Đèo Văn Long (15 March 1887 – 20 November 1975) was the White Tai leader of the Autonomous Tai Federation of Northwestern

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

in post-war

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

.Vietnam - Guide Michelin, 2010 Page 232 "Nommé gouverneur du district par l'administration coloniale en 1940, Deo Van Long devint de fait le suzerain non seulement des Thaïs blancs de Muong Te et de Phong To, mais aussi des Thaïs noirs de

Son La A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...

. Lorsqu'en 1945 le Viet-minh essaima à partirde sa base du Nord-Vietnam (voir « Histoire», p. 120), Deo Van Long quitta le pays pour la France, où il participa à... Réfugié au Laos, il gagna ensuite la France et mourut à Toulouse en 1975"

Auguste Pavie Auguste Jean-Marie Pavie (31 May 1847 – 7 June 1925) was a French colonial civil servant, explorer and diplomat who was instrumental in establishing French control over Laos in the last two decades of the 19th century. After a long career i ...

had allied with his father

Đèo Văn Trị Đèo Văn Trị ( vi-hantu, 刁文持, 1849 – 1908 in Lai Châu) also known as his Lao name Cam Oum (or Khamhum, ), was the Tai Dón people, White Tai leader at Muang Lay in the Sip Song Chau Tai or Federation of the Twelve Tai states, of the Ta ...

and France recognised him as leader of

Sip Song Chau Tai The Sip Song Chau TaiOther spellings include: Sip Song Chau Thai, Sipsong Chuthai, Sipsong Chu Tai, Sip Song Chu Tai, Sipsongchuthai, Sip Song Chu Thai, Sipsong Chau Tai, Sip Song Chao Thai, Sipsong Chao Tai, Sipsongchutai, Sipsong Chao Thai. ("Tw ...

in 1890. He was the scion of a hereditary feudal noble line with roots in

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

province. Đèo Văn Long generated much revenue for the Federation by acting as a middleman in the

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

traffic between the Tai Federation and the French. He compelled the

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...

of the Federation to sell to him at below-

market price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a phy ...

s, thus making enormous profit from his sales to the French. This made him rich, but severed his relationship with the Hmong of the Federation, who supported the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...

during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

. His use of force to suppress

resistance also decreased his popularity with the

. As the

Điện Biên Phủ Điện Biên Phủ (, vi-hantu, ) is a city in the Northwest (Vietnam), northwestern region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Điện Biên Province. The city is best known for the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu, Battle of Điện Biên Phủ ...

campaign came to an end, he was helicoptered away from

Lai Châu Lai Châu () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital city of Lai Châu Province. The city borders Phong Thổ District, Sìn Hồ District và Tam Đường District. History Lai Châu, or Muang Lay (Vietnamese: M� ...

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. He went first to Laos, then later immigrated to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as a

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

, but died shortly thereafter. His sons had died in battle leading White Tai partisans against the

, so in France leadership of the clan line was succeeded by his daughter Deo Nang Toï.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20060822105343/http://www.drugtext.org:80/library/books/McCoy/book/27.htm
The Montagnards and the State in Northern Vietnam from 1802 to 1975: A Historical Overview

Deo Van Long and other lord of Laichau

Official website of Deo lord

Officiel "Auguste Pavie" website, many sources on Deo Van Tri
1887 births 1975 deaths People from Lai Châu province People of the Tonkin Protectorate Tai peoples Vietnamese independence movement People of the First Indochina War Vietnamese refugees {{Vietnam-bio-stub