The Nationalist Movement in Indo-China

RELIGION AND ANTI-COLONIALISM

Religious beliefs of Vietnam were a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism and local practices.

The French introduced Christianity, their Missionaries were hostile to the easy-going attitude of the Vietnamese towards religion.

Scholars' Revolt of 1868 : Led by officials of the Imperial Court. Uprising in Ngu An and Ha Tien provinces killed a thousand Catholics. By the middle of the 18th century 300,000 people converted to Christianity. Revolt suppressed by the French.

The Hoa Hao Movement began in 1939 under its founder Huynh Phu So.

He performed miracles, helped the poor, opposed sale of brides, gambling and use of opium and alcohol.

The French declared him mad and sent him to a mental asylum. Freed in 1946, but exiled

to Laos. Followers sent to concentration camps.

THE VISION OF MODERNISATION

Two opinions held

(i)Vietnamese traditions had to be strengthened to resist western domination.

(ii)The second school felt that the Vietnamese had to learn from the West, while resisting its domination.

Phan Boi Chau (1867-1940) formed the 'Revolution Society' (Duy Tan Hoi) in 1903 with Prince Cuong De as the lead. He wrote a book, 'History of the Loss of Vietnam' under the influence of the Chinese reformer Liang Qichao (1873-1929). He believed that the French should be driven out first and then monarchy should be restored in Vietnam.

Phan Chu Trinh (1871-1926) differed strongly. He was totally opposed to monarchy and wanted to establish a democratic republic.

Go East Movement : Some 300 Vietnamese students went to Japan in 1907-08 to acquire modern education. Their aim was to drive out the French and re-establish the Ngu Yen dynasty. They wanted Japanese help and established a Restoration Society in Tokyo. But after 1908, the Japanese closed the society, and sent many of them, including Phan Boi Chau to exile in China and Thailand.

When Sun Yat Sen overthrew monarchy in China in 1911, a new association - Association for Restoration of Vietnam was formed. Their objective was to have a Democratic Republic and a Constitutional Monarchy in Vietnam.

THE COMMUNIST MOVEMENT AND VIETNAMESE NATIONALISM

The Great Depression of the 1930s led to unemployment, debts and rural uprisings in Vietnam.

A new leader, Ho Chi Minh, appeared on the scene in 1930. He established the Vietnamese

Communist (Vietnam Cong San Dang) Party, inspired by Europeon communists.

Ho Chi Minh (He who enlightens) was born in Central Vietnam; later became an active member of the committee. He met Lenin and other leaders. After 30 years stay in Europe, Thailand and China he returned to Vietnam in May 1941. He became President of Vietnam Democratic Republic.

In 1940, Japan occupied Vietnam. The League for the Independence of Vietnam (known as the Viet Minh) fought the Japanese, recaptured Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh became the chairman of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in September 1943.

Vietnamese Nationalism : The French set up a puppet regime under Bao Dai as Emperor.

After years of fighting, the French were finally defeated in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu.

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1953-1954)

On 7 May, 1954, more than 16,000 soldiers of the French army were either killed or captured.

The entire French commanding staff, including a General, 16 Colonels, 1749 officers were taken prisoner.

Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh and Bao Dai became rulers in north and south respectively.

The division led to war. The Bau Dai regime was overthrown by Ngo Dinh Diem. The south united and formed the National Liberation Front (NLF) and fought for unification of the country under Ho Chi Minh.

Fear of communism made the US intervene in Vietnam and a bitter war was fought during

1965-1972. Thousands of  US troops arrived equipped with heavy weapons and tanks and backed by  B52s. Use of chemical weapons – Napalm, Agent Orange, and phosphorous bombs – destroyed many villages.

The effect of the war was felt within the US as well. Many were critical of the government for getting involved in a war. Hollywood made films in support of the war such as ‘Green Berets’ 1968. Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Apocalypse Now’ 1979 reflected the moral confusion that the war created in the US. US underestimated the power of a small country to fight the most technologically advanced country in the world.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail

The story of the Ho Chi Minh symbolises how the Vietnamese used their limited resources to great advantage. The trail, an immense network of footpaths and roads, was used to transport men and materials from the north to the south.

The US regularly bombed this trail trying to disrupt supplies, but efforts to destroy this important supply line by intensive bombing failed because they were rebuilt very quickly.

THE NATION AND ITS HEROES THE END OF WAR

Women played no role in public life of the Vietnamese, but the freedom struggle led to an emerging new image of womanhood.

In 1913, the nationalist Phan Boi Chau wrote a play based on the lives of the Trung sisters who had fought against Chinese domination in 39-43.

One of  the most venerated was Trieu Au who lived in the third century CE.

In the 1960s, photographs in magazines and journals showed women as brave fighters, Nguyen Thi Xuan, for instance, was reputed to have shot down a jet with just twenty bullets.

The image of the warrior woman was replaced with the image of worker woman, in the

1970s, when the end of the war was near.

The US failed to achieve its objectives in the US Vietnam war. The US-Vietnam war was called the first television war. The prolongation of the war created strong reactions even within

the US. Many became disillusioned with what the US was doing and writers such as Mary McCarthy, and actors like Jane Fonda even visited North Vietnam and praised their heroic defence of  the country. The scholar Noam Chomsky called the war ‘the greatest threat to peace, to national self-determination, and to international cooperation’.

Finally peace was restored in 1974.

On 30 April, 1975 the North Liberation Front (NLF) occupied the presidential palace in Saigon and unified Vietnam.