The French in Annam

(1858-62)

The French had had interests in Annam (Vietnam) since the beginning of the 17^th Century, increasing its activities over time:  for example using its merchant ships and navy to intervene in the persecution of Vietnamese Catholics in the 1840’s.

When the French wanted to increase their commercial control of the area, seeking to rival the British in Singapore and Hong Kong, it was therefore easy for the government of Napoleon III to use continuing reports of the persecution of Catholics (all grossly exaggerated) as an opportunity for the acquisition of territory in South Vietnam.

In 1858, a joint Franco-Spanish expedition proceeded to Vietnam ostensibly to save missionaries from persecution.  The Spanish quit after being given assurances of non-persecution by the Vietnamese government, but the French landed at Tourane (modern day Danang) in August 1858, and demanded that they be allowed to install a Consulate and Commercial Attache.

Their demands were rejected and some missionaries killed, so on September 2^nd the French forces attacked the garrison of Tourane and took the city.

The French continued to fight their way into the country, taking Saigon on 17^th February 1859; and gaining control of most of the Gia Dinh region in 1861.  The Vietnamese government, led by Emperor Tu Doc, realizing that it was powerless to resist the modern army of the French and needing its troops to put down a revolt in North Vietnam, secured a treaty with the French in 1862.  This treaty gave the French formal control of the areas of South Vietnam that they had already taken, and the right to navigate the Mekong river.

The French renamed this area of South Vietnam Cochin China, and continued their expansion.  In 1863, they announced that they had taken over the protectorate of Kampuchea (modern day Cambodia) that had previously been held, against bitter revolts, by the Vietnamese; and in 1867, made Cochin China a French colony, having now established complete control over the region.

BACK