A UVM blog French Colonization of Vietnam

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French Colonization of Vietnam

1. The French had invaded what is now referred to as Vietnam in the mid 1800s. The ensuing French colonial economy was based on several exploitative and extractive industries in many different sectors. Rice, coal, rubber, and some rare earth minerals were all obtained and exported by the French, who of course held all control and reaped the benefits from the export of these products. The indigenous Vietnamese people, mostly landless peasants, were the main source of labor and were subjugated in order to work to obtain these resources for the French. 
2. The French essentially held all of the political and bureaucratic power in Vietnam during their occupation. Vietnamese people had no civil rights, and the economic development of Vietnam was not a priority whatsoever; the economic output was channeled only to the French. In fact, Vietnamese literacy rates and education rates dropped during French occupation. French law code was established to replace the Chinese system Vietnam had before. Positions in the government were occupied by the French, with some lower level positions being occupied by Chinese aligned with the French. Infrastructure like railroads and roads were established by the French, but only to make resource extraction more efficient. The Vietnamese people were completely removed from the fruits of their labor. Order was sustained through military force, the French had vastly superior technology to the Vietnamese and the French Navy was used to subjugate the people. 
3. Napoleon III invaded Vietnam in order to increase the size of the French Empire in an attempt to rival the size of the British Empire. French missionaries worked to convert the Vietnamese to Christianity, as a way of justifying their colonial presence by ‘saving’ them. One of my images depicts several Vietnamese Catholics participating in a service, these people would have been converted by French missionaries. As the colony was established, it served mainly as a site of raw material extraction to serve French markets. The French thought that the Vietnamese were uncivilized people, so by colonizing them they thought they were bringing civilization to them. Actually, the people of Vietnam faced extreme exploitation at the hands of the French.

 bvi4092. (2016). Ho Chi Minh City Hall and Statue. Flickr. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/bvi4092/27111511846.

joolsgriff. (2015). Old French colonial-era house in Hanoi, Vietnam. French Colonial Architecture. Flickr. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/38381308@N04/19829619849.

manhhai. (2013). Vietnam Catholic Tribesmen Bang Gongs. KONTUM 1972 – Vietnam Catholic Tribesmen Bang Gongs. Flickr. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/10687318344. 

New York Public Library. (2015). Saigon. Le Théâtre Municipal. Jeni Kirby History. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/amp/media/saigon-le-theatre-municipal-78df2a.

dronepicr. (2017). Presidential Palace Hanoi. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Presidential_Palace_Hanoi_%2838834565094%29.jpg.

Several of these images depict French architecture in Vietnam. Buildings like the Presidential Palace and the theatre would have been used solely by the French. A complete stratification of society was the reality here, with Vietnamese people being exploited for their labor and the French raking in huge benefits from the export of these products.