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Education
Education in Vietnam under French colonial rule was limited to say the least. Struggles between leaders in the early twentieth century saw reformed policies that were revoked under successors and little advancement in educational strategies. By 1930 only ten percent of school-age Vietnamese children went to school and the next decade saw only about 500 individuals with the opportunity to go to a lycées, or college. -
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Phat Diem Cathedral
A Vietnamese priest oversaw the construction of the cathedral at Phat Diem which reflected traditional Asian architecture instead of European trends. While it follows the general pattern for a European church, the curling roofs, massive interior columns, and the scarlet red lacquer altar work stand as an ode to traditional Sino-Vietnamese Buddhist temples. -
Phan Boi Chau in Japan
Phan Boi Chau was a Vietnamese native who traveled to Japan in 1905 and met Chinese revolutionaries and reformers. He realized he shared their Confucianist backgrounds as well as their current situation with an unstable government in the home country. His "Travel East" Movement saw approimately 200 young Vietnamese minds travel to Japan for educational purposes and exposure. He increasingly advocated expelling the French through violent revolution. -
Phan Chu Trinh's School
Phan Chu Trinh, another Vietnamese radical, although a bit more politically conservative than Phan Boi Chau, founded a school based on his idolization of Fukuzawa Yukichi and Western-style "enlightenment." He drew much influence from the West in terms of fashion and education, and was skilled in the art of debate. -
Peasant Demonstrations and Riots
In the late nineteenth and very early twentieth centuries, the French colonial regime in Vietnam made most of its profit by importing opium, wine, and salt. New demands for unpaid labor increased and exploited the Vietnamese citizens. This led to demonstrations and riots by Vietnamese peasants in 1908. This was repressed by the colonial police and further suppressed the native population. -
Phan Boi Chau's Expulsion
Due to his violent nature and revolutionary ideals that were being preached through Vietnam, Japan and France agreed on the terms of Phan's exxpulsion from Japan and the end of his movement. -
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Phan Boi Chau's Resurrection and Defeat
Upon his expulsion from Japan and an end to his movement in Vietnam, Phan traveled to China to try and gain support. 1913 was the year he masterminded terrorirst incidents in Vietnam that resulted in the death of two French army officers and a high-placed collaborator. Due to this resurrection of revolution, he was sentenced to death but remained abroad until French authorities captured him in 1925 and put him on another trial for a new death sentence. -
Creation of Cao Dai
Cao Dai, a new religion founded by an official in the French service, was based on the ideas of spirtualism and séances, or communication with spirits. The religion stemmed from ideas of Daoism, seen through Cao Dai holding the most supreme existence in the faith and followers living their lives based on Confucian morals and Buddhist beliefs in karma and reincarnation. The religion idolized modern exemplars as well: Sun Yat-sen, Victor Hugo, and Nguyen Binh Khiem. All were revolutionaries. -
Nguyen An Ninh's Trial
A writer, acitvist and revolutionary against the French in Vietnam, Nguyen was put on trial for preaching ideas against the French. After his release from jail he was drawn to, but did not join, Cao Dai. He remained politically active and was eventually killed in prison by the French who believed the Japanese would use him. -
Yen Bay Mutiny
An uprising of Vietnamese soldiers in the French colonial army in collaboration with civilian supporters who were members of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. Vietnamese had little success and there was no real impact on the French in the short or long runs.