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Period: 111 BCE to 938
Vietnam Under Chinese Rule
-Since the 2nd century B.C, Viet Nam had been dominated by different Chinese feudal dynasties for more than a thousand years.
-Exploitation by the occupiers hampered economic development. -
Period: 938 to 1527
The Golden Age of Vietnam
-The Bach Dang victory in 938 led to the era of development of an independent feudal state, national construction & defense. A centralized administrative state under the Ngo, Dinh and Le Dynasties (938-1009) was established. It entered the period of renaissance & development under the Ly (1009-1226), Tran (1226-1400), Ho (1400-1407) and Le So (1428-1527) Dynasties. This marked the golden age of Vietnam’s history with the development of agriculture and irrigation. -
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Vietnam Endures Divided Rule
-From the 16th century onward, civil and frequent political infighting engulfed much of Vietnam.
-The country was divided between the North (Trịnh lords) and South (Nguyễn lords) who engaged in a civil war for more than four decades.
-This heavily impeded the country’s evolution despite certain developments in the economy. -
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France Gains Control of Vietnam
-In the early 19th century, Western capitalist countries entered the period of imperialism and colonialism. Through missionaries and trade, the French gradually dominated Vietnam.
-For the first time in history, Vietnam had to cope with the invasion of a Western industrial country.
-The country was driven into backwardness and deadlock and became a semi-feudal colony for nearly 100 years from 1858 to 1945 -
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Communist Party of Vietnam
-Ho Chi Minh founds the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) in 1930 in effort to gain independence from France.
-In August 1945, under the leadership of the Communist Party headed by President Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese people successfully launched an uprising to seize power and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam came into being on 2 September 1945 -
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First Indochina War
-Japan seized the colony in 1940 and held it until 1945.
-A Vietnamese group called the Viet Minh declared Vietnam’s independence, but the French still wanted to rule Vietnam as a colony.
-Though controversial, the French introduced plantation agriculture & imported Chinese labor to develop road and railroad systems, mining, and industry.
-The two sides fought an eight-year war, called the French Indochina War. The Viet Minh defeated the French in 1954. -
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Vietnam War
-Ngo Dinh Diem who supported the French & opposed Communism gained control of South Vietnam.
-Communist rebels in South Vietnam, called the Viet Cong, fought against Diem’s gov't.
-To aid the fight against communism, the U.S. supported Diem & trained the South Vietnamese army.
-The Viet Cong seized control of much of South Vietnam in the early 1960s.
-By 1968 the U.S. had more than 500,000 troops in Vietnam & dropped bombs on highways and bridges in North Vietnam. -
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Vietnamese Economy During the Period of War
-South Vietnam between became increasingly dependent on foreign aid.
-The U.S. financed the development of the military and the construction of roads, bridges, airfields and ports; supported the currency
-The war resulted in some 1.5 million military and civilian deaths, 362,000 invalids, 1 million widows, and 800,000 orphans. The country sustained a further loss in human capital through the exodus of refugees from Vietnam after the communist victory in the South. -
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The War Ends
1968 -Pres. Johnson gradually ended the bombing of North Vietnam, and peace talks began.
1969 -Richard Nixon became President, began to remove U.S. troops from Vietnam, bombed North Vietnam, and expanded the war to neighboring countries.
1973 -North and South Vietnam, the Viet Cong, and the U.S. signed a peace agreement & decreased its military aid to the south.
1975 -N. Vietnamese troops entered Saigon; the communist won & combined North and South Vietnam into one country -
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Post-War Vietnam
1980s - Vietnamese economy was on the verge of collapse; salaries were low & people were hungry
1990s - New constitution adopted allowing certain economic freedoms; Communist Party remains in power.
2000s - Vietnam restores trade with the U.S., becomes a member of the WTO, rebuild infrastructure, & experiences steady economic growth.