History - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 985

The French Protectorate
Marco Polo was the first European to cross the Mekong and penetrate the east. In the fol-
lowing centuries many more Europeans followed in his wake, trading in ports as diverse as
Ayuthaya and Faifo (Hoi An). However, it was France that was to ultimately claim much of
the region as its own.
The concept of 'protectorate' was often employed as a smokescreen by European coloni-
al powers in order to hide their exploitative agenda. However, for the weak and divided
kingdoms of Cambodia and Laos, French intervention came not a moment too soon. Both
were starting to feel the squeeze as expansionist Thailand and Vietnam carved up their ter-
ritory. Were it not for the French, it is quite plausible that Cambodia and Laos would have
gone the way of Champa, a mere footnote in history, a people without a homeland.
Indochina is Born
France's military activity in Vietnam began in 1847, when the French Navy attacked
Danang harbour in response to Emperor Thieu Tri's suppression of Catholic missionaries.
Saigon was seized in early 1859 and, in 1862, Emperor Tu Duc signed a treaty that gave
the French the three eastern provinces around Saigon.
Cambodia succumbed to French military might in 1864, when French gunboats intimid-
ated King Norodom I (r 1860-1904) into signing a Treaty of Protectorate. In Laos, the
same technique was employed with much success. In 1893 a French warship forced its way
up the Chao Phraya river to Bangkok and trained its guns on the palace. Under duress, the
Siamese agreed to transfer all territory east of the Mekong to France and Laos became part
of Indochina.
In 1883 the French attacked Hue and imposed the Treaty of Protectorate on the imperial
court of Vietnam. The Indochinese Union proclaimed by the French in 1887 may have
ended the existence of an independent Vietnamese state, but active resistance continued in
various parts of the country for the duration of French rule.
For a human perspective on the North Vietnamese experience during the war, read The Sorrow of
War by Bao Ninh, a poignant tale of love and loss that shows the soldiers from the North had
the same fears and desires as most American GIs.