French Indochina

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Indochinese Federation

Fédération indochinoise (French)

សហភាពឥណ្ឌច ូ ន
ិ (Khmer)
Liên bang Đông Dương (Vietnamese)

1887–1945
1945–1954

Flag

Government Emblem

Anthem:

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0:00
"La Marseillaise"
 Green: French Indochina, excluding Guangzhouwan
Dark grey: Other French possessions
Darkest grey: France

Status Federation of French colonial

possessions

Capital  Saigon (1887–1902)

 Hanoi (1902–1945)
 Saigon (1945–1954)

Common languages French (official)

 Vietnamese
 Khmer
 Lao
 Cantonese
 Tây Bồi

Religion  Buddhism
 Taoism
 Confucianism
 Vietnamese folk religion
 Roman Catholicism

Government French federation

Governor-General

Historical era New Imperialism

• First establishment 17 October 1887

• Addition of Laos 3 October 1893
• Addition of Guangzhouwan 5 January 1900
• Japanese invasion of French 22 September 1940 – 26
Indochina September 1940
• Franco-Thai War October 1940–9 May 1941
• Operation Bright Moon 9 March 1945 – 15 May 1945
• First disestablishment 15 May 1945
• Second establishment 22 September 1945
• Geneva agreements 20 July 1954
• Second disestablishment 21 July 1954

Area
1935 737,000 km2(285,000 sq mi)

Population

• 1935 21,599,582

Currency French Indochinese piastre

Preceded by Succeeded by
Kingdom of Kingdom of
Kampuchea Kampuchea
Empire of Empire of
Vietnam Vietnam
Lao Issara Kingdom of
French Laos
Cochinchina North
Nguyễn Vietnam
dynasty Provisional
French Central
Protectorate of Government
Cambodia of Vietnam
Kingdom of Kingdom of
Luang Cambodia
Phrabang Kingdom of
Kingdom of Laos
Champasak Republic of
Rattanakosin China
Kingdom
Qing dynasty

Today part of  China

 Cambodia
 Laos
 Vietnam

This article
contains Khmer text.Without
proper rendering support, you
may see question marks, boxes,
or other symbols instead
of Khmer script.

This article contains Lao

text.Without proper rendering
 support, you may see question
marks, boxes, or other
symbols instead of Lao script.

Indochina in 1891 (from Le Monde illustré).

1. Panorama of Lac-Kaï.
2. Yun-nan, in the quay of Hanoi.
3. Flooded street of Hanoi.
4. Landing stage of Hanoi
 The expansion of French Indochina (blue)

French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China)[a] (French: Indochine

française; Vietnamese: Đông Dương thuộc Pháp), officially known as the Indochinese
Union (French: Union indochinoise; Vietnamese: Liên bang Đông Dương)[b] after 1887 and
the Indochinese Federation (French: Fédération indochinoise) after 1947, was a grouping
of French colonial territories in Southeast Asia.
A grouping of the three Vietnamese regions of Tonkin (north), Annam (centre),
and Cochinchina (south) with Cambodiawas formed in 1887. Laos was added in 1893 and
the leased Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan in 1898. The capital was moved
from Saigon (in Cochinchina) to Hanoi (Tonkin) in 1902 and again to Da Lat (Annam) in
1939. In 1945 it was moved back to Hanoi.
After the Fall of France during World War II, the colony was administered by the Vichy
government and was under Japanese occupation until March 1945, when the Japanese
overthrew the colonial regime. After the Japanese surrender, the Viet Minh, a communist
organization led by Hồ Chí Minh, declared Vietnamese independence, but France
subsequently took back control of French Indochina. An all-out independence war, known
as the First Indochina War, broke out in late 1946 between French and Viet Minh forces.
In order to create a political alternative to the Viet Minh, the State of Vietnam, led by former
Emperor Bảo Đại, was proclaimed in 1949. On 9 November 1953 the Kingdom of
Cambodia proclaimed its independence. Following the Geneva Accord of 1954, the French
evacuated Vietnam and French Indochina came to an end.

