Laquiet, Vanlang

Vanlang map, 500 BC e.

Wanlang was a matriarchal society, similar to other ancient Southeast Asian societies. At excavations in North Vietnam, metal tools of that time were found. The most famous are bronze drums, possibly used in religious ceremonies, on which images of warriors, houses, birds, and animals were engraved in concentric circles.

The people from Wanlang are known as the La Viet.

Much information about the life of that time can be gleaned from ancient legends. The Story of the Banh Tungs is about a prince who wins a culinary tournament and later the throne by inventing rice cakes; this legend reflects the importance of the main part of the then economy, rice growing. "The Story of Zyong" tells the story of a young man who goes to war to save the country. Zyong and his horse wear iron armor, and Zyong himself takes an iron staff, which indicates the presence of developed metallurgy. The magic weapon from the "story of the magic bow" can shoot thousands of arrows, which proves the active use of bows at that time.

Appearance of the Auvietes, Aulac

By the third century BC. e. another group of Viet, the Auviet (甌越), came from the south of what is now China to the Red River Delta (Hongha) and mixed with the Vanlang population. In 258 BC. e. a union state of the Auviets and Lakviets appeared - Aulac. King An duong-vyong built around his capital, Koloa (Vietnamese CổLoa ) , many concentric walls. Skilled aulak archers stood on these walls.

An duong-vyong fell victim to espionage: the Chinese commander Zhao Tuo ( Triệu Đà, cheu da) kidnapped his son Chong Thuy ( Trọng Thủy) after he married the daughter of An Duong Vuong.

Chieu Dynasty, Nam Viet

Map of the Sino-Vietnamese state of Nanyue (Nam Viet).

Dynasty Later Le

In 1428 Le Loi himself became emperor of Dai Viet and founded the Later Le dynasty. Relying on a strong army, his authority as a commander and reforming officials in his environment, he carried out major reforms in the country. Le Nyan Tong, who succeeded him, continued the land reform, as a result, by the end of the 1450s, land ownership in Dai Viet stabilized. The next emperor, Le Thanh Thong, is considered the most successful monarch in the country's history. Le's reforms were supplemented and partly reinforced by the creation of the Thanh Tong Code, "Hongduk". The army and state apparatus received a more harmonious organization, a new administrative reform was carried out, a system of educational institutions and competitive examinations for official positions was established, and a monetary reform was carried out.

In 1471, a carefully prepared military campaign of Dai Viet against Champa took place, culminating in the capture of part of the Cham territories. In 1479-1480, Dai Viet attacked Lan Xang in a similar way, as a result of which Lan Xang fell into vassal dependence on Dai Viet for some time, and its eastern regions became part of the Vietnamese state. At the same time, all the tribes that lived in the mountains to the west of the Viet valleys became tributaries of Dai Viet, and the mountainous regions in the north, which they had long controlled, received the status of provinces; they already had a significant Viet population, although the population of the new areas had not yet completely merged with the Viet.

After the "golden age" of the "Hong-deuk" era, decline came. The beginning of the 16th century was one of the most disastrous periods in the history of the country. Expensive undertakings, extensive wars and an inefficient administrative apparatus ruined the peasants, tax revenues decreased, and the centralized apparatus itself became increasingly weak. The development of agriculture was not given attention, irrigation facilities were in disrepair; instead of dams, idle rulers built palaces. Driven to complete ruin, the peasants raised uprisings. In 1516, one of the largest uprisings in the history of Vietnam began in the province of Quang Ninh, led by the peasant leader Tran Cao. The rebel army led by Chang Kao captured the capital Thanglaung in two attempts. The Le court was forced to flee to Thanh Hoa. The rebels continued to operate until 1521, until they were defeated as a result of a counteroffensive by the faithful of the Le Force dynasty.

Mak dynasty

In 1521-1522, other uprisings were suppressed, but the central government was never able to recover from their powerful blows. In 1527, the feudal faction of Mak Dang Dung, who had been in the military service at the court of Le for many years, defeated his rivals and pushed the legitimate claimants to power in the province of Thanh Hoa. Having proclaimed himself emperor in 1527, Mak Dang Zung sent a mission to China in 1529 with rich gifts and the message that "no one from the house of Le is left and the family of Macs temporarily rules the country and people." Having received the recognition of his dynasty from the Minsk court, Mak Dang Zung passed the throne to his son Mak Dang Zoan, who ruled for 10 years (1530-1540).

Reborn Le Dynasty

Supporters of the Le dynasty, trying to restore their protege to power, sent one mission after another by sea to China asking for help in restoring the legitimate dynasty overthrown by the "usurper Mak". Mak Dang Zaung, in order to avoid an unfavorable development of events, declared that he “puts himself at the mercy of the Ming emperor” and sent a request to China “to conduct an investigation”, and in 1540 he personally appeared at the Namkuan border outpost for trial (at that time the country was ruled his other son is Mac Fook Hai). China took advantage of the situation, and in 1541 issued an investiture recognizing the right of the House of Mac to rule Dai Viet, and declaring Le an ambiguous person whose origin has yet to be proven. However, Vietnam was deprived of the status of a state and declared a governorship ( Annam dothong shi ti) provincial (Guangxi) subordination with the need for the traditional payment of tribute to China.

Soon after the accession of the Macs, their rivals rose to fight them, also striving, under the pretext of restoring the legitimate Le dynasty, to seize power. In the end, Nguyen Kim (a military commander who served under Le) united all opposition groups and, having captured the provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An in 1542, established his power there (formally calling it the “reborn Le dynasty”). In 1545, all power in this region passed to Nguyen Kim's son-in-law, Chinh Kiem. Thus, the country was divided into two parts: the clan of Poppies ( Buck Chieu, "Northern Dynasty") continued to dominate the Bakbo region (Northern Vietnam) with its capital in Thanglaung, the Chiney clan under the cover of the Le dynasty ( Nam Chieu listen), "Southern Dynasty") controlled the Nghe An-Thanh Hoa region. The struggle between these two houses lasted for more than half a century, as a result, the Southern dynasty defeated the Northern dynasty and returned Le to the throne in Thanglaughna in 1592. The Makov dynasty ceased to play a role in the domestic political life of the country, but they continued to enjoy the patronage of China, which kept them in reserve for another three generations. Fearing the open intervention of China, the Chini did not dare to openly overthrow the Le dynasty. China, perfectly aware of who holds the real power, played a complex political game in this region. In 1599, Chin Tung received personal courtesies from China. It is from this moment that the mode that went down in history under the name of edit officially begins] War of Chiney and Nguyen

In 1558, Nguyen Kim's son, Nguyen Hoang, obtained permission from the Le court to manage the Thuan Hoa region, and from 1570, Quang Nam as well. Since that time, this area has become a stronghold of the Nguyen princes, who then set a course for secession from the rest of Vietnam. So by the beginning of the 17th century, two "centers of power" - Nguyen and Chini - took shape. After the death of Nguyen Hoang in 1613, his son tua Shai (Nguyen Phuc Nguyen) began to behave as a completely independent ruler. As a result, relations between the feudal houses of Chiney and Nguyen resulted in an armed conflict that lasted for a significant part of the 17th century. The wars between Chinh and Nguyen dragged on intermittently until 1672, and the Nghean-Botinh region (Hatinh and Quangbinh provinces) became a constant arena of battles. By 1673, both opponents finally ran out of steam and hostilities ceased. The spontaneously formed truce lasted for about a hundred years. The nation turned out to be split, in the national consciousness such concepts as “southerners” and “northerners” arose and entrenched.

Having divided the country, Chini and Nguyen began to strengthen their positions in the held territories in order to turn each of them into a separate independent state. The appeals of the Nguyen to Qing China in 1702 and later with a request for an investiture that would legalize their rule speak of serious claims to independent statehood. When it became clear that Qing China did not support the Nguyen in their quest to legalize de facto independence from Le and Chin, tua Nguyen Phuc Khoat in 1744 declared himself vyongom and made Fusuan (Hue) the capital without regard to Le and China. However, neither Chini nor Nguyen abandoned the most important task - the unification of the country. Both regimes considered themselves part of a single, temporarily divided Dai Viet.

In 1930, at the initiative of the National Party of Vietnam, modeled on the Chinese National Party (Kuomintang), an armed Yenbai uprising broke out in the area northwest of Hanoi. After its suppression, the resistance movement was led by the Communist Party of Indochina, created in 1930 by Ho Chi Minh. During the period when the Popular Front was in power in France, the Vietnamese communists, together with the Trotskyists, expanded their influence, took part in Cochin and Saigon in local government elections. In -1941, the communists led an unsuccessful uprising in the south and organized unrest in the north.

The following main trends can be traced in the political history of Vietnam: expansion to the south, geographical regionalism (formed on the basis of administrative division or thanks to the informal power that provincial governors acquired) and the desire of the central government to control the actions of local leaders. It should be noted that there were few peaceful periods in the history of Vietnam. Vanlang was the oldest Vietnamese state. He was replaced by Aulac, who united with another state - Nam Viet (258-111 BC). Its rulers, apparently, managed in the 190-180s BC. unite Tonkin (now the northern part of North Vietnam) with the southern Chinese lands. In 111 BC The army of the Chinese Han Empire overthrew the last monarch of the Vietnamese Chieu dynasty, probably also of Chinese origin. Tonkin then became the Chinese frontier province of Jiaozhi. When the new overlords came into conflict with the feudal structures that existed in Vietnam, there was a rebellion led by the Trung sisters (39–43 AD), which led to a brief end to Chinese rule. The second stage of Chinese dominance began in 44 and was interrupted only after the rebellion of prominent representatives of the Li dynasty (544-602). After 939, when the founder of the Ngo dynasty seized power, Vietnam managed to gain independence, albeit with some elements of Chinese suzerainty, which continued until the period of French colonial rule.

