Thursday, December 6, 2012

French Colonialism - First (French) Indochina War


Ho Chi Minh
During French Colonial rule in the 1930's, the Vietnamese were becoming anti colonial, opposing French rule, especially considering that factories were all French run. The most prominent example being Ho Chi Minh communism in favour of colonialism proposition. In 1930 he created the Indochina Communist Party and was met with opposition by the French government, who had him condemned to death. After the fall of France to Germany in 1940, he was able to take advantage of this situation and shortly thereafter, he and his lieutenants entered Vietnam in 1941. Then he established the League for the Independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh), which replaced the former Indochina Communist Party. In 1945, he declared Vietnam independent, meeting greater resistance from the French government. Charles de Gaulle was the leader of France at the time and opposed Minh's take over of Vietnam and therefore sent in French troops, which reclaimed control of South Vietnam. Negotiations occurred between the two parties, but led nowhere. The stalemate was broken, when the French opened fire on Vietnamese, killing 6, 000 and starting the First (or French) Indochina War (1946 - 1954). Through guerrilla tactics, Minh's army was able to defeat the French, ending the war in a landslide for the Viet Minh at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. France had built up an developed Vietnam as colony to supply the entire empire with rubber. With the loss of this colony in 1954, it was no longer self sufficient. As well, the loss of the colony, meant that the French Empire lost a market for the empire's goods, as Vietnam could no longer have French goods forced upon them.
Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu Map

Citations
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Indochina wars," accessed December 05, 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/286443/Indochina-wars.

Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Ho Chi Minh," accessed December 05, 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/268300/Ho-Chi-Minh.

Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Battle of Dien Bien Phu," accessed December 05, 2012, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/162678/Battle-of-Dien-Bien-Phu.

"Dien Bien Phu,"  accessed December 8, 2012,http://www.mekongexpress.com/laos/general/dbp_battlemap.htm

"A Day That Shook ...," accessed December 8, 2012, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/a-day-that-shook-the-world-french-surrender-at-dien-bien-phu-2234619.html

2 comments:

  1. Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.

    Your article is very well done, a good read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.

    Your article is very well done, a good read.

    ReplyDelete