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French Cochinchina (sometimes spelled ''Cochin-China''; ; ,
chữ Hán ( , ) are the Chinese characters that were used to write Literary Chinese in Vietnam, Literary Chinese (; ) and Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in Vietnamese language, Vietnamese. They were officially used in Vietnam after the Red River Delta region ...
: ) was a
colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
of
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 ...
from 1862 to 1949, encompassing what is now
Southern Vietnam Southern Vietnam () is one of the three geographical regions of Vietnam, the other two being Northern and Central Vietnam. It includes 2 administrative subregions, which in turn are divided into 19 ''First Tier units'', of which 17 are provi ...
. The French operated a plantation economy whose primary strategic product was rubber. After the end of the Japanese occupation (1941–1945) and the expulsion from Saigon of the
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
-led, nationalist
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 ...
in 1946, the territory was reorganized as the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina by the French, a controversial decision that helped trigger 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 ...
. In a further move to deny the claims of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it opposed the French-suppor ...
declared in
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 ...
by the Viet Minh, Cochinchina was formally united with Annam and Tonkin in the
State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam (; chữ Hán: 國家越南; ) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The s ...
within the
French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was ''de jure'' the end of the "indigenous" () status of Frenc ...
on 4 June 1949, before the
State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam (; chữ Hán: 國家越南; ) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The s ...
was established when the
Élysée Accords The Elysée Accords were an agreement signed at the Élysée Palace on 8 March 1949 by ex-emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, Bảo Đại, which gave the State of Vietnam greater independence from France within the French Union. The Accords rece ...
took effect 10 days later. ''Nam Kỳ'' originated from the reign of
Minh Mạng Minh Mạng (), also known as 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 Nguyễ ...
of the
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 ...
, but became a name associated with the French colonial period and so Vietnamese, especially nationalists, prefer the term ''Nam Phần'' to refer to
Southern Vietnam Southern Vietnam () is one of the three geographical regions of Vietnam, the other two being Northern and Central Vietnam. It includes 2 administrative subregions, which in turn are divided into 19 ''First Tier units'', of which 17 are provi ...
.


History


French conquest

In 1858, under the pretext of protecting the work of French Catholic missionaries, which the imperial 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 ...
increasingly regarded as a political threat, French Admiral
Charles Rigault de Genouilly Admiral Pierre-Louis-Charles Rigault de Genouilly (, 12 April 1807 – 4 May 1873) was a French naval officer. He fought with distinction in the Crimean War and the Second Opium War, but is chiefly remembered today for his command of French and S ...
, with the assistance of Spanish forces from the Philippines, attacked Tourane (present-day
Da Nang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...
) in Annam. Early in 1859 he followed this up with an attack on Saigon, but as in Tourane was unable to seize territory outside of the defensive perimeter of the city. The Vietnamese siege of Saigon was not lifted until 1861, when additional French forces were able to advance across the
Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...
. The Vietnamese conceded in 1862 and signed the
Treaty of Saigon Treaty of Saigon may refer to: * Treaty of Saigon (1862), between France and Vietnam * Treaty of Saigon (1874), between France and Vietnam {{dab ...
. This ensured the free practice of the Catholic religion, opened the Mekong Delta (and three ports in the north, in
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 ...
) to trade, and ceded to France the provinces of
Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam, and is part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area. Situated northeast of Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon), Biên Hòa is connect ...
,
Gia Định ''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Eliza ...
and Định Tường, along with the islands of Poulo Condore. In 1867, French Admiral Pierre de la Grandière forced the Vietnamese to surrender three additional provinces,
Châu Đốc Châu Đốc is a city in An Giang Province, bordering Cambodia, in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. As of 2019, the city had a population of 101,765, and cover an area of . The city is located by the Hậu River (a branch of the Mekong Ri ...
,
Hà Tiên Hà Tiên is a Provincial city (Vietnam), 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 th ...
and
Vĩnh Long Vĩnh Long ɨn˨˩˦:lawŋ˧˧is a city and the capital of Vĩnh Long Province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Geography Vĩnh Long covers and has a population of 200,120 (as of 2018). The name was spelled 永 隆 ("eternal prosperity") in the form ...
. With these three additions all of southern Vietnam and the Mekong Delta fell under French control.