Having achieved independence, the Vietnamese expanded their lands from Tonkin to northern Annam, ousted the Khmers and Chams - farmers, sailors and merchants. Pretenders to the Vietnamese throne often turned to Chinese emperors for help, whose invasions ended, as a rule, in failure. Even the Mongol armies of Khubilai, who undertook campaigns in the delta region of the Hong Ha River, were twice (in 1285 and 1288) defeated by the Vietnamese commander Tran Hung Dao. In 1407, a Chinese invasion temporarily restored the power of the Chan dynasty, which ruled from 1225 to 1400. During the liberation war led by Le Loi, the founder of the Le dynasty, the Chinese imperial troops were finally expelled from Vietnam (1427).

Under the Le dynasty (1428–1789), significant progress was made in administration, improvement of legislation, and development of culture. But since the 16th century Le reigned nominally. Initially, the powerful Mac family appropriated real power. With the move of Nguyen Hoang to the south in 1558, the power of the Nguyen clan was formed, and at the end of the 16th century. in the north of the country, the power of the Chin clan is formalized. Le remained nominally sacred figures until the fall of the dynasty. The Nguyen gradually came to the fore, as they managed to expand their zone of influence, spreading it at the end of the 17th century. to the Mekong valley and then to the whole of Cochin (1757).

The unstable balance of power between the Trinh and Nguyen houses was upset after 1773, when the three Tay Son brothers rebelled against both ruling clans, which led to the split of the country. One of the exiled members of the Nguyen clan, with the support of the French in the 1790s, emerged victorious from internecine battles and subsequently proclaimed himself Emperor Gia Long (1802). The Nguyen dynasty gradually weakened due to uprisings in the south and north of Vietnam, which facilitated French expansion in the middle of the 19th century. France subjugated in 1862 three eastern and in 1867 three western provinces of Cochinchina, which in 1874 acquired the status of a colony. Northern (Tonkin) and central (Annam) parts of the country were turned into protectorates. All three regions, together with Laos and Cambodia, formed French Indochina, which the new government sought to consolidate administratively with the help of a common budget and a unified public works program. During the colonial period, a state monopoly on salt, liquor, and opium was introduced, and the construction of bridges, railways, and horse-drawn roads was encouraged.

In 1930, on the initiative of the Vietnamese National Party (Vietnam Quoc Zan Dang), created on the model of the Chinese National Party (Kuomintang), an armed Yenbai uprising broke out in the area northwest of Hanoi. After its suppression, the resistance movement was headed by the Communist Party of Indochina, formed in 1930 by Ho Chi Minh. During the period when the Popular Front was in power in France, the Vietnamese communists, together with the Trotskyists, expanded their influence and even participated in Cochin and Saigon in local government elections. In 1940-1941, the Communists led an unsuccessful uprising in the far south, while the Tai organized unrest in the north.

From July 1941 to August 1945, Japanese troops occupied all of Vietnam. In 1941, Ho Chi Minh founded the Vietnam Independence League, known as the Viet Minh.

At the end of World War II, detachments of the Kuomintang Chinese entered the northern part of the country, and the British entered the territory of South Vietnam. The Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, made Hanoi their base and formed "People's Committees" throughout Vietnam. On September 2, 1945, after the abdication of Emperor Bao Dai (belonging to the Nguyen dynasty), the Viet Minh, who enjoyed China's favor as a result of the August Revolution, announced the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) and formed a provisional government, with Ho Chi Minh as chairman.

In accordance with the Vietnamese-French agreements of 1946, France agreed to recognize the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) as a "free state" with an army and a parliament, as part of the Indochinese Confederation and the French Union. The first president of the DRV was Ho Chi Minh, who simultaneously headed the government as prime minister. At the end of 1946, France and the Viet Minh accused each other of violating the agreements, and on December 19, Viet Minh detachments attacked French troops. France sought to win over the local population, placing in 1949 the former emperor Bao Dai in charge of a nominally independent government. However, the Việt Minh refused to recognize the new regime, and after 1949 consolidated its position with the support of China. In turn, since 1951 France has received major military and economic aid from the United States. In the spring of 1954, French troops were surrounded and defeated at Dien Bien Phu. This circumstance and the demand of the international community to stop the aggression hastened the conclusion of a peace agreement at the international conference in Geneva.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the USA, France, Great Britain, the USSR, China, Laos, Cambodia and two Vietnamese governments: Bao Dai (South Vietnam) and Viet Minh (Northern Vietnam). The agreement on the cessation of hostilities between France and the Viet Minh, signed in July 1954, provided for the temporary division of the country along the 17th parallel; the holding in July 1956 of elections necessary for the reunification of North and South Vietnam; the withdrawal of French military units from the North and the prohibition of the buildup of armaments in any of the zones; the formation of an international commission to oversee the implementation of the agreement. Thus, the existence of two independent states was recognized - the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Northern Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). North Vietnam retained for subsequent years the basic state structures that began to take shape as early as 1946 and proclaimed a line of building socialism under the leadership of the Communist Party and President Ho Chi Minh. In South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem deposed Bao Dai in 1955 and took the presidency. Diem managed to cope with the opposition of the military elite, the Cao Dai and Hoahao sects and the Dai Viet party, and he was re-elected president in 1961. The Saigon authorities tried to discredit the Viet Minh in the eyes of his supporters who remained in the South, but faced active military confrontation in many rural areas, especially in Cochin. In 1960, opponents of the regime created the pro-communist National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF). In the cities, non-communist opposition groups opposed Diem. Buddhists denounced the regime's discriminatory policies, and several Buddhist monks and nuns even set themselves on fire in protest.

On November 1, 1963, the military overthrew Ngo Din Diem, followed by a series of coups. Unrest among Buddhists, Catholics, and students continued until civil rule was restored in late 1964.

In June 1965, General Nguyen Van Thieu took over as head of state, and General Nguyen Cao Kyi as prime minister. In 1966, a specially elected Assembly adopted a constitution approved by the military, which entered into force on April 1, 1967. Presidential elections were held in September. Thieu and Kee were voted president and vice president respectively. Up to a third of the entire population living in the territory under the control of the NLF did not take part in the election campaign. Meanwhile, the scale of hostilities expanded. American military advisers had been in the South since 1960, and yet the NLF was close to victory. In 1965 the United States sent army formations to the aid of the Saigon government, launched the first air strikes on the territory of North Vietnam, and intensified the bombardment of the rebellious regions of South Vietnam. The NLF received military reinforcements from the North, aided by the USSR and China. The American military presence temporarily stabilized the situation, but in early 1968 units of the NLF and North Vietnam conducted combat operations in almost all major South Vietnamese cities. In April, peace talks began between US and North Vietnamese representatives. Then began a partial evacuation from the South of American troops, whose number at one time reached 536 thousand people. In the summer of 1969, at free democratic elections in the liberated regions of South Vietnam, a people's revolutionary administration was established. On June 6–8, at the Congress of People's Representatives, the Republic of South Vietnam (RSV) was proclaimed and the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) was established. Ho Chi Minh died the same year.

From 1969 to 1971, the South Vietnamese army expanded the area under its control. The United States at that time withdrew its military units from the country, compensating for these steps with air bombardments. In 1971, Thieu was re-elected President of South Vietnam. In the spring and early summer of 1972, the communists organized a major offensive, which proceeded very successfully until it was stopped by the actions of American aircraft and counterattacks by South Vietnamese troops. The United States responded by increasing air raids and carrying out extensive mining of North Vietnamese ports and sea and river routes. At the end of the year, the United States began a massive bombardment of the cities of North Vietnam.

On January 27, 1973, the four parties involved in the war signed a peace agreement in Paris that provided for a ceasefire in the South, the recognition of the 17th parallel as a temporary demarcation line, and the withdrawal of American troops from the country. It was supposed to convene the National Council and elections, which were supposed to decide the fate of the South Vietnamese government.

The last American formations left Vietnam in April 1973, but the political clauses of the treaty were never implemented. The Saigon administration tried to run an election campaign on its own, which was opposed by the PRP, which demanded the creation of a tripartite council. Moreover, the fighting did not stop either. In March 1975, the Saigon army was forced to leave the region of the central plateau (Teinguen), after which it disintegrated. A few weeks later, the armed forces of the PRG and North Vietnam surrounded the southern capital. Thieu resigned on April 21, and on April 30, 1975, the Saigon military units capitulated.

Initially, it seemed that both parts of the country could exist as independent, albeit closely related, state entities. However, the communists were in a hurry with the unification process. In the summer and autumn of 1975 they nationalized the banks and large enterprises of the South. In April 1976, general elections were held for the National Assembly of a united Vietnam. On July 2, 1976, the official reunification of Vietnam and the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam took place.

During the war, Vietnam was helped by both the USSR and China. In the late 1970s, Vietnam established close ties with the Soviet Union. The socialist transformation of the economy in the South took its toll primarily on the large Chinese community in Vietnam. Its conflicts with the Vietnamese took the form of ethnic strife and had a negative impact on relations between Vietnam and China. In addition, China took the side of the anti-Vietnamese Pol Pot regime in Cambodia. In December 1978, Vietnamese troops entered Cambodia and by the beginning of 1979 had occupied most of its territory. In February 1979 there was an armed conflict on the Vietnamese-Chinese border.

Between 1978 and 1980, at least 750,000 people left the country (more than half of them ethnic Chinese). Many returned to their historical homeland by land, and some set off on a journey across the South China Sea by boat.

The desire of the Vietnamese authorities to carry out socialist transformations already in the late 1970s led to negative consequences. The government in Hanoi concentrated all its efforts on military actions and was entirely dependent on the assistance of the USSR. The South Vietnamese economy, based on private enterprise, was artificially fueled by large cash infusions.

In the 1980s, the government took a more pragmatic course, giving more latitude to local planners, lifting trade restrictions, and allowing farmers to sell some of their produce on the market. However, in the middle of the decade, a huge budget deficit and emission gave rise to rapid inflation. In 1989, the country adopted a long-term program of radical reforms, including measures to suppress inflationary trends, liberalize banking and other legislation, and stimulate the private sector in industry. The adopted state policy of “renovation” (“doi mei”) was confirmed and further developed at the VII (1991) and VIII (1996) congresses of the CPV.

