Inhabited since the Paleolithic, it began its cultural ascent in the Neolithic, joining later with the culture of the Viêt peoples, who began the work of systematic transformation of the deltaic areas into regularly cultivated agricultural areas, through the settlement of villages (xa), whose population worked collectively, owned the land reclaimed and was united by common practices and cults. Between the century III and II a. C. on this civilization, already relatively identified, the Chinese influence became noticeable, which later became an occupation. However, Viet Nam managed to preserve its ethnic and cultural identity and its characterization also from an economic and agricultural point of view. However, Chinese domination was a positive factor for the development of Viet Nam civilization, as it brought the political model of the Chinese state which, despite its conservative characteristics, nevertheless guaranteed a great and rational expansion in productivity. On the other hand, the relationship between China and Viet Nam was not one-sided, as if Viet Nam received the contribution of superior Chinese culture, China received from Viet Nam many agronomic techniques and in particular the techniques for the cultivation of rice and the processing of bamboo. In the sec. X the aristocrats of Viet Nam managed to become independent: then began the life of a state entity threatened by eriodic Chinese invasions that the Vietnamese rulers tried to contain by appealing to the communities of peasant-soldiers who worked the land and built the canals. This widespread popular resistance formed the basis for the formation of a Vietnamese unitary consciousness. From this point of view the dynasty of the Ly (1010-1225) and then that of the Trân (1225-1400), who elaborated a true Vietnamese strategic tradition, based above all on the use of the climate, on the compactness of rural communities and on the generalized practice of guerrilla warfare: in particular Tran Hung Dao he was able to mobilize the entire people in total resistance, which lasted several decades, against the predatory invasions of the Mongols. But while resisting the attempts of Chinese conquest, the Vietnamese state was gradually extending towards the south along the narrow coastal area, inhabited in historical times by the Cham, of Hindu religion and organized according to a weak caste apparatus. The conquest of this area (what would later become central Viet Nam) was completed by the dynasty of the Lê (1428-1788), built at the beginning of the century. XV from a great victory over the Chinese invaders and destined to prove, especially under King Lê Thanh Tong, the most splendid of the Vietnamese dynasties. The conquest of Viet Nam immediately continued with the gradual settlement of communities of Vietnamese soldier-peasants in the Mekong Delta and southern Viet Nam, in a geographical area that allowed intensive agriculture to a certain extent similar to that existing for centuries in the Red River delta: this territorial expansion into flat and fertile areas made it possible to keep under control the social tensions that would otherwise have exploded in the North due to the accumulation of land by the ruling class and the serious burdens of rent, corvées, military service and taxes to which peasant communities were subjected. At the same time, this possibility of a “march towards the South” allowed the Vietnamese people to maintain relatively peaceful relations with the populations (Thai, Meo, Mom), generally coming from China, who were settling in the mountain area. Visit sourcemakeup.com for Vietnam destinations.
With the sec. XVII however the social tensions grew concomitantly with the centrifugal tendencies of the aristocrats. This led to two contemporary dynasties: the Trinh in the North and the Nguyên in the South. At the end of the century. XVIII a great popular revolt supported by the nascent mercantile element put an end to this rift and reunified the country under a regime that could have led to the overcoming of the lack of economic coordination between the villages and of a developing economy within the framework of a national market, but it was prevented by conservative pressures and foreign interests, which were now pressing on Viet Nam, leading to the conservative restoration under the Nguyên dynasty. Despite the efficiency of the state apparatus, especially under the ruler Gia-Long (1802-20), social tensions began to worsen and weakened the Vietnamese state apparatus just when France entered Viet Nam under the pretext of defending the large colony of Catholics formed in the century. XVIII for missionary penetration and considered a social and ideological danger by the Confucian monarchy and bureaucrats, but in reality to ensure the French navy a secure strategic foothold and French economic interests a starting point for penetrating extreme markets. oriental. After the war of 1858-62 the king had ceded part of southern Viet Nam to France; other provinces were conquered by the French in 1867: despite the surrender of the supreme Vietnamese authorities, the popular resistance in these areas, which France transformed into the direct colony of Cochinchina, was intense, also supported by a part of the local Confucian bureaucracy. Due to the lack of collaboration of the indigenous intellectual ruling class, the French resorted to the Catholic community for support, which thus found itself in contrast with the resistance of the Vietnamese patriots. The difficulty of conquering Viet Nam was even clearer to the French when in 1882 the French navy embarked on the conquest of northern Viet Nam. Here, too, popular resistance and the refusal to collaborate on the part of the ruling class made any French advance difficult, onerous, uncertain, despite the systematically used violence against the indigenous people and despite the signing in 1882 of a treaty that imposed the French protectorate on Viet Nam. northern. The price for the conquest of Viet Nam increased considerably for France after 1885, when the king appealed to generalized resistance against the French: many Confucian officials went into hiding and tried to organize the popular struggle. The guerrilla war was won after a decade, but the price paid by the French was very high. The reasons for this resistance deepened when – with the formation of French Indochina at the end of the century. XIX and then with the action of the governor but the price paid by the French was very high. The reasons for this resistance deepened when – with the formation of French Indochina at the end of the century. XIX and then with the action of the governor but the price paid by the French was very high.
The reasons for this resistance deepened when – with the formation of French Indochina at the end of the century. XIX and then with the action of the governor Paul Doumer – the French authorities managed to “make” Indochina economically, with the result of further reducing the already low standard of living of the Vietnamese rural masses and accelerating the concentration of land in the hands of a few large French owners or also Vietnamese. Until 1930, however, the usual repressive means were enough to impose the maintenance of colonial order, despite the organization of nationalist-oriented groups such as those aroused relentlessly by Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh and supported above all by intellectuals, but not without popular support. The Chinese revolution of 1925-27, the world crisis and its serious repercussions in a country already overwhelmed by a rapid process of immiseration accelerated the open manifestation of forms of resistance: in 1930 some nationalist groups attempted a coup in the North with the help of Vietnamese auxiliaries of the French troops but were bloody routed. Shortly after, the numerous socialist and communist groups that were forming among the students merged into the formation of an Indochinese Communist Party of which an intellectual son of resistant Confucian officials, Nguyên Ai Quoc, later known as Ho Chi Minh. Communist influence was destined to increase greatly during the Second World War: siding simultaneously against the Japanese invaders and against the French colonizers (who had entrusted a semblance of power to the Catholic landowner Ngô Dinh Diem), they managed to catalyze the will to resist anti-colonial of the Vietnamese people and to establish (1941) the Front for the Independence of Viet Nam, known as Vietminh, which totally supplanted any other anti-colonial group and, with the Japanese occupation (1944), gave birth to the first partisan formations under the command of the communist Giap. In this sense, the Vietnamese Communist Party was also able to carry out the historical function exercised in all the other ex-colonial countries by forces of nationalist orientation.