Consolidation of power

In 1871 all the territories ceded to the French in southern Vietnam were incorporated as the colony of Cochinchina, with Admiral
Dupré Dupré is a French language, French name that literally means "from the meadow (:fr :Prairie_(agriculture), "pré" in French)", or "from Prez, Ardennes, Prez". Also existing variants are Duprée, DuPree, Deupree, DePrez, Dupres, Duprez, Düpre and D ...
as its first governor. In 1887, the colony became a federal member of the Union of French Indochina. Unlike the protectorates of Annam (central Vietnam) and
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 ...
(northern Vietnam), Cochinchina was ruled directly by the French and represented by a deputy in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
in Paris. Within Indochina, Cochinchina was the territory with the largest European population. At its height, in 1940, it had an estimated 16,550 Europeans, the vast majority living in Saigon.


Plantation economy

The French authorities dispossessed Vietnamese landowners and peasants to ensure European control of the expansion of rice and rubber production. By 1930, the French controlled more than a quarter of Cochinchina's farmlands. However, French-Vietnamese landlords remained intrinsically dominant in the Mekong Delta, which controlled most of the region's farm ownership and rice productions. The French began rubber production in Cochinchina in 1907, seeking a share of the monopoly profits that the British were earning from their plantations in
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
. Investment from metropolitan France was encouraged by large land grants allowing for rubber cultivation on an industrial scale. Virgin rainforests in eastern Cochinchina, the highly fertile "red lands", were cleared for the new export crop. These developments contributed to the
1916 Cochinchina uprising The 1916 Cochinchina uprising () was a series of defiant protests and attempted revolts in February against the French Indochina, French authority of southern Vietnam, which had been the colony of French Cochinchina, Cochinchina Cochinchina campai ...
. Insurgents attempted to storm Saigon central prison, and maintained a prolonged resistance in the Mekong Delta. Fifty-one of them were hanged. As they expanded in response to the increased rubber demand after the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the European plantations recruited, as indentured labour, workers from "the overcrowded villages of the
Red River Delta The Red River Delta or Hong River Delta () is the flat low-lying plain formed by the Red River and its distributaries merging with the Thái Bình River in Northern Vietnam. ''Hồng'' (紅) is a Sino-Vietnamese word for "red" or "crimson". T ...
in
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 ...
and the coastal lowlands of Annam". These migrants, despite ''
Sûreté (, but often translated to 'safety' or 'security') is, in some French-speaking countries or regions, the organizational title of a civil police force. Algeria The Directorate General for National Security is known in French as the Sûreté ...
'' efforts at political screening, brought south the influence of the Communist Party of Nguyen Ai Quoc (
Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...
), and of other underground nationalist parties (the ''Tan Viet'' and ''
Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (; chữ Hán: ; ), abbreviated VNQDĐ or Việt Quốc, was a nationalist and democratic socialist political party that sought independence from French colonial rule in Vietnam during the early 20th century ...
''). At the same time, the local peasantry were driven into debt servitude, and into plantation labour, by land and
poll taxes A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...
. By 1930, 80% of rice farmland was owned by 25% of landowners, and 57% of the rural population were landless peasants working on large estates. This combination of factors led to widespread and recurring unrest and strikes. The
Phú Riềng Đỏ Phú Riềng Đỏ or the Red Phú Riềng was a communist-instigated strike that took place in Michelin's Thuân-Loï rubber plantation near Phú Riềng in the Biên Hòa Province of Cochinchina on 4 February 1930. Most of the plantation labour ...
(literally "Red River Delta") of 1930 was the most significant of these strikes, with armed confrontations of striking labourer on a sprawling 5,500-hectare
Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
rubber plantation. In response to rural unrest and growing labour militancy in Saigon, the French authorities detained, between 1930 and 1932, more than 12,000 political prisoners, of whom 88 were guillotined, and almost 7,000 sentenced to prison or hard labour in penal colonies.