As part of the economic reforms, in January 1991 a law was passed on the admission of private enterprises. The new constitution adopted in 1992 provided for a clearer division of functions between the party and the state, the introduction of a market economy, the strengthening of the role of the private sector and the possibility of private land use. Nevertheless, the country's leadership stated that the course towards socialism with the leading role of the Communist Party is preserved and multi-party democracy will not be established. At the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party in June 1991, Do Myoi, who had previously held the post of head of government, was elected the new general secretary (he was replaced in this post by Wo Van Kiet). The new appointments reflected the balance of power in the party leadership. Before Mooi, a member of the communist movement since 1939, was considered a supporter of the orthodox course, Wo Van Kiet was one of the leading advocates of market reforms. In June 1992, the government announced the release of all members, advisers and supporters of the former South Vietnamese regime. In the July 1992 National Assembly elections, for the first time, more candidates were nominated than there were seats in Parliament. 2 independent candidates were also admitted to the elections. In July 1993, the National Assembly passed a law that allowed peasants to purchase land for use (the state remained the supreme owner of the land).

Viet Nam established links with the International Monetary Fund and began to cooperate with it in the implementation of economic policy. In November 1994, the Vietnamese government and the IMF agreed on a medium-term economic program that provided for real growth in 1994–1996 by 8–8.7% and a reduction in inflation from 10.5 to 7%. In November 1995, Vietnam, international organizations and creditor states agreed to provide this country with assistance in 1996 in the amount of 2.3 billion dollars. Negotiations continued on the payment of debts on loans provided in the 1970s by Japanese banks. In 1996, Vietnam and Western creditors reached an agreement to restructure $900 million in debt. In 1997, Hanoi was to receive $2.4 billion in aid again.

Economic liberalization in the country was not accompanied by the refusal of the Communist Party from its monopoly position in the state. In November 1995, the Supreme Court sentenced two former high-ranking party officials to 15 and 18 months in prison for "abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to the detriment of national security." Both advocated reform and democratization of the ruling party. The Eighth Congress of the Communist Party in June - July 1996 called for the continuation of cautious reforms while maintaining state control over the economy and the political system.

In 1997, there was a change of leadership in the country. In connection with the National Assembly elections in July, all three leading leaders were replaced: Communist Party General Secretary Do Muoi, President Le Duc Anh, and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet. Communist Party candidates received 85% of the votes and took 384 out of 450 seats, 63 seats went to non-partisans, 3 mandates were received by independents. In September 1997, Tran Duc Luong became the new president, Pham Van Hai became the head of government, Le Kha Fieu became the head of the Communist Party in December 1997, and Nong Duc Manh in 2001.

In the late 1990s, the Vietnamese leadership launched an anti-corruption campaign. Within its framework, some of the country's top officials and politicians, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Head of Government, etc., were removed from their posts. The bureaucracy was also blamed for the ongoing economic stagnation. Since 1998, 3,000 members have been expelled from the CPV due to corruption, and penalties have been imposed on 16,000.

In general, during the decade of reforms, Vietnam managed to maintain economic growth at the level of 7.6% per year and double the gross domestic product; from 1985–1986, industrial production increased five times, and food production doubled. But market reforms led to the growth of social differences and the gap between town and countryside, to the discontent of the poorest sections of the population and national minorities. In February 2001, the party leadership was concerned about major unrest among minorities who protested against the placement of large industrial rubber and coffee plantations on their lands (the program was developed with the participation of the International Monetary Fund).

These problems were discussed at the next IX Congress of the CPV in April 2001. It was stated at it that the country is at the stage of a long and difficult "transition to socialism", which preserves the diversity of economic forms and forms of ownership. The CPV characterizes the economic system during this period as a "socialist-oriented market economy", emphasizing, at the same time, the priority role of the public sector. In an attempt to alleviate social tensions, the congress approved amendments to the party charter, banning members of the CPSU from owning their own private businesses. Corruption in the party and the state, “individualism, opportunism, the lust for power, fame and profit, localism” were subjected to sharp and emotional attacks. after a certain age, democratic procedures are expanded.

Nong Duc Manh, 60, former chairman of the National Assembly, became the new general secretary of the CPV. This is the first party leader belonging to a national minority (tai). His choice is considered a compromise between the "reformist" and more "conservative" wing of the party. In the elections to the National Assembly in May 2002, out of 498 seats, the candidates of the Communist Party won the majority, 51 were non-party, 3 were independent. In 2002 and 2003, despite the ban on strikes, labor conflicts broke out in various sectors of the Vietnamese economy.

Vietnam's relations with the US and China improved in the 1990s. In October 1990, the Vietnamese Foreign Minister visited Washington for the first time and negotiated the fate of 1,700 missing American soldiers. In March 1992, the United States and Vietnam reached an agreement that the American side would provide humanitarian aid to Vietnam in the amount of $3 million annually in exchange for assistance in searching for missing Americans. In December, the US eased the trade embargo against Hanoi, imposed in 1964. Finally, in August 1994, both countries established diplomatic relations. In April 1997, Vietnam pledged to pay the United States $145 million in debt from the former South Vietnamese government. In June 1997, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Hanoi, and in March 2000, the US Secretary of Defense, who officially apologized for the US role during the Vietnam War, which claimed the lives of almost 3 million Vietnamese and 58,000 American soldiers. In 2000, US President Clinton visited Vietnam, which gave a new impetus to relations between the two states.

In the autumn of 1990, for the first time since the freeze of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China in 1979, both countries signed an agreement on citizens' travel in Beijing. In November 1991, China and Vietnam agreed to formally normalize relations, and in February 1992 the Chinese foreign minister traveled to Hanoi. In November-December of the same year, the visit of Chinese Premier Li Peng followed. He discussed with the Vietnamese leaders disputed territorial issues, the situation in Cambodia, and signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of economy, science, technology and culture. Chinese President Jiang Zemin agreed in November 1994 to expand economic ties between the two countries. In turn, the leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Do Muoi, visited Beijing at the end of 1995 and continued negotiations on border disputes.

Vietnam's relations with Asian as well as Western countries developed. In 1995 Vietnam was admitted to ASEAN. In February 1993, French President François Mitterrand became the first Western head of state to visit Hanoi since 1954. He signed seven cooperation agreements and promised to double the financial aid to 360 million francs. In July 1995, Vietnam and the European Union entered into an agreement on trade and cooperation.

Vietnam is a country with a long history, original cultural traditions, mild humid climate and long beaches. Unlike neighboring Thailand, which has long become a land of exoticism, noisy entertainment and bright colors, Vietnam is more traditional, but no less interesting. It is in this country that you can fully experience the atmosphere of East Asia and not get lost in the crowds of tourists.

Vietnam, which was destroyed by the war, today revived the economy, “pulled up” the infrastructure to a decent level and hospitably opened its doors to all tourists who lack vivid impressions. But before you pack your bags and get ready to go, you should learn a little more about this country in order to understand their traditions and culture, as well as their way of life. So let's get to know Vietnam!

History of the origin of the name

The first state formations on the Indochina Peninsula, on the territory of modern Vietnam, appeared as early as the 3rd century BC. Then the question of the name of these places and settlements was not yet raised, but very soon, when the civilization of the Viet settled here for a long time, it was decided to come up with a short but capacious name. This is how the word Vietnam appeared, which consists of two parts: "Việt", denoting the nation of Viet and "Nam", which translates as south. In general, the name was translated as "the southern country of the Viet".

As for the mention of this name in handwritten and printed works, it first occurred in the 16th century. The famous poet Nguyen Binh Khiem, who wrote the great work "The Prophecies of Trang Trinh", indicated in several places - "And Vietnam was formed." Much later, at the beginning of the 18th century, the word Vietnam began to appear in many official documents compiled by Emperor Gya Long. However, along with the name Vietnam, the obsolete colloquial name Annam was often used. It was officially withdrawn from circulation only by Emperor Bao Dai in 1945.

Geographic location and features of Vietnam

The state of Vietnam is conveniently located in Southeast Asia, on the Indochina peninsula. Vietnam borders Cambodia and Laos to the west and China to the north. The eastern and southern provinces of the country are washed by the South China Sea.

Almost 85% of the country's territory is medium and low mountains. In the northern part, there are three long ridges in parallel - Hoanglyenshon (the highest point is Mount Fanshipan 3143 m), Shamshao and Shusungtyaotyay. These ranges are separated by small valleys. In the west of the country, the picturesque Annam Mountains or Truong Son, as they are called in many guidebooks, amaze the eye. In the south and in the center of the country there are several basalt plateaus - Zilin, Pleiku, Daklak, Lamvien. Large, full-flowing Asian rivers, the Mekong and Hongha, also flow through the territory of Vietnam, which then flow into the South China Sea.

Due to the mountainous terrain of the country, settlements here are located very unevenly. The highest population density is recorded in the north of the country, on the Bakbo delta plain. Almost 1,100 people per square kilometer live here. It is in this area that major cities and the capital Hanoi are located. A slightly lower population density (450 people per square kilometer) was recorded in the southwest of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta. Here is the second largest city in the country Ho Chi Minh City.

As for the climate, it varies greatly depending on where the city is located - in the north or south of the country. The southern regions are characterized by hot winters, when the temperature rises above 26 ° C, in turn, in the north, winters are cool (15 ° C) and it is often cold up to 1 ° C, when cold air masses come from China. Frost is common in mountainous areas, but there is not much rainfall, as in the southern regions. In the north, winters are very wet, and in summer, almost the entire territory of Vietnam is watered with numerous monsoon rains. Another climatic "scourge" of the country is typhoons, which often have destructive power. Most often, typhoons rage in Vietnam in late summer or early autumn.

The structure of the state

Vietnam is subdivided into 58 "tinh" - provinces. In addition, there are five more large central cities that have the status of a province (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho and Hai Phong). In terms of population, Vietnam ranks 13th in the world (89.6 million people). A significant increase in the population is recorded annually, amounting to more than 1% of the total population.

Vietnam also boasts a long life expectancy. So, on average, men live here for 70 years, and women for 75 years. Unfortunately, 13% of all women are illiterate, while men have universal literacy.

