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French influence in Asia
- Roman Catholic missionaries from France began to arrive in Dai Viet in the 1600's, converting thousands of Vietnamese to Catholicism.
- From the 1600's to the early 1800's, Vietnamese rulers persecuted the missionaries.
- French influence nevertheless continued to develop in Indochina (Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos) during the 1880's.
- 1858 Emperor Napoleon III sent an expedition to avenge the murder of some missionaries and gain a foothold.
- France seized Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1861.
- France forced the Vietnamese to give up parts of Southern Vietnam by 1867.
- Between 1874 and 1884 France set up protectorates in Northern and Central Vietnam and Southern Vietnam became a French colony.
- 1863, France occupied Kampuchea making it a protectorate.
- Late 1880's, France defeated Thai forces ultimately controlling Louangphrabang by 1893.
- 1917 Louangphrabang was a protectorate and Champasak and Vientiane formed a French colony.
- When France surrendered to Germany in 1940, the Japanese took advantage by moving forces into Indochina.
- The Japanese let the French remain in office as puppet rulers.
- March 1945, Japanese interned all French officials.
- Japanese forced Emperor of Vietnam to declare independence and to organise a government friendly to Japan.
- Vietnam remained under Japanese control until the end of the war.
- September 1945 Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent.
- British and Chinese troops arrived in Vietnam to accept Japanese surrender. This had the effect of holding Vietnam for the French whose first forces soon arrived.
- French quickly re-established South Vietnam but relations with the Vietminh (Ho Chi Minh's north) deteriorated.
- Poor relationships and fighting continued ultimately ending in 1954 with the French defeat at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam was divided into two parts, North Vietnam and South Vietnam at the Geneva Conference, at which Laos was also established as a neutral country. Ho Chi Minh became president of North Vietnam. In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem was elected President of South Vietnam.
- After World War II Kampuchea moved towards independence. France recognised its independence in 1953.
(World Book: 1992: V 20: 374; V 12: 59; V 3: 46)