Nguyễn Tri Phương ( vi-hantu, 阮知方, 1800 – 1873), born Nguyễn Văn Chương, was a

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (chữ Nôm: 茹阮, vi, Nhà Nguyễn; chữ Hán: 阮朝, vi, Nguyễn triều) was the last Vietnamese dynasty, which ruled the unified Vietnamese state largely independently from 1802 to 1883. During its existence, ...

mandarin and military commander. He commanded armies against

French conquest of Vietnam The French conquest of Vietnam (1858–1885) was a long and limited war fought between the Second French Empire, later the French Third Republic and the Vietnamese empire of Đại Nam in the mid-late 19th century. Its end and results were victor ...

at the

Siege of Tourane The siege of Tourane (September 1858–March 1860) was a Vietnamese victory during the Cochinchina Campaign, a punitive campaign against the Vietnamese launched by France and Spain in 1858. A joint Franco-Spanish expedition under the command of ...

, the

Siege of Saigon The siege of Saigon, a two-year siege of the city by the Vietnamese after its capture on February 17, 1859 by a Franco-Spanish flotilla under the command of the French admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly, was one of the major events of the Conq ...

and the

Battle of Hanoi (1873) The Battle of Hanoi was fought on 20 November 1873 between France and Đại Nam. A French expeditionary force composed of 140 sailors, 30 marines and 8 officers under the command of Navy Lieutenant Francis Garnier captured the provincial capital ...

Early years

Nguyễn Tri Phương was born in 1800 in Ðường Long village, Chánh Lộc canton, Phong Ðiền district, Thừa Thiên fu, now is Chí Long village, Phong Chương commune, Phong Ðiền district, Thừa Thiên Huế. Born in a peasant family, Nguyễn did not go to school, but with intelligence, high self-study and self-reliance, he made a great career. Starting from an official at the district level, due to his talent, he was promoted to the court, was recruited and in turn held many important positions during the three reigns of

Minh Mạng Minh Mạng () or Minh Mệnh (, vi-hantu, 明命, lit. "the bright favour of Heaven"; 25 May 1791 – 20 January 1841; born Nguyễn Phúc Đảm, also known as Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu) was the second emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of V ...

Thiệu Trị Thiệu Trị (, vi-hantu, 紹治, lit. "inheritance of prosperity"; 6 June 1807 – 4 November 1847), personal name Nguyễn Phúc Miên Tông or Nguyễn Phúc Tuyền, was the third emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty. He was the eldest son of Em ...

, and

Tự Đức Tự Đức (, vi-hantu, 嗣德, lit. "inheritance of virtues", 22 September 1829 – 19 July 1883) (personal name: Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Nhậm , also Nguyễn Phúc Thì) was the fourth emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam; he ruled ...

. Phương had risen quickly in military ranks after recapturing

Hà Tiên Hà Tiên is a Provincial city in Kiên Giang Province, Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Its area is and the population as of 2019 is 81,576. The city borders Cambodia to the west. Hà Tiên is a tourist site of the region thanks to its beaches and la ...

and defeating the Siamese army at

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 River ...

. He succeeded

Trương Minh Giảng Trương Minh Giảng ( vi-hantu, 張明講, 1792 – 1841) was a general and official of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty. Early life Trương-Minh Giảng was born in Gia Định (modern Ho Chi Minh City). He came from an important aristocr ...

in 1841 as viceroy of King Thiệu Trị (reigned 1841–1847) in Southern Cochinchina.Jacob Ramsay ''Mandarins and Martyrs: The Church and the Nguyen Dynasty in Early ...'' 2008- Page 109 "After being taken to Vĩnh Long, the apostolic vicar was presented before the “grand mandarin,” whom I believe was the acting provincial governor- general, and later accomplished general, Nguyễn Tri Phương.70 Léfèbvre diligently recorded a ." He then became a senior advisor to the next King Tự Đức (reigned 1847–83).

Battle of Hanoi (1873)

He was wounded and captured by the French in

. He refused to be treated by French and began a hunger strike, dying shortly afterwards. His ceremonial dress was taken as a trophy by

Francis Garnier Marie Joseph François Garnier ( vi, Ngạc Nhi; 25 July 1839 – 21 December 1873) was a French officer, inspector of Indigenous Affairs of Cochinchina and explorer. He eventually became mission leader of the Mekong Exploration Commission in 19th ...

Legacy and memory

He was venerated alongside

Hoàng Diệu Hoàng Diệu ( chữ Hán: 黃耀, 14 March 1829 – 25 April 1882), born Hoàng Kim Tích (黃金錫), courtesy name Quang Viễn, was a Nguyễn dynasty Governor-general of Hà - Ninh, who suicided after failure in protecting Hà Nội ...

by the Vietnamese people as loyal subjects who sacrificed themselves for Vietnam. Many cities and streets in Vietnam were named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Tri Phuong 1800 births 1873 deaths People from Thừa Thiên-Huế province Nguyen dynasty officials Nguyen dynasty generals People of the Cochinchina campaign