As for the ethnic composition of the population, the indigenous Viet people live here, as well as a small percentage of Thai and Thai. The official language is Viet, but some people can also speak Chinese, English, and French.

The local religion, which is revered by 80% of the population of Vietnam, is the cult of ancestors - "tho kung to tien". This cult does not have an official dogma, a strict spiritual hierarchy, and therefore the status of a religious denomination is not assigned to it. However, the ancestral rites are regularly celebrated by the Vietnamese, and this happens in ordinary Buddhist temples.

Vietnam's governing bodies are the President, the National Assembly and the Prime Minister. The constitution of the country that is currently in force was adopted in 1992. In the provinces and large cities there are people's councils that represent the local authorities. Representatives of the people's councils are elected from the citizens for a period of four years.

The ruling political party of the country is the Communist Party of Vietnam, which was established in 1930. At one time, the leader of this party was the influential and charismatic Ho Chi Minh. Until 1988, the Socialist and Democratic parties were also known in the country, which then ceased to exist and provided the Communist Party with the reins of full power. If we talk about other political organizations, then the Fatherland Front of Vietnam, the Union of Communist Youth and the Women's Union also have a certain weight in society.

Economic situation in Vietnam

For quite a long time, Vietnam "departed" from the consequences of the war. And he succeeded. In our time, industrial production has reached the level of many European countries, in addition, the rise is felt in agriculture. The country actively exports coffee and rice, cotton and tea, as well as bananas and numerous varieties of nuts.

Vietnam boasts rich natural resources: coal, manganese, phosphates, chromites and bauxites, as well as large offshore oil deposits. Vietnam exports oil and coal to Japan and the USA.

If we talk about industry, then the branches of processing agricultural products, the production of shoes, clothing, shipbuilding and oil production are developed here. The industrial sector employs the bulk of the Vietnamese population. The unemployment rate is no more than 6%.

A Brief History of Vietnam: The Fight for Freedom

The amazing country of Vietnam, which attracts tourists from all over the world to its original culture, has a long history. Did you know that the Viet or Vietnamese, as we used to call this nation, are considered, according to legend, the descendants of Fairies and Dragons. The Vietnamese believe that their progenitor is the sovereign Dragon (Lak Long Quan), who decided that he would transfer power in the country to his eldest son named Hung. This son, according to legend, was born from a fairy bird, which happened so long ago - more than 4 thousand years ago. It was Hung, who gained power in the country, who gave the state the name Wanlang, which lasted until the 3rd century AD. Then the country was named Aulak, the state flourished for several centuries and reached the highest development in cultural life, crafts and technical equipment.

Local wars with China

However, Aulac existed until the moment when it was captured by the Nanyue country. For several decades, there were constant wars for power on the territory of the country, dynasties fought, blood was shed. Anti-Chinese uprisings constantly swept through the country, then the time came for the temporary domination of Chinese dynasties in Vietnam. The Chinese occupation of the northern part of the country was long, with constant conflicts from 189 BC to 936 AD. Therefore, although the Kingdom of Vietnam began its existence from the distant 100 years, for quite a long time the territories of Vietnam were part of China. Vietnam and China fought for a long time, and after the first opium war, Vietnam took a tough stance against China, from where the drug was distributed around the world.

Vietnam is a colony of France

Then came the quiet time of independence and local rulers ruled their country until 1860, until the time when the time came for colonial dependence on France. The French pursued an offensive policy, while three countries (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) formed French Indochina, and the territory of Vietnam itself was divided into three parts artificially. After that, a state monopoly was introduced on opium, salt, alcoholic beverages, and some other goods. The construction of horse-drawn roads began to be encouraged, and some other positive changes were introduced. However, the Vietnamese could not be indifferent to the colonization of their country, they desperately resisted, and during the period of French occupation there were two Franco-Vietnamese wars, as well as a powerful anti-colonial liberation guerrilla movement accompanied this historical period. This continued until the thirties of the twentieth century.

At that time, the Communist Party of Vietnam was founded, and its leader Ho Chi Minh began to expand the influence of the party, its ideals throughout the country. During the Second World War, the communists managed to lead an uprising in the southern part of the country, which, however, ended unsuccessfully, and organized quite strong unrest in the north of the state. The year 1941 was marked by the fact that Ho Chi Minh organized the League of Struggle against the Chinese and French occupation, since militaristic Japan managed to occupy the country and during 1941-45 the long-suffering Vietnam remained under the rule of the Japanese.

August 1945 went down in history as a revolution, during which Emperor Bao Dai renounced power, and on September 2 of the same year, the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was announced. The government was headed by Ho Chi Minh himself, he also became the president of the country. France categorically refused to recognize the independence of its colony, uprisings broke out, the French tried to win over part of the local population to their side. In addition, there were many representatives of the victorious troops, in particular, the British, on the territory of Vietnam. This continued until 1954, that is, the period when the French troops were defeated at Dien Bien Phu. The international community insisted that France immediately stop its predatory and aggressive actions against Vietnam. And on July 20, 1954, the well-known convention on Vietnam was signed.

Vietnam War

According to this agreement, the state was temporarily divided into 2 parts (North and South) along the 17th parallel, and joint elections were scheduled for July 1956, which were supposed to unite South and North Vietnam. The world community has recognized the existence of 2 states: the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Northern Vietnam). However, this decision was sharply opposed by the United States, which was categorically against the spread of communism in Asia. A confrontation began, free elections were disrupted, the purpose of which was to unite the country.

The government of North Vietnam tried with all its might to unite the country, a decision was made on the forceful reunification. The government from Saigon (South Vietnam), on the contrary, took the side of the North Americans. From 1957 to 1960, there were constant clashes between supporters of the "southern" and "northern" policies. All this could not but lead to an armed conflict.

US military operations against North Vietnam intensified, and in 1965 the first air strikes were carried out against the territory of North Vietnam. The Americans committed atrocities, used modern weapons, the number of American troops in the country reached 550 thousand people. However, it was not possible to break the proud people. Even the death of the leader Ho Chi Minh did not change the outcome of the battles, the North Vietnamese created many partisan detachments that penetrated deep into the South of the country. The Americans began to fail, there were many deaths, dissatisfaction with the war in American society grew constantly, and in 1973 the Paris Peace Accords were signed in Washington.

On April 30, 1975, deprived of the strong support of the North American United States, the South Vietnamese troops surrendered Saigon. Thus, the country was united and the 17th parallel, temporarily dividing the territory, became unnecessary. According to military sources, about 2 million of the country's inhabitants died as a result of this cruel and senseless war. It must be said that the USSR was categorically against this war of conquest, helping the rebels during the hostilities with provisions, weapons, but did not participate in military forces.

Historians still debate the number of North American soldiers who committed suicide after the end of this senseless war. According to the most minimal estimates, their number reaches 30 thousand people.

Unification of the country

Saigon began to be called Ho Chi Minh City, in 1976 a new Constitution of the country was adopted, banks were nationalized. It should be noted that the restructuring of the economy and putting it on a socialist footing in the south had a negative impact on the ethnic Chinese who have lived in the territory for centuries. The period of emigration began and about 750 thousand people left the country, about 50% of whom were Chinese. Vietnam also sharply opposed the Pol Pot regime in neighboring Cambodia (Kampuchea), sent in its troops to overthrow the Pol Potites. China, however, remained on the side of the ruling Cambodian regime. All this did not lead to the strengthening of friendly and business ties between neighboring nations, which so often throughout history have been in conflict with each other.

In 1979, the Vietnam-China War took place. At the initial stage, the army of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was able to stop the military forces of China, while the Chinese army suffered losses in numbers. Then the diplomatic forces of the USSR intervened in the conflict, and China stopped the armed intervention, however, periodic military confrontations were observed on the border of the territory of Vietnam until 1991.

Vietnam tried to copy the socialist model of government, but since 1986 the inevitable policy of economic liberalization began. The country has ceased to be closed to external relations and is now happy to receive tourists from all over the world.

At the moment, the political power in the country is stabilized, the Vietnamese are enjoying the peaceful skies that they rightfully deserve.

The flourishing country, known to us as Vietnam, was mastered by man in the Paleolithic era. By the end of the III millennium BC. a significant part of the current state turned out to be inhabited by various tribes, in which modern anthropologists see relatives of the current Khmers and inhabitants of the islands of Southeast Asia. At that very time, in the far north, in the lower reaches of the great Chinese Yangtze River, lived a people who were destined not only to take possession of the hot lands of the south, but also to give them their current name. Representatives of this nationality called themselves La Viet. In the middle of the II millennium BC. the Laviet quickly settled on the fertile plains of the Red River Delta. As often happens in history, weaker predecessors were partly forced out and partly assimilated.

Somewhat later, the ancestors of modern Thais came to Vietnam, entrenched in the mountains in the north of the country. The tribes that left under the onslaught of the Laviets to the south eventually gave rise to many peoples of modern Indochina, primarily the Chams (or Tyams).

In 2879 BC a powerful leader (Vuong) named Hung (Hung Vuong) managed to unite the independent La Viet clans into a single tribal union Vanlang. It is believed that it was thanks to him that the state of Vietnam appeared on the world map many centuries later. Although Hung Vuong was more of a military leader than a monarch, he managed to retain power for his offspring, giving rise to many noble families of ancient Vietnam.

In 257 BC Vanlang was defeated by the inhabitants of the north. The leader of the victors, An Duong (most historians consider him a Chinese), created the Au Lac state with its capital in Koloa, a “snail fortress” in the northern regions of present-day Vietnam. Although the era of Au Lak quickly declined, it is considered the time of the final formation of the statehood and culture of the La Viet. Au Lak soon became part of the Namviet (or Nan Yue) state, which occupied the territory of both modern North Vietnam and vast areas of South China. Interestingly, the capital of Nam Viet was located on the site of the famous southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

The power of the Nam Viet, which was more than enough to conquer Au Lak, turned out to be insignificant in comparison with the power of the Chinese Han Empire, which easily swallowed up a small southern kingdom at the end of the 3rd century. BC. This event marked the beginning of a long period of complete dependence of Vietnam on its vast northern neighbor. Until the 7th century the area of ​​the former Nam Viet was called Giaoti (in China - Jiaochzhi), and then acquired the well-known historical name Annam, which means "pacified south".

