Indo-china

1 29 The Nationalist Movement in Indo-ChinaVietnam gained formal independence in 1945, before India, butit took another three decades of fighting before the Republicof Vietnam was formed. This chapter on Indo-china willintroduce you to one of the important states of the peninsula, namely,Vietnam. Nationalism in Indo-china developed in a colonial knitting together of a modern Vietnamese nation that broughtthe different communities together was in part the result ofcolonisation but, as importantly, it was shaped by the struggle againstcolonial you see the historical experience of Indo-china in relation to thatof India, you will discover important differences in the way colonialempires functioned and the anti-imperial movement developed.

2 Bylooking at such differences and similarities you can understand thevariety of ways in which nationalism has developed and shaped thecontemporary Nationalist Movement in Indo-ChinaChapter IIThe Nationalist Movement Map of and the Contemporary World301 Emerging from the Shadow of ChinaIndo-China comprises the modern countries of Vietnam, Laos andCambodia (see Fig. 1). Its early history shows many different groupsof people living in this area under the shadow of the powerfulempire of China.

3 Even when an independent country was establishedin what is now northern and central Vietnam, its rulers continuedto maintain the Chinese system of government as well asChinese was also linked to what has been called the maritime silkroute that brought in goods, people and ideas. Other networks oftrade connected it to the hinterlands where non-Vietnamese peoplesuch as the Khmer Cambodians 2 The port of port was founded by Portuguese merchants. It was one ofthe ports used by European trading companies much before thenineteenth Colonial Domination and ResistanceThe colonisation of Vietnam by the French brought the people ofthe country into conflict with the colonisers in all areas of life.

4 Themost visible form of French control was military and economicdomination but the French also built a system that tried to reshapethe culture of the Vietnamese. Nationalism in Vietnam emergedthrough the efforts of different sections of society to fight againstthe French and all they Nationalist Movement in Indo-ChinaFig. 3 Francis Garnier, a French officer who ledan attack against the ruling Nguyen dynasty,being killed by soldiers of the was part of the French team that exploredthe Mekong river.

5 In 1873 he was commissionedby the French to try and establish a Frenchcolony in Tonkin in the north. Garnier carried outan attack on Hanoi, the capital of Tonkin, but waskilled in the troops landed in Vietnam in 1858and by the mid-1880s they had establisheda firm grip over the northern the Franco-Chinese war theFrench assumed control of Tonkin andAnaam and, in 1887, French Indo-Chinawas formed. In the following decadesthe French sought to consolidatetheir position, and people in Vietnambegan reflecting on the nature of theloss that Vietnam was suffering.

6 Nationalistresistance developed out of this 4 The Mekong river, engraving by the French Exploratory Force, in which Garnier and mapping rivers was part of the colonial enterprise everywhere in the world. Colonisers wanted to knowthe route of the rivers, their origin, and the terrain they passed through. The rivers could then be properly used fortrade and transport. During these explorations innumerable pictures and maps were and the Contemporary World32 The famous blind poet Ngyuyen Dinh Chieu (1822-88) bemoanedwhat was happening to his country.

7 I would rather face eternal darknessThan see the faces of would rather see no manThan encounter one man s would rather see nothingThan witness the dismembering of the countryin Why the French thought Colonies NecessaryColonies were considered essential to supply natural resources andother essential goods. Like other Western nations, France also thoughtit was the mission of the advanced European countries to bringthe benefits of civilisation to backward French began by building canals and draining lands in the Mekongdelta to increase cultivation.

8 The vast system of irrigation works canals and earthworks built mainly with forced labour, increasedrice production and allowed the export of rice to the internationalmarket. The area under rice cultivation went up from 274,000hectares in 1873 to million hectares in 1900 and million in1930. Vietnam exported two-thirds of its rice production and by1931 had become the third largest exporter of rice in the was followed by infrastructure projects to help transport goodsfor trade, move military garrisons and control the entire of a trans- Indo-china rail network that would linkthe northern and southern parts of Vietnam and China was final link with Yunan in China was completed by 1910.

9 Thesecond line was also built, linking Vietnam to Siam (as Thailand wasthen called), via the Cambodian capital of Phnom the 1920s, to ensure higher levels of profit for their businesses,French business interests were pressurising the government in Vietnamto develop the infrastructure Should Colonies be Developed?Everyone agreed that colonies had to serve the interests of the mothercountry. But the question was how? Some like Paul Bernard, aninfluential writer and policy-maker, strongly believed that theImagine a conversation between a Frenchcoloniser and a Vietnamese labourer in thecanal project.

10 The Frenchman believes he isbringing civilization to backward people andthe Vietnamese labourer argues against it. Inpairs act out the conversation they may havehad, using evidence from the Nationalist Movement in Indo-Chinaeconomy of the colonies needed to be developed. He argued thatthe purpose of acquiring colonies was to make profits. If theeconomy was developed and the standard of living of the peopleimproved, they would buy more goods. The market wouldconsequently expand, leading to better profits for French suggested that there were several barriers to economicgrowth in Vietnam: high population levels, low agriculturalproductivity and extensive indebtedness amongst the peasants.