Saigon > Thành Pho Ho Chí Minh Ho Chí Minh Thành Pho Vietnam
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The Vietnamese—who, unlike other Southeast Asian peoples, have patterned their culture and their civilization on those of China—had by the late fifteenth century defeated the once-powerful kingdom of Champa in central Vietnam.
Thousands of Chams flee into Khmer territory.
By the early seventeenth century, the Vietnamese have reached the Mekong Delta, which is inhabited by Khmer people.
In 1620 the Khmer king Chey Chettha II (1618-28) marries a daughter of Sai Vuong, one of the Nguyen lords (1558-1778), who rules southern Vietnam for most of the period of the restored Le dynasty (1428-1788).
Three years later, Chey Chettha allows the Vietnamese to establish a custom-house at Prey Nokor, near what is today Ho Chi Minh City (until 1975, Saigon).
By the end of the seventeenth century, the region is under Vietnamese administrative control, and Cambodia is cut off from access to the sea
Trade with the outside world is possible only with Vietnamese permission.
The preoccupation of Cambodia's neighbors with internal or external strife during periods in the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries afford the beleaguered country a breathing spell.
The Vietnamese had been involved in a lengthy civil war until 1674, but upon its conclusion they had promptly annexed sizable areas of contiguous Cambodian territory in the region of the Mekong Delta.
For the next one hundred years they use the alleged mistreatment of Vietnamese colonists in the delta as a pretext for their continued expansion.
By the end of the eighteenth century, they have extended their control to include the area encompassed today by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam).
The Nguyen, at last recognizing the serious scale of the revolt, make peace with the Siamese, giving up some land they had conquered in previous decades.
However, their problems are compounded when Trịnh Sam chooses to end the one hundred-year peace and exploit the turmoil in the south by sending his army to attack Phú Xuân (modern day Huế), the Nguyen capital.
The Trịnh army captures the city, forcing the Nguyen to flee to Gia Định (later called Saigon).
The Trịnh army continues to head south and the Tay Son army continues its conquest of other southern cities.
The Nguyen are unpopular at this time, and the forces against them are too powerful.
The Tay Son army captures Gia Định, the last Nguyen stronghold, in 1776, and massacres the town's Han Chinese population.
The entire Nguyen family is killed at the end of the siege, except for one nephew, Nguyen Ánh, who manages to escape to Siam.
While they say they want to restore power to the Lê, one of the brothers, Nguyen Nhạc, proclaims himself Emperor in 1778.
A conflict with the Trịnh is thus unavoidable.
Minh Mạng was willing to sign a contract, but only to purchase artillery, firearms, uniforms and books.
White was of the opinion that the deal was not sufficiently advantageous and nothing was implemented.
In 1821, a trade agreement from Louis XVIII was turned away, with Minh Mạng indicating that no special deal would be offered to any country.
That same year, British East India Company agent John Crawfurd made another English attempt at contact, but was only allowed to disembark in the northern ports of Tonkin; he gained no agreements, but concluded relations with France posed no threat to Company trade.
In particular, Minh Mạng has prosecuted Lê Văn Duyệt, a former faithful general of Emperor Gia Long, who had opposed his enthronement.
Since Lê Văn Duyệt had already died in July 1832, his tomb is profaned and inscribed with the words "This is the place where the infamous Lê Văn Duyệt was punished".
Soon, numerous people join the revolt, in the desire to avenge Lê Văn Duyệt and challenge the legitimacy of the Nguyễn dynasty.
Lê Văn Khôi declares himself in favor of the restoration of the line of Prince Cảnh, the original heir to Gia Long according to the rule of primogeniture, in the person of his remaining son An-hoa.
This choice is designed to obtain the support of Catholic missionaries and Vietnamese Catholics, who had supported the line of Prince Cảnh with Lê Văn Duyệt.
Lê Văn Khôi further promises to protect Catholicism.
The rebels had managed to take the Citadel of Saigon (Thanh Phien-an) on May 18, 1833, and Lê Văn Khôi is able to conquer six provinces of Gia Dinh in the span of one month.
The main actors of the revolt are Vietnamese Christians and Chinese settlers who have been suffering from the rule of Minh Mạng.
Rama III, king of Siam, had accepted the offer and sent troops to attack the Vietnamese provinces of Ha-tien and An-giang and Vietnamese imperial forces in Laos and Cambodia.
The Siamese troops are accompanied by two thousand Vietnamese Catholic troops under the command of Father Nguyen Van Tam.
These Siamese and Vietnamese forces are repelled in summer 1834 by General Truong Minh Giang.
Lê Văn Khôi dies in 1834, during the siege, and is succeeded by his 8-year-old son Le Van Cu.
Even the French are surprised by the ease with which the Vietnamese agree to the humiliating treaty.
Why, after successfully resisting invasions by the Chinese for the previous nine hundred years, does the monarchy give in so readily to French demands?
Aside from the seriousness of the loss of Saigon and the possible overestimation of French strength, it appears that the isolation of the monarchy from the people created by decades of repression prevents Tu Duc and his court from attempting to rally the necessary popular support to drive out the French.
In fact, by placating the French in the south, Tu Duc hopes to free his forces to put down a widespread Christian-supported rebellion in Bac Bo, which he indeed crushes by 1865.
French missionaries, who have urged their government to support this rebellion, are disillusioned when it does not succeed, especially after thousands of Christians are slaughtered by Tu Duc's forces following the rebellion.
The missionaries, however, served only as an initial excuse for French intervention in Vietnam; military and economic interests soon became the primary reasons for remaining here.
The French expeditionary force conquers the poorly defended city of Gia Dinh (present Saigon) and three southern Vietnamese provinces—Bien Hoa, Gia Dinh and Dinh Tuong—on February 18, 1859.