Although at first the Chinese, like the Mongols in Russia, did not interfere in the internal affairs of the conquered people, limiting themselves to the regular collection of tribute, their dominion was accompanied by resistance that did not fade for a minute. It was in those days that the fighting qualities of the Vietnamese were formed, which so struck the aggressors of modern times. Not only men, but also women resisted. Sometimes the fearless Vietnamese even stood at the head of the uprisings. In the 40s. AD the warrior sisters Chyng Chak and Chyng Ni succeeded in expelling the Chinese from the country for three years. Two centuries later, an uprising broke out under the leadership of the heroine Chieu. Alas, the inequality of forces sooner or later doomed all the performances of the Vietnamese to defeat. As a result, by the I-II centuries. AD the country lost the last grains of independence and China began to exert a strong influence on the culture, economy, politics and religion of the conquered country - an influence that is still felt at every turn.

For eight long centuries, Vietnam was under Chinese rule. If the Middle Kingdom at that time was gradually weakening, losing control over its vast territories, then Vietnam, on the contrary, rallied and accumulated strength. In 938, the Vietnamese feudal lord Ngo Kuyen raised an uprising and threw off the hated foreign yoke. The new ruler again proclaimed the capital city of Koloa and restored the spirit and traditions of Vietnamese antiquity at the court. By the 11th century, when the Li dynasty came to power, the country, which changed its name to Dai Viet (Great Viet), was no longer inferior to the most powerful powers of the Far East in terms of development. At this time, the capital of Vietnam for the first time becomes the city of Thang Long - modern Hanoi. By expelling the Chinese, the victors borrow much from their statecraft. As early as 1070, a Confucius temple was erected in Thang Long, a national academy (Khan Lam) was created, and a system of state examinations was introduced according to the Chinese model. In the XII century. Confucianism finally becomes the state religion of Vietnam, while Buddhism and Taoism begin to play the role of folk beliefs. A strengthened state completely restores its lost positions - at the end of the 13th century. it successfully repels the invasion of the Mongols and even expands its possessions by adding the northern mountainous regions and the lands of the southern Chams.

At the beginning of the XV century. the country is once again in deep crisis. Taking advantage of the strife that arose as a result of the unpopular transformations of Emperor Li Ho Kyui, the troops of the Chinese Ming dynasty in 1407 again captured the country. This time, Chinese rule does not last long - after only 20 years, the united nation again drives out enemies. The rebel leader Le Loi proclaims the creation of the Later Le dynasty (1428-1788) and implements reforms that began the "golden age" of medieval Vietnam.

In the 30s. 17th century The state of Dai Viet, formally still headed by the kings of the Le dynasty, split into two rival destinies belonging to the Trinh and Nguyen clans. The top of each clan generously distributed land holdings to their supporters. The amount of land at the disposal of the treasury was rapidly decreasing, while the need for money for military expenses, on the contrary, was growing every day. To solve this problem, the leaders of the clans resorted to the old method - without further ado, they increased the exactions from the population. The result of the ruthless extortion of taxes was a peasant war, known as the "Teishon Rebellion" and broke out in 1771. The rebels were led by three brothers, one of whom, Nguyen Hue, proclaimed himself emperor in 1788. The last king of the Le dynasty was forced to seek help from his "brother" - the militant Chinese emperor Qianlong from the Qing dynasty. He willingly responded to the call, and the Chinese troops again invaded the country, but the Teishons quickly inflicted a crushing defeat on them in the battle near Thang Glong on January 5, 1789. It seemed to everyone that after such a success, the power of the "people's" emperor would be unshakable, but after all three years Nguyen Hue suddenly died. This was immediately taken advantage of by the head of the Nguyen clan, commander Nguyen Phuc Anh. Having gathered their own squads and relying on the help of France, the Nguyen managed to defeat the rebels. In 1804, Nguyen Phuc Anh took the throne name of Gia Long, moved the capital to Hue and became the first emperor of the dynasty, which remained on the throne until 1945.

19th century: Vietnam under French rule

Looking for a way to deal a decisive blow to their opponents, the feudal rulers of Vietnam in the middle of the 17th century. began to resort to the help of Europeans, who could not boast of numbers, but had military technologies unknown to Asians. If the Trinh clan entered into a military alliance with the Dutch, then the Nguyen preferred to take advantage of the support of the French. Their decision turned out to be correct: the Dutch quickly lost interest in Indochinese affairs, and Cheeney was left without "military advisers". The British at that time were too busy conquering India. The French, not feeling pressure from other European competitors, made the Nguyen conclude a very advantageous treaty, which provided for the first territorial acquisitions of France on the peninsula. It happened in 1787, but soon the Great French Revolution broke out, followed by the years of the Napoleonic wars. All these "misunderstandings" made France forget about Eastern affairs for a long time. Once again interested in the "Indochinese question" in the 20s. In the 19th century, Paris realized that there were not enough forces for a full-scale invasion. Over the next 30-plus years, France operated in Vietnam mainly by the method of intrigue, the threads of which were concentrated in the hands of missionaries and all kinds of adventurers. Meanwhile, the Nguyen dynasty, having gained power, did not at all seek to pay generous "dividends" to its overseas allies, leaning out of harm's way to a "closed door" policy. In France, they understood that it was impossible to open these “doors” without guns, and for the time being they took a wait-and-see attitude. Favorable conditions for the invasion developed only by 1858. The successful completion of the 2nd Opium War against China for Europeans, in which France took an active part, allowed Napoleon III to send impressive forces against Vietnam - 2.5 thousand infantrymen on 13 ships armed with the latest technology. Spain also took part in the expedition, putting up one warship and 450 soldiers. On August 31, 1858, the combined forces under the command of Admiral Charles Rigaud de Genoui approached the port of Da Nang. The next day, before the expiration of the ultimatum, the city was taken by storm.

The French invasion from the first days ran into fierce resistance from the imperial troops and the local population. The failures forced the commander to change tactics: instead of fruitless attempts to dismember the country in its central part, he decided to win a foothold in the south. This path gave the conquerors huge advantages, because in the territory they occupied there was the most necessary thing - water and food. The abundance of waterways in the Mekong Delta made it possible to control the country with the help of gunboats, and the key role of the region in rice production made it possible not only to feed its soldiers, but also to put the uncompromising emperor Tu Duc on a “starvation ration”. The next blow was directed at the Zyadin fortress, not far from which, on the banks of a full-flowing river, there was a conglomerate of 40 settlements - the future Saigon. In February 1859, the invasion troops defeated the Vietnamese troops and captured the fortress. Despite the defeat, the Vietnamese did not lose their presence of mind - they quickly gathered reinforcements and kept the foreigners under siege for three whole years. The fact that in 1860 the French had to fight on two fronts also played into the hands of the patriots: they were forced to transfer part of their expeditionary forces to China, whose authorities also stubbornly refused to obey the will of the West.

In February 1861, French forces concentrated off the coast of Vietnam, including 50 warships and 4,000 troops. infantry corps under the command of Admiral Charne. Under the onslaught of this rati, resistance was broken, and on June 5, 1862, Emperor Tu Duc was forced to conclude an agreement that gave the French three southern provinces of the country - Zyadin, Dinh Tuong and Bien Hoa; an indemnity of $4 million and the right to trade in the ports of Vietnam. In the occupied territories, a colony of French Cochinchina arose with a center in Saigon.

A year later, France asserted its dominance in Cambodia. Three southwestern provinces of Vietnam - Vinh Long, An Giang and Ha Tinh - were sandwiched between French possessions. The rivers that connected the two parts of the French colonial possessions were under the control of Vietnam, which did not suit Paris in any way. Inviting the emperor to voluntarily "cede" three provinces and not having received consent, the French in June 1867 resolved the issue by military means. Huge possessions were in the hands of the colonial authorities, which they disposed of at their own discretion. They organized a system of administrative control headed by the governor. At the same time, on the ground, the French were only at the head of the provinces, and the lower positions - from the prefect to the village headman - were occupied by the Vietnamese. During the first ten years of French rule (from 1860 to 1870), rice exports from the Mekong Delta quadrupled. New ports and shipyards were built, the Indochina Bank was established, and Saigon became a flourishing European city. For the "opponents of progress" in 1862, the famous hard labor prison was built on the island of Condao in the South China Sea ...

Meanwhile, the north of Vietnam, or Tonkin, as the Europeans called it, continued to attract the eyes of newcomers. In annexing these territories, the most important role was played by the entrepreneur-adventurer J. Dupuy, who in 1872 led a trading expedition to the basin of the Red River (Hong Ha). Not forgetting about personal gain, Dupuis had to fulfill a secret assignment from the colonial administration: to ensure the presence of "French interests" in Tonkin and provoke the Vietnamese authorities to hostile actions. The latter gave rise to another military expedition. In October 1873, Major F. Garnier joined Dupuis with a detachment of 180 marines. Reinforced from Cochin China, this small force captured Hanoi and the principal cities of the five provinces within three weeks. At the same time, the crowded city of Ninh Bin surrendered to a detachment of ... 10 people! The reason for such miracles was the large number of opponents of the emperor in the north of the country. Major Garnier himself died in battle, but his expedition became another "eastern victory" for France. In 1874, another treaty was concluded with Vietnam, which allowed France to subjugate all the foreign trade of the "Annamites" to its control and deploy its troops in Tonkin "to guard the consulates." The number of this contingent was constantly increasing and by the beginning of the 1880s. reached such a size that it made it easy to complete the occupation of the country. However, here the French had to face an obstacle - as it turned out, Qing China also claimed a tidbit. Considering North Vietnam as its own "patrimony", Beijing was not afraid to enter into conflict with a powerful European power. The Franco-Chinese war lasted for a year and ended, as you might guess, with the victory of modern European weapons. The new success of France coincided with the death of Emperor Tu Duc. In August 1883, French troops occupied the imperial capital of Hue, and five days later the "Treaty of Arman" was signed, establishing French dominance throughout the country. At the same time, Kochinchina (South Vietnam) remained a colony, and Annam (Central Vietnam) and Tonkin (Northern Vietnam) were declared protectorates, nominally subordinate to the emperors of the Nguyen dynasty. In 1884-1885. agreements were signed between France and China under which Beijing fully recognized French acquisitions and renounced any claims to the lands of Indochina. In 1887, Vietnam and Cambodia were united into the Indochinese Union, and in 1899 Laos was added to it, which became a French protectorate by 1893. Thus, France became the owner of vast Asian possessions. However, she did not have to rest on her laurels for long: in the mountains and jungles of the conquered peninsula, pockets of guerrilla warfare flared up, which escalated into the 20th century. to the national independence movement.

