Introduction
Since the onset of colonial conquest by French troops in 1858 followed by various multiple wars throughout the mid 20th century, countryside life in Vietnam has been centered on enhancing social changes together with focusing on national and international discourses such as economic policies, revolutions, and nation-building. Based on this fundamental argument, this paper focuses on investigating some of the major events that took place in Vietnam in the early 20th century (1890 to 1930), mid 20th century (1930 to1960), and later 20th century (1960 to 2000).
Early 20th century (1890 to 1930)
Vietnam was characterized by a series of alliances that were formed with the chief purpose of protecting the rights of people who believed they were exploited through the instruments of governance such as harsh court rulings made by colonial regimes. In the effort to curtail such uprisings, Hoi Ty prohibited the appointment of people into administrative posts if they came from the same region they were to serve (Byung 91). Even in the plight of this approach of enhancing governance, resistance was still eminent in the 1890 to 1930 era of Vietnamese history. For instance, Gia Dihn became under control of troops belonging to French, thus prompting the emergence of several movements formed through initiatives of the Vietnamese within all areas that were occupied by the French.
Such resistances were led by court officers and peasants including Nguyen Trung Truc. In particular, Nguyen Trung Truc formed Vietnamese history in this chronological historical period by deploying guerilla war strategies to sink gunship belonging to the French troops. In Northern Vietnam, court officers led movements, which fought until 1895. Within the mountains of the northern part of Vietnam, Hoang Hoa withstood fights against French until 1911. The resistance forces lacked modern weapons. This prevented their direct engagement with French troops in combats.
The above challenges led to the emergence of two main movements. Dong Du emerged in 1905 under the leadership of Phan Boi Chau. The main strategy of the movement was to train students in Japan on war skills for better engagement with French troops in combat in the future. Phan Chau Trinth started Duy Tan movement. The focus of Phan Chau Trinth was educating people to facilitate modernization. According to Phan Chau Trinth, modernization would facilitate efforts of peaceful coexistence between French and the people of Vietnam.
In the early part of the 20th century, Quoc Ngu alphabet also emerged. It was incorporated in the language of Vietnam people. The main goal was to make learning easier since the Vietnamese alphabet was considered too complicated for adoption informal learning. The two already-formed Vietnam movements were suppressed by the French, thus prompting the emergence of more radical ways of countering the French people (Quinn 82). This happened upon borrowing the experience of revolutions in both Russia and China. The Vietnamese Quang Phuc Hoi was involved in the planning together with organizing French resistance. This led to the capturing of Phan Boi Chau who was the leader of the movement in 1925. He was placed under house arrest. Later, in 1927, Vietnamese Quoc Dan Dang was formed. The party resolved to create Yen Bai mutiny in 1930 as an armed resistance force. This attempt led to the arresting followed by the execution of the leaders of the party including the chairman Nguyen Thai Hoc.
Mid 20th century (1930 to 1960)
Early 1930 formed a historic period in Vietnam when economic models were altered through the introduction of Marxism. In 1940, Japan attacked Indochina, thus ensuring that Vichy served the purpose of being the colonial administrator under the manipulation of Japan. In 1941, in the northern part of Vietnam, Vietnam Viet Minh was formed with the intention of leading fights for securing the independence of Vietnam (Duiker 252). Viet Minh worked in close collaboration with the U.S. to garner intelligence on the operation of Japan. Kuomintang also joined the Viet Minh. The movement was heavily armed with modern weapons, thus posing a major challenge to the capacity of Japan to keep in control of Vietnam. This led to the starving of many people of Vietnam until many of them died in 1944 through 1945.
Upon the defeat of the Japanese people by various nations that engaged in World War II, a power vacuum emerged in Vietnam. In 1944, leaders of Japan had arrived at a decision, “the time had finally come to dispose of the French colonial regime in Indochina” (Miller 437). These two factors constituted an incredible opportunity for communists operating in Vietnam to gain power in 1945 (Miller 437). However, French people were able to come attempting to recapture power. Nevertheless, Ho Chi Minh made a declaration that Vietnam was an independent nation referred to as the democratic republic of Vietnam by September 1945 (Miller 440). In 1946, the first national assembly elections were conducted. In the same year, Vietnam made the first draft of the constitution amid efforts of French to regain control. Indeed, war on a full scale emerged in 1946 between France and the Viet Minh group, thus marking the 1st Indochina war.
