-
Period: to
First France-Vietnam Relation
France–Vietnam relations started as early as the 17th century with the mission of the Jesuit missionary Alexandre de Rhodes. At this time, Vietnam was only just beginning to occupy the Mekong Delta, former territory of the Indianized kingdom of Champa which they had defeated in 1471. -
Period: to
European Involvement
European involvement in Vietnam was confined to trade during the 18th century. -
Pigneau de Béhaine
Pigneau de Béhaine, a French Catholic priest, petitioned the French government and organized French military volunteers to aid Nguyễn Ánh in retaking lands his family lost to the Tây Sơn. Pigneau died in Viet Nam, his troops fought on until 1802 in the French assistance to Nguyễn Ánh. -
Period: to
French involvement
France was heavily involved in Vietnam in the 19th century in regards to protecting the work of the Paris Foreign Missions Society in the country. The Nguyễn Dynasty increasingly saw Catholic missionaries as a political threat; courtesans, for example, an influential faction in the dynastic system, feared for their status in a society influenced by an insistence on monogamy. -
Period: to
Vietnamese rebellions
French troops landed in Vietnam in 1858 and by the mid-1880s they had established a firm grip over the northern region. From 1885 to 1895, Phan Đình Phùng led a rebellion against the colonizing power. -
French attack on Da Nang
In 1858, the brief period of unification under the Nguyễn Dynasty ended with a successful attack on Da Nang by French Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly under the orders of Napoleon III. Genouilly's orders were to stop the persecution of missionaries and assure the unimpeded propagation of the faith. In September, 14 French gunships, 3,000 men and 300 Filipino troops attacked the port of Tourane, causing significant damage and occupying the city. -
Capture of Saigon
De Genouilly captured the poorly defended city of Saigon on 18 February 1859. -
French gain of Bien Hoa, Gia Dinh & Dinh Tuong
On 13 April 1862, the Vietnamese government was forced to cede the three provinces of Biên Hòa, Gia Định and Định Tường to France. -
French gain of ports in Annam, Tonkin &Cochinchina
In 1862, France obtained concessions from Emperor Tự Đức, ceding three treaty ports in Annam and Tonkin, and all of Cochinchina, the latter being formally declared a French territory in 1864. -
French protectorate over Cambodia
The Cambodian king Norodom had requested the establishment of a French protectorate over his country. -
French territory gain of Chau Doc, Ha Tien and Vinh Long
In 1867 the provinces of Chau Doc, Ha Tien and Vĩnh Long were added to French-controlled territory. -
Siam renounced suzerainty
Siam renounced suzerainty over Cambodia and officially recognized the 1863 French protectorate on Cambodia, in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Siam. -
Sino-French War
France obtained control over northern Vietnam following its victory over China in the Sino-French war (1884–1885). -
Formation of French Indochina
French Indochina was formed in from Annam, Tonkin, Cochinchina (which together form modern Vietnam). -
Franco-Siamese war
Territorial conflict in the Indochinese peninsula for the expansion of French Indochina led to the Franco-Siamese War of 1893. The French authorities in Indochina used border disputes, followed by the Paknam naval incident, to provoke a crisis. The result led to Siam giving up its claim to the Thai-speaking Shan region of north-eastern Burma to the British, and cede Laos to France. -
Period: to
French encroachments on Siam
The French continued to pressure Siam, and in 1906–1907 they manufactured another crisis. Siam had to concede French control of territory on the west bank of the Mekong in southern Laos, as well as western Cambodia. -
Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang
In 1930, there was an uprising by Vietnamese soldiers in the French colonial army's Yen Bai garrison. The Yên Bái mutiny was sponsored by the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDD). which was the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The aim of the revolt was to inspire a wider uprising among the general populace in an attempt to overthrow the colonial authority. -
Period: to
World War II
In September 1940, during World War II, the newly created regime of Vichy France granted Japan's demands for military access to Tonkin with the invasion of French Indochina. Thailand took this opportunity of weakness to reclaim previously lost territories, resulting in the French-Thai War between October 1940 and 9 May 1941. On 9 March 1945, with France liberated, Germany in retreat, and the United States ascendant in the Pacific, Japan decided to take complete control of Indochina. -
Period: to
French-Thai War
During World War II, Thailand took the opportunity of French weaknesses to reclaim previously lost territories, resulting in the French-Thai War. In January, Vichy French naval forces decisively defeated Thai naval forces in the Battle of Koh Chang. The war ended in May at the instigation of the Japanese, with the French forced to concede territorial gains for Thailand. -
Period: to
First Indochina War
After the war, France petitioned for the nullification of the 1938 Franco-Siamese Treaty and attempted to reassert itself in the region, but came into conflict with the Viet Minh.
On September 2, 1945 President Ho Chi Minh declared independence for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. However, before September's end, a force of British and French soldiers, restored French control. In 1950 Ho again declared an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Fighting lasted until May 1954. -
End of the federation
In the four protectorates, the French formally left the local rulers in power, who were the Emperors of Vietnam, Kings of Cambodia, and Kings of Luang Prabang. The French did in fact gather all the powers, in which the local rulers acted only as figureheads. -
The Geneva Agreements
The Geneva Agreements was held between North Vietnam and France.
Provisions included:
• Supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Indochina,
• Granting independence from France,
• Declaring the end of hostilities and foreign involvement in Indochina affairs,
• Outlining northern and southern zones into which opposing troops were to withdraw. France did withdraw, turning the north over to the Communists while the Bao Dai regime kept control of the South.