XX century: in the fire of wars and revolutions

At the end of the 19th century, a patriotic movement called Can Vuong - "In Defense of the Emperor" gained great weight in Vietnam. Its participants from among the officials and scientists were peace-loving, moderate in their demands, and saw their ideal in a constitutional monarchy. In the rural outback, on the contrary, there were enough people who were inferior to the city "freethinkers" in education, but who did not miss the opportunity to arrange a plentiful bloodletting of the hated teys ("people of the West", i.e. the French). Hoang Hoa Tham, the leader of the resistance in the Yenthe region, was the most widely known among such daredevils. Companions treated him with great respect and called him De Tham - "Commander Tham". A born military leader and an unsurpassed connoisseur of the area, De Tham for a long time, like a splinter, haunted the French with lightning raids. In 1894, the colonial authorities were forced to offer De Tham something like autonomy, giving him full control over the territory of four volosts. Such a handout did not suit the old partisan, and the jungle war unfolded with renewed vigor, ending only with the death of De Tham in 1913. The comrades-in-arms of the fallen commander, like many other rebels, took refuge in China, where the Qing authorities, wanting to annoy the French, watched to their presence through your fingers.

As in British India, leadership in the Vietnamese liberation movement at the beginning of the 20th century. gradually began to pass into the hands of energetic young people who received a Western education, but did not break away from their people. Many of them were fond of the then fashionable radical political doctrines. Among these "revolutionaries of the new generation" belonged the son of a rural teacher Nguyen Ai Quoc, known throughout the world under the name of Ho Chi Minh. The active political activity of the "father of Vietnamese independence" began in 1922 in Paris, where he created the Intercolonial Union of Colored Peoples, which became the progenitor of the current Communist Party of Vietnam.

By the beginning of 1930, three communist organizations already existed in Vietnam and the border regions of neighboring countries - the Communist Party of Annam, the Communist Party of Indochina and the Communist Union of Indochina. A considerable contribution to the popularity of the "faithful and omnipotent" doctrine in Indochina was played by the Comintern, tirelessly nurturing the cadres of the Vietnamese communists (at the end of the 1920s, more than fifty "Annamites" studied Marxist wisdom in Moscow), on February 3, 1930, a unification meeting was held in Hong Kong a conference of three parties, culminating in the creation of the Communist Party of Vietnam, immediately renamed the Communist Party of Indochina. Although Ho Chi Minh did not participate in the forum, he made a great contribution to the common cause of the Vietnamese communists. With his direct participation in May 1941, a militant organization of the party arose - the League of Struggle for the Independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh). In 1940, Japanese troops entered the territory of Vietnam. Despite this, unlike the Philippines, Malaya and Singapore, French Indochina formally continued to remain under the control of the colonial administration: Tokyo was forced to observe "decency" in relation to Vichy France, which made peace with the countries of the Nazi axis. In March 1945, in an effort to free their hands to organize the “last line of defense”, the Japanese finally removed the French from power in the colony, but their time in Vietnam was coming to an end: on August 15 of the same year, the island empire capitulated. The situation was immediately taken advantage of by the Viet Minh guerrillas, who emerged from the jungle and took control of the entire country in just 11 days. On September 2, 1945, in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the establishment of an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). Less than a month later, French troops began to arrive in Saigon, but active hostilities of the 1st Indochina War did not begin until December of the following year. Both opponents were strong enough, and the scales leaned in one direction or the other. During the first three years of the war, the communists lost control of South Vietnam, where in 1949 a state was established under the leadership of Emperor Bao Dai, a modernist who wore European clothes and married a Christian of humble origin. After the establishment of the communist regime in China, the military assistance of Mao Zedong tipped the scales towards the DRV. France was saved from a quick defeat by the United States, which for the first time openly appeared on the stage of the Indochinese historical drama. Only in June 1954, after the defeat of 13 thousand. army corps near the town of Dien Bien Phu in northwestern Vietnam, the French government agreed to negotiations. The Geneva Peace Agreement divided Vietnam into a special demilitarized zone along the 17th parallel. The agreement provided for the gradual unification of the country, taking into account the interests of the population of the South. Violating the terms of the agreement, the leader of the Saigon nationalists Ngo Dinh Diem in October 1955 proclaimed the creation of an independent Republic of Vietnam south of the 17th parallel, becoming the first president of the new state. The "Saigon regime", rapidly acquiring the features of a dictatorship, already in 1957 found itself in a state of war with numerous guerrilla groups of its opponents. In 1959, Hanoi openly proclaimed a policy of uniting the country by military means and provided the southern partisans with all-round support. Deliveries of weapons from the north went along the famous "Ho Chi Minh trail", laid around the demilitarized zone through the territory of Laos and Cambodia. By the end of 1960, the partisans controlled a third of the territory of the south. They even formed their own government, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, better known as the Viet Cong. Seeing the inability of their president to resist the "Reds", the Saigon military plotted, which ended in 1963 with the overthrow and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem. In an effort to regain positions lost in the fight against the communists, the subsequent leaders of the republic, Duong Van Minh, Nguyen Khanh and Nguyen Van Thieu, relied on American help.

American war

The leaders of the "free world" viewed South Vietnam as an obstacle to the expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR and the PRC and considered it their duty to maintain the strength of this barrier. In the first years after the French left Asia, US aid to Saigon was expressed mainly in military supplies and financial injections. A few military advisers from across the ocean were engaged in planning operations and provided technical assistance. The first regular units of American aviation were transferred to South Vietnam in 1961. The situation changed dramatically in August 1964 after the mysterious battle between the American destroyer Maddox and North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Without denying the very fact of the collision, Hanoi claimed that the American ship had violated the maritime border of the DRV. The US government, by contrast, portrayed what happened as a treacherous attack that took place in international waters. The reaction followed immediately. On August 5, 1964, American naval aviation for the first time struck the territory of North Vietnam. The main consequence of the "Tonkin Incident" was the resolution of the US Congress, allowing President Lyndon Johnson the direct use of American soldiers in Southeast Asia. After some hesitation, the White House decided to use the received right, and in the spring of 1965 the first two battalions of the American marines went to Vietnam. At the same time, regular bombardments of the territory of the DRV by US aircraft began.

By the end of 1965, the number of American troops fighting in Vietnam exceeded 180 thousand people. In addition to the American, military units of Australia, South Korea and Thailand were deployed in Vietnam. The most combat-ready American units were engaged in the search and destruction of Viet Cong units in the northern provinces of the Republic of Vietnam, as well as along the border of Laos and Cambodia. Other military contingents guarded important sea and air ports, military bases and territories cleared of partisans. In the spring of 1966, the Viet Cong began to receive help from like-minded people. Units of the North Vietnamese army, armed with first-class Soviet and Chinese "gifts", began to penetrate into South Vietnam from the territory of the DRV. In response to this, the American command had to urgently create a chain of fortified points along the southern border of the demilitarized zone. During 1965-1967. military operations in Vietnam were becoming more and more "hot" in nature, while cruelty against peaceful peasants was allowed by all participants in the conflict ... Having exchanged quick blows, the opponents retreated to their bases for regrouping, and then everything was repeated with exhausting monotony. The American command was forced to transfer more and more reinforcements to Indochina. Expeditionary force casualties mounted, and U.S. public opinion began to ask the government uncomfortable questions about the advisability of war.

Despite some tactical successes, none of the parties to the conflict managed to gain the upper hand. In January 1968, having concentrated all their forces, the army of the DRV and the Viet Cong delivered a sudden blow to the Americans in several directions at once. The operation, timed to coincide with the lunar New Year's holiday, went down in history as the "New Year Offensive", or "Strike on Tet". Despite the monstrous human losses, the communists achieved important results: the American troops were demoralized, and for the first time in the White House they thought about how to get out of this impassable bloody quagmire. By this time, the international prestige of the United States was crying bitter tears, and anti-war speeches in the country itself threatened to develop into actions of open defiance. When General W. Westmoreland, commander of the American forces in Vietnam, demanded another 200,000 soldiers from Washington, promising to put an end to the bloodless Viet Cong, President L. Johnson refused. On March 31, 1968, the president addressed the country, announcing the cessation of the bombing of the DRV, readiness for peace negotiations and the end of his own political career after the end of his term.

Beginning in 1969, the United States headed for the "Vietnamization" of the war. This meant that from now on the main burden of the fighting was to fall on the shoulders of the Saigon army. Despite this, American troops continued to fight in Vietnam until the beginning of 1973. In 1970, the fire of the war flared up even more, and the fighting spread to the territory of Cambodia and Laos. Gradually, it became clear to everyone that the victory had been lost once and for all. The Viet Cong controlled 4/5 of the territory of the Republic of Vietnam. In the offensive of the North Vietnamese army, which began in the spring of 1972, more than 120 thousand people participated with the support of armored formations. The American command was still trying to influence the situation by resuming the bombing of North Vietnam, but already on January 27, 1973, an agreement was reached in Paris, according to which the United States completed the withdrawal of its troops from Indochina four months later.