Upon noting that colonization was ending across the globe, France solicited for the formation of the semi-independent state. In 1954, war forces in Vietnam managed to defeat France, thus culminating in the 1954 Geneva Conference, which left Vietnam divided into two. The northern part was essentially led by communists who, according to Race, focused on “developing forces assimilated into rural communities” (648). The fight against landowners, who also happened to be the wealthiest people, culminated in the perishing of thousands of Vietnamese people. In fact, concerning Long, “in Tonkin, according to Gourou’s estimates of 1939, there were 586,000 landowners who held less than a Mau of cultivated land…and 250 who owned more than 100 Mau” (20). Land discrepancies in Tonkin were also replicated in other regions such as Annam. This discrepancy in land ownership reveals why peasants were discontented with the capitalist form of governance in the North. The south was dominated by religious and political resistance movements. Many of them were also mimed and killed.
Later 20th century (1960 to 2000)
From 1960 to 2000, Vietnam struggled to heal from past political and sociological tumultuous experiences. Through the second war of Indochina, communists managed to have Vietnam united (Duiker 252). This goal was achieved through the help of the people’s army of Vietnam together with Viet Cong forces that were derived from Northern Vietnam in 1968. Until 1968, the army of the Republic of Vietnam wanted to ensure that southern Vietnam remained independent from the logistical aid of the U.S. In 1973, Northern Vietnam defied the 1973 Paris pacts aimed at ending the war in Vietnam to give a room for free and fair election coupled with unifying northern and southern Vietnam.
When the U.S withdrew its army comprising 540,000 men and women, Southern Vietnam became weakened to the extent that its capital, Saigon, fell under the control of communists. Consequently, southern Vietnam army fell in the hands of Northern Vietnam in 1975. The city was later renamed in 1976 by the united government as Ho Chi Minh. Indeed, according to MacLean, post-1975 Vietnam was marked by an immense revolution of the ways of the past (284).
However, it is in this chronological period of Vietnam history that Kampuchea was invaded in 1979, thus leading to the toppling of Khmer Rouge. According to MacLean, this move “instigated a lengthy civil war backed by cold war powers and their proxies in the region, which lasted until 1991” (284).1979 also marked the time in which war broke at the border of Vietnam and China, thus leading to the death of about 100,000 people (Quinn 67). Additionally, many people of Vietnam ran away by boats to seek better lives in other places. This occurred in the 1970s through 1980s.
1975-1986 was a decade of intensive growth in Vietnam. MacLean supports this assertion by claiming that it was a period “marked by not only great collective hardships and suffering but also individual creativity and cleverness as well” (285). However, in this period, Vietnam also indulged in armed conflicts with other nations. For instance, Vietnam attacked Cambodia in 1978. China responded in 1979 to these attacks. Since then, relationships between Vietnam and China have been deteriorating, especially over border disputes for the South China Sea. It is also through this decade that Vietnam relations with the USSR were boosted. For instance, throughout the 1980s, Vietnam received about $3billion to boost its military and economic pillars of the nation. The decade was also marked by incredible improvements of public sector service delivery through a myriad of government reforms that were initiated in 1986.
Works Cited
Byung, Choi. Dismantling Southern Power: Chapter 3. London: Routlege, 2003. Print.
Duiker, William. Sacred War: Nationalism and Revolution in a Divided Vietnam. London: Routlege, 1997. Print.
Long, Ngo. Land Expropriation and Land Concession. New York: Word Press, 1999. Print.
MacLean, Ken. “The Rehabilitation of an Uncomfortable Past: Everyday Life in Vietnam during the Subsidy Period (1975-1986).” History and Anthropology 19.3(2008): 281-303. Print.
Miller, Edwards. “Vision Power and Agency: The Ascent of Ngo Dign Diem, 1945-45.”Journal of Southern Asian Studies 35.3(2004):433-458. Web.
Quinn, Judge. The Third Indochina War: Conflict Between China, Vietnam and Cambodia, 1972–79. London: Routlege, 2006. Print.
Race, Jeffrey. How They Won. New York: Word Press, 1970. Print.