Đèo Văn Trị ( vi-hantu, 刁文持, 1849 – 1908 in

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� ...

) also known as his Lao name Cam Oum (or Khamhum, ), was the White Tai leader at Muang Lay in the

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 ...

or Federation of the Twelve Tai states, of the

Tai Dam people The Tai Dam ( Tai Dam: , , ) are an ethnic minority predominantly from China, northwest Vietnam, Laos, Thailand. They are part of the Tai peoples and ethnically similar to the Thai from Thailand, the Lao from Laos and the Shan from Shan State ...

Biography

Đèo Văn Trị was a son of Đèo Văn Sinh (Kham Sing). In his early life Đèo Văn Trị had studied as a monk at Wat Xieng Thong temple in

Luang Phrabang Luang Prabang ( Lao: ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Luang Prabang Province in north-central Laos. I ...

. He held the de facto power from 1886, although his father was still alive. At that time, French extended their control in Tonkin. Trị stood by the Vietnamese

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

. He responded with

Tôn Thất Thuyết Tôn Thất Thuyết ( 尊室説; 12 May 1839 in Huế – 1913 in Longzhou), Courtesy name Đàm Phu (談夫), was the regent and leading mandarin of Emperor Tự Đức of Vietnam's Nguyễn dynasty. Thuyết later led the Cần Vươn ...

's Cần Vương movement together with Nguyễn Văn Giáp and Ngô Quang Bích. Thuyết had sought for political refuge in Muang Lay, however, Thuyết did not trusted him. Later, Thuyết fled to China. Trị also made common cause with Chinese

Black Flag Army The Black Flag Army (; , chữ Nôm: ) was a splinter remnant of a bandit and mercenary group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background and former Taiping soldiers who crossed the border in 1865 from Guangxi, China into north ...

. Đèo Văn Trị sought help from Siamese, but Siamese occupied Muang Thaeng and attempted to place Sip Song Chau Tai under Siamese control. During the

Haw wars The Haw Wars () were fought against Chinese quasi-military refugee gangs invading parts of Tonkin and the Laos from 1865–1890. Forces invading Lao domains were ill-disciplined and freely demolished Buddhist temples. Not knowing these were r ...

, three of his younger brothers were captured and held prisoner by a Siamese military expedition, which made him enraged. In 1887, Đèo Văn Trị's Dai soldiers together with Chinese Black Flag Army soldiers, sacked

. Auguste Pavie prevented the capture of the ailing local ruler Oun Kham and had him taken to safety but Đèo Văn Trị captured the local uparat prince Souvanna Phomma and executed him on June 8, 1887. Đèo Văn Trị used the temple as his headquarters, along with Wat Suwannaphumaham, sparing them any damage. Pavie allied with Đèo Văn Trị and France recognised him as leader of

in 1890.Where China Meets Southeast Asia: Social & Cultural Change in the ... - Page 107 Grant Evans, Christopher Hutton, Khun Eng Kuah - 2000 "A major figure with whom the early French administration allied was the White Tai leader Deo Van Tri, who died in 1909. ... of Auguste Pavie, who in return made him the official and fully fledged leader of the Sip Song Chau Tai in 1890." Siamese released his brothers back to Sip Song Chau Tai. He was succeeded by his son Đèo Văn Long.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deo, Van Tri 1849 births 1908 deaths People from Lai Châu province People of the Tonkin Protectorate