The departure of the Americans did not yet mean the end of the war. In the ranks of the South Vietnamese army, there were about a million fighters, and in terms of its firepower, it surpassed the troops of the DRV by seven times. American aid to Saigon in the last two years of its independent existence amounted to $4 billion. Although the troops were withdrawn, 26 thousand American advisers and specialists remained and continued to work on the territory of the country. Despite this, the offensive operation "Ho Chi Minh", launched by the troops of the DRV and the Viet Cong in March 1975, ended with the fall of the Saigon government on April 30th.

The outcome of the long-term civil war was predetermined by the decision of the government of South Vietnam to rely on overseas soldiers. Whatever the Viet Cong was, it won in the eyes of the population in comparison with the regime that let outsiders into the country. The Americans themselves not only treated the culture and traditions of Vietnam without the slightest respect, but also turned the country into a testing ground for new products of their military-industrial complex. All this came at a heavy price. Only the combat losses of American troops in Vietnam amounted to almost 50 thousand people killed, while the wounded numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The war left a deep mark on the historical memory and culture of America. More than three decades after the end of the war, in 2007, about 2,000 US servicemen continued to be considered missing in Indochina...

Postwar years

On April 25, 1975, five days before the fall of Saigon, general elections were held for the National Assembly of a united Vietnam. By the end of the year, the winners managed to carry out the nationalization of banks and large private businesses in South Vietnam. Having achieved the uniformity of the economy in accordance with socialist principles, on July 2, 1976, the authorities officially decided to reunify the country and create the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV). In the same year, the former capital of the Republic of Vietnam was merged with the adjoining city of Tholon into a single agglomeration, named after the leader of the Vietnamese revolution - Ho Chi Minh City.

With the support of the Soviet Union, the new state managed to achieve worldwide recognition. On September 20, 1977, the country became a full member of the UN. Relations with the USSR were formalized in 1978 by the Treaty of Friendship and Partnership. The leadership of the PRC, on the contrary, was extremely dissatisfied with Vietnam, which "changed" Beijing and Moscow and actively interfered in Chinese policy in Southeast Asia. In 1978, the Vietnamese troops occupied a significant part of the territory of Cambodia and overthrew the ruling Khmer Rouge regime, supported by China. In addition, by carrying out socialist transformations in their own country, the Vietnamese communists affected the interests of ethnic Chinese, who traditionally occupied key positions in the field of trade - especially in the South. This led to a mass exodus of Chinese from Vietnam, during which more than 300,000 people left the country.

On the morning of February 17, 1979, units of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China invaded the border regions of North Vietnam. Easily breaking the resistance of the border guards and local militias, the Chinese troops occupied Lao Cai, Lang Son, Mong Cai and other Vietnamese border cities. A fleeting and very strange war began, during which aviation was not used, diplomatic relations between the warring countries were not interrupted, and their contacts along the party line did not stop. Already on March 5, China announced its "victory" and began the withdrawal of troops, which ended on March 16. Perhaps the Soviet Union played a role in making such a hasty decision, putting strong pressure on Beijing. The choice of sides in the conflict, which received the ironic nickname of the "first socialist war", is still not known for certain. The conflict complicated relations between Vietnam and China for a long ten years. The tension that reigned on the border of the two countries, from time to time resulted in armed clashes. Despite the “pacification” that followed as a result, disagreements still persist between the PRC and Vietnam over the ownership of the islands of the South China Sea.

The authoritarian methods that prevailed in the leadership of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the era of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland, Le Duan (1969 - 1986), led to the fact that in the mid-1980s. The country's economy was in deep crisis. The death of the all-powerful leader and the example of the Soviet "perestroika" prompted the leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party to proclaim in 1986 the course of "Renewal" (Vietnamese doi moi), which included measures to liberalize the economy. Fortunately for the country, the Vietnamese leaders nevertheless preferred to be guided on the path of transformation not by the Soviet, but by the Chinese experience...

1990s not very favorable to Vietnam. With the collapse of the USSR, the country lost its main support, and integration into the world economy was complicated by the hostile attitude of the United States. However, all the difficulties only stimulated the implementation of reforms, allowing the world to show another "miracle": from a poor totalitarian country, Vietnam suddenly turned into a self-sufficient and rapidly developing power, whose economic growth could not be slowed down even by the devastating Asian crisis of 1997-1998. The new era brought a change in foreign policy priorities: in 1991, ties with Beijing were completely normalized, and three years later, diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States were restored. In 1995, Vietnam became a member of the authoritative ASEAN organization, and in 1998, a member of APEC. In 2004, the next summit of the ASEAN member countries was held in Hanoi.

Ancient history of Vietnam, Middle Ages, colonization and bloody wars

The history of Vietnam dates back to the 3rd millennium BC, it was at this time that the first written mention of the Viet appeared. Since that time, the country, like a Phoenix, has risen from the ashes many times. Its entire history is a chronicle of endless liberation wars. Most of all, Vietnam has suffered from its vast northern neighbor - China, and this still affects the attitude of the Vietnamese towards the Chinese, despite the more or less peaceful coexistence today. The contrast between feudal, then socialist and modern Vietnam is striking. This people is very similar to us Russians. He was never an aggressor and a conqueror, but only carefully kept what was rightfully his. The whole history of Vietnam testifies to this.

End of III millennium BC. e. Almost the entire territory of modern Vietnam is inhabited by tribes - the ancestral predecessors of the current Khmers and the inhabitants of Malaysia and Indonesia. And those who gave rise to the modern people - the Vietnamese - lived in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, occupying the northern lands. And this people was called Laviet. In the struggle for fertile land in the middle of the II millennium BC. e. they began to rapidly conquer the areas in the Red River Delta from the tribes living there.

A little later, the ancestors of modern Thais began to settle in the mountainous northern regions. The Laquiet gradually expelled them from there, pushing them to the south. Subsequently, the expelled Thais, mixing with the local population, became the ancestors of some peoples now inhabiting Indochina, primarily the Chams.

The first state to unite the Lakviet tribes was created at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e. the leader (vyong) of one of the tribes ─ Hung. Thus began the history of the modern Vietnamese state. The first dynasty of rulers of Vietnam, Hung Bang, begins with him. The state he headed was called Vanlang and stretched across the territory of North Vietnam and South China almost to Hong Kong. The history of the dynasty consisted of 18 kings and its reign lasted until the 3rd century BC. e. and had 18 kings. The main occupations of the Vanlang people were rice growing, cattle breeding (they raised pigs and buffaloes), handicrafts and building dams. Phong Chau was the capital of the states.

In the III century BC. there was a change of dynasty and renaming of the state. The Hungs were overthrown by the northern tribes of Au Viet, who elevated Thuc Phan to the throne and gave him the throne name of An Duong. Thus began the history of the new state formation. The new state was called Au Lak and was located on the territory of Northern and partially Central Vietnam. The capital was not far from the present Hanoi, it was the Koloa fortress. But Aulak did not manage to exist for a long time, the state quickly fell into decay and in the middle of the 3rd century BC. joined the state of Nam Viet, which occupied large areas of southern China and northern Vietnam. It was this era, according to historians, that became the final stage in the formation of the culture and statehood of the Laviets in ancient history.

Namviet also did not manage to exist for a long time as an independent state. It was conquered by the then powerful Chinese Han Empire. This marked the beginning of a long history of almost eight hundred years of Chinese rule in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese people did not humbly endure it. The conquered country gradually accumulated strength and gained power, while the Chinese empire weakened and lost control over the conquered territories. It all ended in the 10th century AD, when the hated yoke was thrown off by a powerful popular uprising led by the Vietnamese landowner Ngo Kuyen. The liberation was marked by the birth of a new dynasty - Li and the return of the capital to the city of Koloa. History takes a turn again, the country changes its name again and becomes Dai Viet. There are changes in the administration of the state, and the official religion is established - Confucianism. The first academy is created - Khan Lam, the capital moves again, this time to the city of Thang Long - modern Hanoi.

The strengthened state successfully repels the Mongols' raids and gradually expands at the expense of the northern mountains and southern lands, conquering them from the Chams. Buddhism and Taoism gradually penetrate the country. History has shown that these religions at that time spread only as folk beliefs.

Middle Ages

The history of the beginning of the 15th century was again marked by Chinese aggression against Dai Viet. Taking advantage of the decline in which the country was coming, and the strife caused by the unpopular reforms of the ruler Lee Ho Kyui, the Chinese Ming Dynasty captures it and stays here for a short 20 years. Resisting the Chinese, the united people drive them out. Le Loi, who led the popular uprising, became the head of a new dynasty - the Later Le, who ruled until the end of the 18th century. It was during this period of history that the heyday of medieval Vietnam falls.

The name of this hero is associated with a legendary story that the Vietnamese carefully guard - the legend of the returned sword. Riding a boat on the lake in the center of the capital - Thang Long, Le saw a huge turtle emerging from its depths, holding a golden sword in its mouth. Le accepted him and considered this a sign that he should lead an uprising for liberation from the Chinese yoke. Subsequently, being already an emperor, he again sailed in a boat on this lake and accidentally dropped his sword into the water. The turtle reappeared above the water and dragged the sword with it to the bottom. This was taken as a sign from above that the sword had served its purpose and should be returned. Since then, the reservoir has gone down in history as the Lake of the Returned Sword, and today is one of the attractions of Hanoi, which is visited by tourists.

In the history of the first third of the 17th century, a split occurs in Dai Viet - two clans begin to compete - Chinh and Nguyen. Trying to attract the Vietnamese nobility to their side, both of them began to distribute land to their supporters, emptying the state treasury. At the same time, the state needed large funds to strengthen its military power. The result was a ruthless taxation of tribute to the common people, who could not stand it and by the end of the 18th century raised an uprising led by three brothers. One of them is Nguyen Hue, who eventually became emperor. In history, the rebellion appears under the name "Taishon Rebellion". The disgraced and deposed king from the Le dynasty made an attempt to resort to the help of the Chinese emperor of the Qing dynasty. The Chinese again invaded Dai Viet, but they were quickly thrown out of the country by the angry Tay Sons. The story of Nguyen Hue in power did not last long, three years later he died suddenly.

