European History of Relevance To Vietnam

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European History of Relevance To Vietnam
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Pre- Marco Polo

• With the exception of very modern times, Europe
  and Asia have been very far apart.
• There was some trade in ancient times, for
  example, between the Romans and Han dynasty of
  China.
• However, between about 400 AD and 1200 AD the way
  was shut because the land route ran between
  hostile and fragmented areas. The sea route,
  around the tip of Africa, was unknown and sailors
  of the time didnt have the skill explore it.

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The West v the East
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Marco Polo 1300s
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Age of Exploration

• Marco Polos Adventure Stories made it appealing
  to go to Asia.
• Adventure
• Wealth (1500 profit)
• Proselytizing
• However, it was also dangerous. Dias1st modern
  European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope
  died on a later voyage.
• Magellan, the 1st human to sail around the
  globedidnt really sail around the globe. He
  died en-route. Of his 260 men, only 18 survived.
• You get the idea
• Shipwreck
• Starvation
• Disease, especially in the tropicsnotice that
  Vietnam is tropical
• Death by fighting locals- they had weapons as
  good as your own (Letter to King George)

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Letter to a Barbarian KingEmperor Qian Long's
Letter to King George III, 1793

• You, O King, live beyond the confines of many
  seas, nevertheless, impelled by your humble
  desire to partake of the benefits of our
  civilisation, you have dispatched a mission
  respectfully bearing your memorial. Your Envoy
  has crossed the seas and paid his respects at my
  Court on the anniversary of my birthday. To show
  your devotion, you have also sent offerings of
  your country's produce.
• Our dynasty's majestic virtue has penetrated
  unto every country under Heaven, and Kings of all
  nations have offered their costly tribute by land
  and sea. As your Ambassador can see for himself,
  we possess all things. I set no value on objects
  strange or ingenious, and have no use for your
  country's manufactures. This then is my answer to
  your request

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• The point of the lecture up to this point is that
  Asians and Europeans had over 1000 years with
  very little conflict. They were basically
  strangers to each other.
• Something happened in the 1700s that changed
  that. The Industrial Revolution.

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Industrial Revolution
Desire for Imperialism
Means of Imperialism
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The Industrial Revolution

• This gave Europeans the reason and the means to
  conquer/imperial-ize Asia
• Reason desire for wealth, natural resources for
  factories, market for goods
• Means steel and with it improved gunboats and
  guns, quinine developed which makes Europeans
  resistant to Malaria

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Over the next 100 years, Europeans imperialized
most of the rest of the world
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Imperialism in Vietnam

• the French were the group who ultimately took
  Vietnam over by 1880. They took over a big chunk
  of land and named it French Indochina (why
  called Indochina)?

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Justifications for Imperialism???

• Social Darwinism
• White Mans Burden ? mission civilatrice in
  France
• Salvation

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• White Mans Burden

• Take up the White Man's burden--
• Send forth the best ye breed (1)--
• Go, bind your sons(2) to exile
• To serve your captives(3)' need
• To wait, in heavy harness,
• On fluttered folk and wild--
• Your new-caught sullen peoples,
• Half devil and half child(4).
• Take up the White Man's burden--
• In patience to abide,
• To veil the threat of terror
• And check the show of pride (5)
• By open speech and simple,
• An hundred times made plain,
• To seek another's profit (6)
• And work another's gain.

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Most Historians Dismiss These Justifications as
Self Serving

• The reality of French rule generally does not
  live up to the Mission Civilatrice.
• Rubber plantations? treatment of workers
• Vietnamese educated, but often to be the civil
  service to rule in the name of the Frenchbe
  puppets.
• The freedom to spread Christianity was often used
  by the French as a justification for grabbing
  political power

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Uncle Ho

• results ? explosion of Vietnamese nationalism
• One of the early nationalists was Ho Chi Minh.