Contents

 1History
o 1.1First French Interventions
o 1.219th Century
o 1.3Establishment
o 1.4Vietnamese Rebellions
o 1.5Franco-Siamese War (1893)
o 1.6Further Encroachments on Siam (1904–07)
o 1.7Yên Bái mutiny (1930)
o 1.8French-Thai War (1940–41)
o 1.9World War II
o 1.10First Indochina War
o 1.11Geneva Agreements
 2Demographics
o 2.1Population
o 2.2Language
 3Economy
o 3.1Infrastructure
 4Architectural Legacy
 5See also
 6Notes
 7Citations
 8References
 9External links

History[edit]
First French Interventions[edit]
Main articles: France–Vietnam relations and French assistance to Nguyễn Ánh
French–Vietnamese relations started during the early 17th century with the arrival of
the Jesuit missionary Alexandre de Rhodes. Around this time, Vietnam had only just begun
its "Push to the South"—"Nam Tiến", the occupation of the Mekong Delta, a territory being
part of the Khmer Empire and to a lesser extent, the kingdom of Champa which they had
defeated in 1471.[1]
European involvement in Vietnam was confined to trade during the 18th century, as the
remarkably successful work of the Jesuit missionaries continued. In 1787, Pierre Pigneau
de Behaine, a French Catholic priest, petitioned the French government and organised
French military volunteers to aid Nguyễn Ánh in retaking lands his family lost to the Tây
Sơn. Pigneau died in Vietnam but his troops fought on until 1802 in the French assistance
to Nguyễn Ánh.
19th Century[edit]
Main article: Cochinchina Campaign
See also: French Cochinchina and French protectorate of Cambodia
The French colonial empire was heavily involved in Vietnam in the 19th century; often
French intervention was undertaken in order to protect the work of the Paris Foreign
Missions Society in the country. For its part, the Nguyễndynasty increasingly saw Catholic
missionaries as a political threat; courtesans, for example, an influential faction in the
dynastic system, feared for their status in a society influenced by an insistence on
monogamy.[2]
In 1858, the brief period of unification under the Nguyễn dynasty ended with a successful
attack on Tourane (present day Da Nang) by French Admiral Charles Rigault de
Genouilly under the orders of Napoleon III. Prior to the attack French diplomat Charles de
Montigny's efforts to reach a peaceable solution had failed. Seeing no other recourse,
France sent Genouilly forward in a military effort to end Vietnam's persecution and
expulsion of Catholic missionaries.[3]
Fourteen French gunships, 3,300 men including 300 Filipino soldiers provided by the
Spanish[4] attacked the port of Tourane causing significant damage and occupying the city.
After fighting the Vietnamese for three months and finding himself unable to progress
further in land, de Genouilly sought and received approval of an alternative attack on
Saigon.[3][5]
Sailing to southern Vietnam, de Genouilly captured the poorly defended city of Saigon on
February 17, 1859. Once again, however, de Genouilly and his forces were unable to
conquest territory outside of the defensive perimeter of the city. De Genouilly was criticised
for his actions and was replaced by Admiral Page in November 1859 with instructions to
obtain a treaty protecting the Catholic faith in Vietnam while refraining from making
territorial gains.[3][5]
Peace negotiations proved unsuccessful and the fighting in Saigon continued. Ultimately in
1861, the French brought additional forces to bear in the Saigon campaign, advanced out
of the city and began to capture cities in the Mekong Delta. On June 5, 1862, the
Vietnamese conceded and signed the Treaty of Saigon whereby they agreed to legalize the
free practice of the Catholic religion; to open trade in the Mekong Delta and at three ports
at the mouth of the Red River in northern Vietnam; to cede the provinces of Biên Hòa, Gia
Định and Định Tường along with the islands of Poulo Condore to France; and to pay
reparations equivalent to one million dollars.[6][7][8]