Power intercepts the Nguyen clan in the person of the commander Nguyen Phuc Anh. He gathers troops and, having enlisted the support of France, suppresses popular unrest, proclaims himself emperor with the throne name Gia Long and transfers the capital to Hue. A new dynasty rules Vietnam from 1802 to 1945. We can say that this is how the history of colonial Vietnam began.

Colonization of Vietnam

In the 16th century, the history of the Europeanization of Vietnam begins. It was connected with the need for modern military technologies, which the feudal authorities of the Asian country did not have. And they did not have a numerical superiority over their long-standing opponents - the Chinese. The Trinh clan made an alliance with the Dutch, while the Nguyen preferred France. The Dutch did not have much interest in Indochina, so they disappeared after three years, but the French increased their attention to Vietnam, taking advantage of the fact that no one in Europe cared about him. Providing support to the Nguyens, they concluded a very favorable agreement with them, according to which France received land in Indochina.

However, their interest in Eastern affairs was cooled by the French Revolution, and the French forgot about Vietnam for a while. During this period of history, Catholic missionaries, who began their penetration as early as the end of the 16th century, were more actively drawn into the country. For a long time, the presence of the French was limited to them and even adventurers who, together with the missionaries, tried to act in Vietnam through intrigue.

The Vietnamese preferred to adhere to the policy of "closed doors" and were in no hurry to let the French again rushing towards them. As well as paying dividends under previously concluded agreements. France understood that a military invasion of Vietnam was not yet possible due to a lack of forces. So about 30 years passed, until the French were lucky in the form of the Opium War won by the Europeans with China. Napoleon III sent a solid army of 2.5 thousand infantrymen and a well-equipped fleet of 13 ships to “open” the locked doors. Spain also decided to participate in the capture. In 1858, the combined forces approached the port of Da Nang in Central Vietnam and stormed it a day later. Another page of the war appeared in the history of Vietnam.

The invasion was not welcomed by either the imperial army or the people, so the French ran into powerful resistance. Realizing that it would not be possible to split the cohesive Center of the country, the French decided to settle in the south and struck at the Zyadin fortress, located not far from the Mekong Delta and the united settlements that later formed the city of Saigon. The southern provinces suited the French quite well. There were sources of water, food and access to the sea through the Mekong Delta. From here they could influence the course of history and the intractable emperor Tu Duc by capturing the country's main source of food - rice plantations.

The French could not completely take over the southern lands for another long 3 years, while the rallied Vietnamese people kept them in a captured fortress. Only in 1861, General Charne, with the help of support from the sea, broke the resistance and forced Ty Duc to sign an agreement on the transfer of three southern provinces to France.

Changes broke out in the south - the almost European Saigon grew and flourished, trade under the leadership of France in the ports of South and Central Vietnam was in full swing. The Indochina Bank was established and a prison for opponents of the regime was built on the southern island of Con Dao. The history of the colonization of Vietnam began.

Further, the process of seizing Vietnamese lands went on increasing. The interest of the French also turned to Tonkin - North Vietnam. It was possible to capture it only during a military operation, and the French undertook it in the late 80s of the 19th century. The capture was quick due to the fact that the current emperor had made many opponents in the northern provinces. It was they who helped the French establish their power here.

France and China agreed, and Beijing abandoned its claims to the unfortunate, war-torn Vietnam. Thanks to this, France was able to take possession of Loas and Cambodia and created the Indochinese Union of three countries on this territory. France got Vietnam at its full disposal by signing the enslaving "Armand Treaty" with the government of Vietnam, according to which South Vietnam - Cochin China - was a colony, and Central Vietnam - Annam - and Tonkin at this stage of history remained under the protectorate of European conquerors.

The Vietnamese people, who never bowed their heads before the invaders, began to create guerrilla detachments in the deep jungle, laying the foundation for a long-standing and powerful liberation movement that arose later, in the history of the 20th century. But the French did not know about it yet.

20th century - a country on fire

The 20th century brought Vietnam so much death and destruction that it probably did not know in its entire history. While revolutionary fermentation was slowly going on among the people, the Vietnamese intelligentsia and bureaucratic people were much more loyal to the colonial authorities and wanted only the establishment of a constitutional monarchy for themselves.

Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party

From the end of the 19th century, the people's liberation detachments began to greatly annoy the French. At the beginning of the 20th century, more advanced, European-educated representatives of the Vietnamese youth joined them. Radical movements, in particular, the communist one in Russia, did not leave them indifferent. It was then that for the first time in history the name of one of these followers ─ Nguyen Ai Quoc, known to the whole world under the name of Ho Chi Minh, was mentioned. In 1922, he organized a party called the Intercolonial Union of Colored Peoples, the forerunner of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

By the 1930s, three organizations were already operating on the territory of the country and the border regions of Laos and Cambodia - the Communist Party of Annam, the Communist Party of Indochina and the Communist Union of Indochina. And in 1930, these three parties were united into one by the decision of a conference specially convened in Hong Kong. It went down in history under the name of the Communist Party of Indochina. At that time, Ho Chi Minh took an active part in all party affairs.

The year 1940 was marked for Vietnam by a new invasion, this time by the Japanese, who were trying to establish for themselves additional lines of defense from the Chinese in the territory of a small neighboring country. The French did not allow them to roam in the occupied lands. The Japanese did not dare to openly go against France, which signed an agreement with the countries of the Nazi coalition. True, in 1945 they completely removed the colonialists from power, but this did not last long - until the surrender of Japan in World War II in August of that year. This moment becomes a turning point in the history of Vietnam.

Declaration of independence, war with France and the division of Vietnam

All this time, starting in 1941, Ho Chi Minh actively created and supported the League of Struggle for the Independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh). In 1945, after the signing of the act of surrender of Japan, numerous Viet Minh partisan detachments took control of the entire country within 11 days, and on September 2, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the creation of a new state - the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Three months later, the First Indochina War began, which was destined to last almost 10 years. In the first three years, the communists lost South Vietnam. A new state was created there, headed by the secular emperor Bao Dai.

Unexpected help came from China, already communist at the time, under the rule of Mao Zedong. He helped preserve the remnants of the DRV. Just at this period of history, the United States appears on the political arena of this region. It was they who saved France from inevitable defeat. In 1954, after the 13,000-strong army was completely defeated near Dien Bien Phu, the French finally agreed to negotiations, which resulted in the announcement of a demilitarized zone along the 17th parallel by the Geneva Agreement. She divided the country into two parts - North and South. France was expelled from Vietnam and the colonial regime fell. But history prepared even greater trials for the Vietnamese.

In the South, under the leadership of the nationalist leader Nguyen Dinh Term, who announced the creation of an independent Republic of Vietnam, the regime began to acquire clear signs of a dictatorship. By 1957, an open confrontation unfolded in the country with opponents of the new government ─ partisan groups operating in the South.

In 1959, official Hanoi declared war on the southern Republic in order to unify the state and began illegal supplies of weapons to the southern partisans. Then the "" was laid, along which these deliveries were carried out. She passed through the territory of Laos and Cambodia. With such support, the guerrillas gradually took control of almost a third of southern Vietnam and created the National Liberation Front, known to us as the Viet Cong. The strength of the Viet Cong was such that President Nguyen Dinh Term was unable to cope with it. As a result, he was killed by his own military leaders. Subsequent history showed that the next three presidents made a fatal mistake. In the fight against the communists, they relied on the help of the Americans.

War with America

The communist influence of the USSR and China on Vietnam haunted the West. Therefore, Europe and the United States began to consider South Vietnam as an obstacle to its further expansion. At first, the United States supplied Saigon only with weapons and provided consulting assistance. A small number of American military advisers were sent to Saigon. The first overseas military units appeared here only in 1961. They helped the leadership of the Republic of Vietnam fight the Viet Cong.

The beginning of a large-scale war was laid by the story in the Gulf of Tonki, which later turned out to be a provocation. According to the United States, a Vietnamese warship fired on an American ship. The Vietnamese side claimed that the Americans illegally invaded its territorial waters.

After the incident, US senators gave President Johnson "carte blanche" to conduct full-scale military operations in Vietnam. The bloody meat grinder continued for several years. Moreover, the losses were approximately equal on both sides. Most of all, the local civilians suffered from the cruelty of the belligerents ─ the peasants. Simultaneously with ground operations, American aircraft continuously bombed North Vietnam. The regular troops of Australia, Thailand and South Korea pulled up to help the Americans.

The fierce resistance of the Vietnamese army forced the United States to constantly increase the military contingent in Southeast Asia. The world community has already joined this story, condemning the senseless massacre. A wave of popular indignation swept across America, which did not add to the authority of its then government and president.

The war, which had lasted for three years, did not give an advantage to either side. And in 1968, after a powerful blow from the combined forces of the army of the DRV and the Viet Cong, the American army was demoralized. The operation took place on the eve of the New Year according to the lunar calendar and went down in history under the name "Blow on Tet". After this disastrous story, Johnson refused to send new military forces to Vietnam. Influenced by the public, which demanded an immediate halt, he announced the end of the bombing and expressed his desire to sit down at the negotiating table.

But, despite this readiness for 1970, the fire of war still did not subside. The history of the war continued until 1973, although the victory of the Viet Cong, which controlled most of the country, was already obvious. Hostilities also affected neighboring Laos and Cambodia. It was at the end of this war that the Americans used the defoliant ─ dioxin in Vietnam, which received the name "Agent Orange" here. The result was genetic diseases and deformities that still manifest themselves in local residents from generation to generation.

And only in 1972, when the massive offensive of the North Vietnamese army, armed with the latest Soviet and Chinese weapons and with the support of armored vehicles, ended in victory, the Paris Agreement of 1973 put an end to the history of the presence of American troops in Vietnam.

This inglorious bloody war ended for America, but not for Vietnam. He continues to be torn apart by internal conflicts. The Saigon army significantly outnumbered and outgunned the North Vietnamese. The story of a bloody civil war continued for another two years, until Operation Ho Chi Minh, carried out jointly by the Viet Cong and the troops of the DRV, put an end to it and overthrew the Saigon regime in March 1975. well describe the events of those times.