.Wook, p. 95 New waves of persecutions against Christians followed, and demands were made to find and execute remaining missionaries. Anti-Catholic edicts to this effect were issued by Minh Mạng in 1836 and 1838. In 1836–1837 six missionaries were executed: Ignacio Delgado, Dominico Henares, Jean-Charles Cornay, José Fernández, François Jaccard, and Bishop Pierre Borie.''The Cambridge History of Christianity'', p. 517
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Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Van Khoi Revolt 19th century in Vietnam Military history of Vietnam Rebellions in the Nguyễn dynasty Rebellions in Asia Peasant revolts 1833 in Vietnam 1834 in Vietnam 1835 in Vietnam Conflicts in 1833 Conflicts in 1834 Conflicts in 1835 19th-century rebellions Wars involving Vietnam Wars involving Thailand 19th century in Siam