History
See also: History of VietnamIn 1428, a Vietnamese general named Lê Lợi founded an independent dynasty in Vietnam which lasted till the end of the 18th century. For most of this period the titular sovereigns were puppets, real power being in the hands of the Trịnh family in Tongking and that of Nguyễn in the southern part of the country, which in 1568 became a separate principality under the name of Cochinchina.
Towards the end of the 18th century a rebellion overthrew the Nguyễn, but one of its members, Emperor Gia Long, by the aid of a French force, in 1801 acquired sway over the whole of present-day Vietnam (Annam, Tongking and Cochinchina). This force was procured for him by Pigneau de Béhaine, titular bishop of Adran, who saw in the political condition of Annam a means of establishing French influence in Indochina and counterbalancing the English power in India. Before this, in 1787, Gia Long had concluded a treaty with Louis XVI, whereby in return for a promise of aid he ceded Tourane and Pulo-Condore to the French. That treaty marks the beginning of French influence in Indochina.
Read more about this topic: Annam (French Protectorate)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“One classic American landscape haunts all of American literature. It is a picture of Eden, perceived at the instant of history when corruption has just begun to set in. The serpent has shown his scaly head in the undergrowth. The apple gleams on the tree. The old drama of the Fall is ready to start all over again.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)
“The history of American politics is littered with bodies of people who took so pure a position that they had no clout at all.”
—Ben C. Bradlee (b. 1921)
“The history of the genesis or the old mythology repeats itself in the experience of every child. He too is a demon or god thrown into a particular chaos, where he strives ever to lead things from disorder into order.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)