From 111BC until independence in 938AD, Vietnam was part of the Chinese Empire. This long period of Chinese rule left it's mark on the Vietnamese language, its religion and the appearance of its buildings. The Vietnamese were strongly Buddhist. In the 17th century, French Christian missionaries arrived. At first they received a friendly welcome, but this changed to hostility when they began converting the people to the Catholic religion. This became so disruptive that, in 1857, French Troops were sent in to protect the Catholic community. This was the first time that the French government became involved in Vietnam and it gave them an excuse to expand their overseas empire. Hostility continued. In 1858, the French Emperor, Napoleon III (shown below), sent 14 ships and 2500 troops to the port of Tourane (now Danang). Fighting continued until 1868 when the Vietnamese emperor surrendered and made a peace treaty with France. In 1885, the Chinese signed an agreement accepting French control over Vietnam. In 1893, the French added Laos and Cambodia to their empire which, together with Vietnam, became known as French Indo-China.
Vietnam had valuable natural resources. By the turn of the century, the French were taking advantage of everything her new colony had to offer - large amounts of coal, tin, zinc and rubber were being sent to France and Vietnam was becoming a market for French manufactured goods. By 1938, 57% of all Vietnam's imports were produced by French firms. To exploit these benefits fully, the French increased their control over the country. They built a system of roads, canals and railways to transport raw materials and finished goods.
When it came to governing the colony, the highest officials were French, but at the middle and lower levels, the French made use of the Vietnamese. Many of these had become Catholics and had learnt to speak French in French schools. Some of these pro-French Vietnamese became rich and powerful, but for the peasants and ordinary Vietnamese, life remained hard. The people paid taxes to the French to meet the cost of developing the country. Those who were unable to pay these taxes had to sell their land and work in the mines or on the rubber plantations. The protests that followed were put down by force. Some of the protest leaders decided to leave the country, rather than risk death. One of these was Ho Chi Minh, who was to become the leader of the movement for Vietnamese independence.
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