Vietnam History - A Brief Overview

In the nineteenth century, the French colonial empire was heavily involved in Vietnam, often to protect the work of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Napoleon III sent the warship Rigault de Genouilly to attack Da Nang, the port city. Though the fleet suffered heavy damage, it was unable to gain a foothold in the city. In addition to its failure to take the city, the ship also suffered from the humidity and tropical diseases. The army eventually sailed south to capture the weakly defended city of Gia Dinh.

In 1258, the Mongols invade the country and drive them out. In 1407, the Chinese regain control of the country and the Chinese rule for a century. The Chinese ruled Vietnam until 544. In the first years of the Le Dynasty, Ly Nam De, an engineer, founds the Early Ly Dynasty and becomes the first emperor of the country. In the same year, Ngo Quyen leads the Vietnamese forces in the Battle of Bach Dang, becoming king and founding the Ngo Dynasty. In 1009, the French invade the country, and Ho Chi Minh forms the Communist Party of the Republic of Viet Nam.

The Chinese ruled Viet Nam for over a thousand years and occupied the country until 939. The Vietnamese people fought against various foreign invasions and were forced to fight for their independence. The Vietnamese people remained determined and bravely resisted, launching hundreds of uprisings and revolutions against their enemies. And they did not give up. They continued to struggle to survive and even to establish their nation as an independent nation.

The Cold War divided the country and prompted the creation of a communist state. China recognized the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1950. The United States followed a policy of containment during the war. The Truman Doctrine outlined that the United States would assist democratic countries battling communist forces. Eisenhower proposed the Domino Theory, which stated that a communist victory in Vietnam would lead to anarchy in Southeast Asia.

The French and Chinese imperialists conquered the country in the second century B.C. The Chinese were the first to arrive in the area. The Vietnamese people struggled to resist their oppressors and maintain their national identity. In 1516, Portuguese sailors and Catholic missionaries came to Vietnam. In the fifteenth century, the French and other Europeans began trading in the country. The French were also the first to establish an administrative state in Vietnam, but they had a limited presence. Click here for more details about Lịch Sử Việt Nam

In June 1976, the two countries reunite. The French took over the southern part of the country and reestablished the Han Chinese in the north. In the late 1970s, Vietnam expanded its control over the region. It overthrew the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia and established a military presence in Laos. Its actions alienated the Chinese and created a short border war between the two countries. In the same year, the US invades and ends the war with the Leng and Nguyen dynasties.