Popular Front promise of reform

In 1936, the formation in France of the Popular Front government led by
Leon Blum Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
was accompanied by promises of colonial reform. In Cochinchina the new governor-general of Indochina
Jules Brévié Joseph-Jules Brévié (; 12 March 1880 – 28 July 1964) was a French colonial administrator who became governor-general of French West Africa from 1930 to 1936, and then governor-general of French Indochina from 1937 to 1939. He promoted liberal ...
, sought to defuse the tense and expectant political situation by amnestying political prisoners and easing restrictions on the press, political parties, and trade unions. Saigon witnessed further unrest culminating in general dock and transport strikes in the summer of 1937. In April of that year, the Communist Party and their
Trotskyist left opposition Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as a ...
ran a common slate for the municipal elections, with both their respective leaders Nguyễn Văn Tạo and
Tạ Thu Thâu Tạ Thu Thâu (1906–1945) in the 1930s was the principal representative of Trotskyism in Vietnam and, in colonial Cochinchina, of left opposition to the Indochinese Communist Party (PCI) of Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh). He joined the Left Op ...
winning seats. The exceptional anti-colonial unity of the left, however, was split by the lengthening shadow of the Moscow Trials and growing protest over the failure of the Communist-supported Popular Front to deliver constitutional reform. Colonial Minister
Marius Moutet Marius Moutet (19 April 1876 – 29 October 1968) was a French Socialist diplomat and colonial adviser. An expert in colonial issues, he served as Minister of the Colonies for four terms in the 1930s and 1940s and was president of the Gener ...
, a socialist, commented that he had sought "a wide consultation with all elements of the popular
ill ILL, or Ill, or ill may refer to: Places * Ill (France), a river in Alsace, France, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Vorarlberg), a river in Vorarlberg, Austria, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Saarland), a river of Saarland, Germany, tributary o ...
" but with "Trotskyist-Communists intervening in the villages to menace and intimidate the peasant section of the population, taking all authority from the public officials," the necessary "formula" had not been found.


War and the Insurrection of 1940

In the April 1939 Cochinchina Council elections, Tạ Thu Thâu led a "Workers' and Peasants' Slate" into victory over both the moderate Constitutionalists and the Communists' Democratic Front. Key to their success was popular opposition to the war taxes ("national defence levy") that the Communist Party, in the spirit of the Franco-Soviet accord, had felt obliged to support. Brévié set the election results aside and wrote to Colonial Minister
Georges Mandel Georges Mandel (born Louis George Rothschild; 5 June 1885 – 7 July 1944) was a French journalist and politician who was a member of the Chamber of Deputies representing Gironde from 1919 to 1924 and from 1928 until the dissolution of the Fren ...
: "the Trotskyists under the leadership of Ta Thu Thau want to take advantage of a possible war in order to win total liberation." The Stalinists, on the other hand, are "following the position of the Communist Party in France" and "will thus be loyal if war breaks out." With the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...
of 23 August 1939, the local Communists were ordered by
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
to return to direct confrontation with the French. Under the slogan "Land to the tillers, freedom for the workers and independence for Vietnam", the Communist Party in Cochinchina instigated a widespread
insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
in November 1940. The revolt did not penetrate Saigon, as an attempted uprising in the city was quelled within a day. In the Mekong Delta fighting continued until the end of the year.


