Indochinese Union | |
|---|---|
| 1887–1946/1954 | |
| Motto: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" | |
| Anthem: La Marseillaise ("The Marseillaise") | |
Vietnamese-style seal of the Governor-General of French Indochina[b] | |
 Map of French Indochina, including Guangzhouwan | |
| Status | Federation of French colonial possessions |
| Capital |
|
| Common languages | French (official) |
| Ethnic groups (1936)[2] | |
| Religion | |
| Demonym(s) | Indochinese |
| Membership | [d] |
| Governor-General | |
• 1887–1888 (first) | Ernest Constans |
• 1955–1956 (last) | Henri Hoppenot[e] |
| Historical era | New Imperialism |
| 1858–1885 | |
• French Cochinchina established | 17 October 1862 |
| 19 April 1899 | |
• Addition of Guangzhouwan | 5 January 1900 |
| 22 September 1940 | |
| Oct. 1940 – May 1941 | |
| 9 March 1945 | |
| 2 September 1945 | |
| 13 September 1945 | |
| 19 December 1946 | |
| 21 July 1954 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 737,000 km2 (285,000 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 1900 | 15,164,500 |
• 1937 | 23,300,000 |
| Currency | French Indochinese piastre |
| Today part of | Vietnam Laos Cambodia China ∟Zhanjiang |
| |
![Great Seal[a] of French Indochina](view_image.php?q=French_Indochina&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:French_Indo-Chinese_version_of_the_Great_Seal_of_the_French_Republic_(Jean_Auguste_Barre).svg)
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French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),[a][b] officially known as the Indochinese Union[c][d] and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation,[e] was a grouping of French colonial territories in Mainland Southeast Asia until its end in 1954. It comprised Cambodia, Laos (from 1899), the Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan (from 1898 until 1945), and the Vietnamese regions of Tonkin in the north, Annam in the centre, and Cochinchina in the south. The capital from 1902 to 1945 was Hanoi, Saigon was the capital from 1887 to 1902 and again from 1945 to 1954.
The Second French Empire annexed Cochinchina in 1862 and established a protectorate in Cambodia in 1863. After the French Third Republic took over northern Vietnam through the Tonkin campaign, the various protectorates were consolidated into one union in 1887. Two more entities were incorporated into the union: the Laotian protectorate and the Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan. The French exploited the resources in the region during their rule, but also contributed to improvements of the health and education system in the region. Nevertheless, deep divides remained between the native population and the colonists, leading to sporadic rebellions by the former. 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, led by Hồ Chí Minh, declared Vietnamese independence, but France subsequently sought to restore their control with the help of the British. An all-out resistance war, known as the First Indochina War, broke out in late 1946 between French and Viet Minh forces.
To counter the Viet Minh, the State of Vietnam, led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, was proclaimed by the French in 1949. French efforts to retake Vietnam were unsuccessful, culminating in defeat at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ. On 22 October and 9 November 1953, the Kingdom of Laos and Kingdom of Cambodia proclaimed their respective independences. On 4 June 1954, France signed the Accords in the Hôtel Matignon to grant complete independence to the State of Vietnam.[3] French Indochina legally became invalid. Following the Geneva Accords of 21 July 1954, French Indochina was completely no more when the French were forced to militarily withdraw from North Vietnam and politically recognize Việt Minh's state as a sovereign one here. The State of Vietnam became a South Vietnamese state. The separation of Vietnam would continue until 2 July 1976.
- ^ Lecompte, Jean. Monnaies et jetons de l'Indochine Française. (Principality of Monaco, 2013) Quote: "Les légendes sont bien sûr modifiées. A gauche, les attributs de l'agriculture et des beaux-arts sont remplacés par des épis de riz et à droite figure une ancre symbolisant le ministère de la Marine et des Colonies. Hélas, Albert-Désiré Barre décède le 29 décembre 1878 et c'est alors son frère aîné Auguste-Jean Barre qui lui succède et mène à terme le projet. Les premières frappes sortent en 1879." (in French))
- ^ "French Indo-China: Demographic Imbalance and Colonial Policy". Population Index. 2 (11): 68–81. 1945. doi:10.2307/2730333. JSTOR 2730333 – via JSTOR.
- ^ The Pentagon Papers Gravel Edition Volume 1, Chapter 5, "Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam, 1954-1960" (Boston: Beacon Press, 1971) Archived 2017-06-23 at the Wayback Machine Trích: "France, as the third party in Vietnam, then became pivotal to any political settlement, its executor for the West. But France had agreed to full independence for the GVN on ngày 4 tháng 6 năm 1954, nearly six weeks before the end of the Geneva Conference. By the terms of that June agreement, the GVN assumed responsibility for international contracts previously made on its behalf by France; but, there having been no reference to subsequent contracts, it was technically free of the Geneva Agreements. It has been argued to the contrary that the GVN was bound by Geneva because it possessed at the time few of the attributes of full sovereignty, and especially because it was dependent on France for defense. But such debates turn on tenuous points of international law regarding the prerogatives of newly independent or partitioned states. France speedily divested itself of responsibilities for "civil administration" in South Vietnam"
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