Japanese occupation

After a brief cross-border confrontation with French forces in September 1940, Japanese forces occupied Tonkin. On 9 December 1940, an agreement was reached with the
Vichy government Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...
whereby French sovereignty over its army and administrative affairs was confirmed, but Japanese forces were free to fight the war against the Allies from Indochinese soil. A large scale movement of troops did not occur until after the
Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...
in late June 1941. With the Soviets tied down, the high command concluded that a " strike south" would solve the problems posed for Japan by the American-led oil embargo. To prepare for an invasion of the oil-rich Dutch East Indies, some 140,000 Japanese troops occupied southern French Indochina on 28 July 1941.Namba, Chizuru. (2019). “The French Colonisation and Japanese Occupation of Indochina during the Second World War: Encounters of the French, Japanese, and Vietnamese.” ''Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review'' 32: 74–96. French troops and the civil administration were allowed to remain, albeit under Japanese supervision. While the Japanese government's policy of “maintaining peace” in Indochina limited interactions between the Japanese and Vietnamese, the contradiction of mutual coexistence between France, as the “missionary of civilisation,” and Japan, as the “liberator of Asia” from Western colonialism, could not be concealed. The tensions contributed to nationalist, anti-colonial feeling. Drawing on the local Coadaist sect, the Japanese began to encourage nationalist groups in Cohinchina from 1943. Following the
liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris () was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armisti ...
in 1944, Japan increasingly suspected that the French authorities would assist Allied operations. In March 1945, a
Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina The Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina, known as , was a Empire of Japan, Japanese operation that took place on 9 March 1945, towards the end of World War II. With Japanese forces losing the war and the threat of an Allies of World War I ...
took the Europeans into custody and imposed their direct authority. The coup had, in the words of diplomat
Jean Sainteny Jean Sainteny or Jean Roger (29 May 1907, in Vésinet – 25 February 1978) was a French politician who was sent to Vietnam after the end of the Second World War in order to accept the surrender of the Japanese forces and to attempt to re-annex ...
, "wrecked a colonial enterprise that had been in existence for 80 years." In August 1945, as they faced defeat, the Japanese belatedly created a puppet state, incorporating Cochinchina in the
Empire of Vietnam The Empire of Vietnam (; Literary Chinese and Japanese language, Contemporary Japanese: ; Japanese language, Modern Japanese: ) was a short-lived Japanese puppet state, puppet state of Empire of Japan, Imperial Japan between March 11 and Abdicat ...
under the nominal authority of the
Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , , 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc (Phước) Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was ''de jure'' em ...
.


The August Revolution and the return of French rule

On 2 September 1945, in Hanoi,
Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...
and his new Front for the Independence of Vietnam, 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 ...
, proclaimed the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it opposed the French-suppor ...
. Already on 24 August the Viet Minh had declared a provisional government (a Southern Administrative Committee) in Saigon. When, for the declared purpose of disarming the Japanese, the Viet Minh accommodated the landing and strategic positioning of their wartime "democratic allies", the British, rival political groups turned out in force, including the syncretic Hoa Hao and
Cao Dai Caodaism (; ; ; ) or Cao Đài is a Vietnamese monotheistic syncretic religion that retains many elements from Vietnamese folk religion such as ancestor worship, as well as "ethical precepts from Confucianism, occult practices from Taoism, theo ...
sects. On 7 and 8 September 1945, in the delta city of
Cần Thơ Cần Thơ () is the List of cities in Vietnam, 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 rural canals. It has ...
, the committee had to rely on the ''Jeunesse d'Avant-Garde / Thanh Niên Tiền Phong'' ( Vanguard Youth), who had contributed to civil defence and policing under Japanese. They fired upon crowds demanding arms against the French. In Saigon, the violence of a French restoration assisted by British and surrendered Japanese troops triggered a general uprising on 23 September. In the course of what became known as the Southern Resistance War (Nam Bộ kháng chiến) the Viet Minh defeated rival resistance forces, executing their leading cadres, but, by the end of 1945, had been pushed out of Saigon and major urban centres into the countryside.


Incorporation into the State of Vietnam

On 1 June 1946, while the Viet Minh leadership was in France for negotiations, at the initiative of High Commissioner d'Argenlieu and in violation of the 6 March Ho–Sainteny agreement, a local territorial assembly proclaimed an "Autonomous Republic". War between France and the Viet Minh began shortly afterwards.
Nguyễn Văn Thinh Nguyễn Văn Thinh (; 1888 – 10 November 1946, Saigon) was the first President of Cochinchina. Thinh was a French citizen and joined the Constitutionalist Party in 1926. He founded the Cochinchinese Democratic Party in 1937. He became chi ...
, the first head of its government, died in an apparent suicide in November 1946. He was succeeded by
Lê Văn Hoạch Lê Văn Hoạch (; 1896 – 1978) was a Vietnamese doctor and politician who served as president of Cochinchina from 1946 to 1947. Biography He was born in 1896 in Phong Điền district, Cần Thơ, Cochinchina, French Indochina. He earned a ...
, a member of the
caodaist Caodaism (; ; ; ) or Cao Đài is a Vietnamese monotheistic syncretic religion that retains many elements from Vietnamese folk religion such as ancestor worship, as well as "ethical precepts from Confucianism, occult practices from Taoism, theo ...
sect. In 1947,
Nguyễn Văn Xuân Nguyễn Văn Xuân (; 3 April 1892 – 14 January 1989) was a Vietnamese general and politician who served as prime minister of Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; ; ; ; ) is a historical exonym and endonym, exonym for part of Vi ...
replaced Lê and renamed the "Provisional Government of the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina" as the "Provisional Government of Southern Vietnam", suggesting that his aim was to reunite the whole country. The next year, the
Provisional Central Government of Vietnam The Provisional Central Government of Vietnam was a provisional associated government within the French Union, proclaimed in Vietnam during the First Indochina War. On 5 June 1948, it was recognized as an independent government by France. However ...
was proclaimed with the merger of Annam and
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 ...
: Xuân became its Prime minister and left office in Cochinchina, where he was replaced by
Trần Văn Hữu Trần Văn Hữu (; 9 March 1896 – 17 January 1984) served as president of French Cochinchina, Cochinchina's government from 1948 to 1949, and as Leaders of South Vietnam#Prime Ministers of the Republic of Vietnam, Prime Minister of the State ...
. Xuân and the French had agreed to reunite Vietnam, but Cochinchina posed a problem because of its ill-defined legal status. The reunification was opposed by the French colonists, who were still influential on the Cochinchinese council, and by Southern Vietnamese autonomists. Together they delayed the process of reunification by arguing that Cochinchina was still legally a
colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
– as its new status as a
republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
had never been ratified by the
French National Assembly The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...
– and that any territorial change therefore required the approval of the French parliament. Xuân issued a
by-law A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authority. The higher authority, generally a legislature or some othe ...
reuniting Cochinchina with the rest of Vietnam, but it was overruled by the Cochinchinese council.Philippe Franchini, ''Les Guerres d'Indochine'', vol. I, Pygmalion – Gérard Watelet, Paris, 1988, pp. 399–406 Cochinchina remained separated from the rest of Vietnam for over a year, while former Emperor Bảo Đại – whom the French wanted to bring back to power as a political alternative to Ho Chi Minh – refused to return to Vietnam and take office as head of state until the country was fully reunited. On 14 March 1949, the French National Assembly voted a law permitting the creation of a Territorial Assembly of Cochinchina. This new Cochinchinese parliament was elected on 10 April 1949, with the Vietnamese representatives then becoming a majority. On 23 April, the Territorial Assembly approved the merger of the Provisional Government of Southern Vietnam with the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam. The decision was in turn approved by the French National Assembly on 20 May, and the merger was effective on 4 June. The
State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam (; chữ Hán: 國家越南; ) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The s ...
was then proclaimed, with Bảo Đại as head of state.


Administration


Government

Following the French colonial invasion, Vietnamese mandarins withdrew from Cochinchina, leading the French to adopt a policy of direct rule. The highest office in the government of French Cochinchina was the Governor of Cochinchina (統督南圻, ''Thống đốc Nam Kỳ''), who after 1887 reported directly to the Governor-General of French Indochina. As French Cochinchina was a directly-ruled colony, the French colonial apparatus operated at every level of government including at the provincial, district, and communal levels. Each Cochinchinese province was headed by a French official with the title of "Chủ tỉnh" (主省) or "Tỉnh trưởng" (省長). These officials had similar roles and responsibilities as the equivalent French "Công sứ" (公使) had in the provinces of the Nguyễn dynasty. The provinces of French Cochinchina were further divided into
districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
known as "Tong" and headed by a "Chanh tong", and the districts in turn were further divided into
communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
known as "xã" (社), headed by a "Huong ca". Both the district and commune chiefs were salaried employees of the French colonial administration.


Laws

During the early periods of French rule in Cochinchina, both French laws and Nguyễn dynasty laws applied and offenders of both faced trial in French courts. Initially
French people French people () are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common Culture of France, French culture, History of France, history, and French language, language, identified with the country of France. The French people, esp ...
were tried using French laws and
Vietnamese people The Vietnamese people (, ) or the Kinh people (), also known as the Viet people or the Viets, are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day northern Vietnam and Dongxing, Guangxi, southern China who speak Vietnamese language, Viet ...
(then known as "Annamese people") were tried using the Nguyễn dynasty's laws, alongside a new set of provisions that the French had introduced for their colonial subjects. The French courts applied their rulings based on the two different legal systems. After the French consolidation of power, the Nguyễn dynasty's laws were completely abolished in Cochinchina and only French laws applied in the colony. On 6 January 1903, the Governor-General of French Indochina Jean Baptiste Paul Beau issued a decree that stated that offences for both French and indigenous laws would go to French courts and that offenders would only be tried against French Cochinchina's penal code. During this period the Governor-General of French Indochina also issued a decree that introduced new laws to fine people for a number of common offences outside of the French penal code.


Gallery

File:NamKy1829.jpg, Cochinchina in 1829 under Nguyễn Dynasty File:Cochinchine-map-03.jpg, Cochinchina in 1876 File:NamKy1878.jpg, Cochinchina in 1878 File:Cochinchine 1882.jpg, Cochinchina in 1882 File:NamKy1906.png, Cochinchina in 1906 File:Atlas colonial français Colonies Protectorats (...)Pollacchi Paul bpt6k1100182m (1).jpg, Cochinchina in 1929


See also

*
Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; ; ; ; ) is a historical exonym and endonym, exonym for part of Vietnam, depending on the contexts, usually for Southern Vietnam. Sometimes it referred to the whole of Vietnam, but it was commonly used to refer t ...
*
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 ...
** Protectorate of Annam ** Protectorate of Tonkin *
List of administrators of the French colony of Cochinchina A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
List of French possessions and colonies From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire existed mainly in the Americas and Asia. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the second French colonial empire existed mainly in Africa and Asia. France had about 80 colonie ...
*
State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam (; chữ Hán: 國家越南; ) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The s ...


Notes


References


Works cited

* *


Further reading

* Encyclopedia of Asian History, Volume 4 (Vietnam) 1988. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. * ''Vietnam – A Long History'' by Nguyễn Khắc Viện (1999). Hanoi, Thế Giới Publishers
ArtHanoi Vietnamese money in historical context


{{coord missing, Vietnam Former countries in Vietnamese history Former colonies in Asia Former French colonies French colonisation in Asia Former countries in Southeast Asia States and territories established in 1862 States and territories established in 1945 States and territories disestablished in 1945 States and territories disestablished in 1949 1862 establishments in Vietnam 1945 establishments in Vietnam 1945 disestablishments in Vietnam 1949 disestablishments in Vietnam 1862 establishments in the French colonial empire 1945 establishments in the French colonial empire 1945 disestablishments in French Indochina 1949 disestablishments in French Indochina