FRENCH INFLUENCE OVERSEAS: THE RISE AND FALL OF COLONIAL INDOCHINA

FRENCH INFLUENCE OVERSEAS:
THE RISE AND FALL OF COLONIAL INDOCHINA






A Thesis


Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the
Louisiana State University and
Agricultural and Mechanical College
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts

in

The Department of History








by
Julia Alayne Grenier Burlette
B.A., Northwestern State University, 2004
December 2007

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Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Benjamin F. Martin, for his
enduring guidance, knowledge, and most of all, patience, while working with me long-distance.
Through you, I learned to become a better scholar and writer, and for that, I will always be
grateful. I also appreciate the guidance of my other committee members, Dr. David F.
Lindenfeld and Dr. Paul E. Hoffman.
To my close friends who have endured this journey with me: Kelly Whittaker, Carolyn
Day, and Marc “Canada” Patenaude. Lastly, to Josh Marr: fellow Northwestern State Alum,
roommate, and best friend. Thank you for helping me maintain my sanity throughout the last
few years.
To my parents, Curtis and Cynthia Hymel, and William and Terri Grenier, and brother,
Curtis Grenier. Thank you for your continuing support in my post-graduate studies.
Finally, to my husband, Jeff. Thank you for your love, support, encouragement, and most
of all, putting up with me as I finished school. You are the reason this thesis is completed.




















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Table of Contents


Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... ii
Map ................................................................................................................................................ iv
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... v
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter
1: French Discovery and Settlement in Indochina..................................................................... 7
2: The Loan of 1912................................................................................................................. 33
3: Consequences of French Involvement: The Fall of Colonial Indochina ............................ 60
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 85
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 88
Vita................................................................................................................................................ 91






















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Map








Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History. Page 123


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Abstract

This thesis concerns colonial French Indochina, specifically the area known today as
Vietnam. Located south of China and east of India on the southeastern-most peninsula of the
Asian continent, Indochina comprises the modern-day countries of Vietnam, Laos, and
Cambodia. After European contact, the future country of Vietnam was divided into three main
provinces: Tonkin in the north, Annam in the center, and Cochinchina in the south. After their
establishment in the Southeast Asian country in the mid-nineteenth century, the French sought to
improve existing, and to build new infrastructure to increase the productive capacity of the
colony. The more efficient the colonial economy was, the more profit there was for the mother
country. Unfortunately, what was good for France was not always good for Indochina. While
most scholars focus on other causes of the Vietnam War, they rarely discuss how direct French
influence was a prime factor.
The purpose of this thesis is to explore how the French attempted to improve the status of
their colony and how these improvements affected the lives of the local population, both
negatively and positively. Chapter 1 addresses the foundation of the colony from its missionary
roots to its final conquest in the latter part of the 1800s. Chapter 2 discusses two important
loans granted by the French government in Paris, first in 1898 and then in 1912. The focus is on
the second loan of 90 million francs, for colonial officials squandered much of the first loan of
200 million francs. With this new sum, the French planned to establish better irrigation
methods, education systems, transportation, and communication. While their intent was to
improve the colony for profitable gain, the French emphasized both to the indigenous population
and to the population at home that the new infrastructure could greatly benefit the lives of the
Indochinese. Chapter 3 discusses how French influence and technology affected the Annamites

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and why this influence forced them to seek independence. After years of oppression and
promises of a better future, the Annamites ultimately lost many of their traditions and customs in
trying to become French and moved towards rebellion.













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Introduction

Although books on Vietnam are plentiful, there is relatively little recent scholarship on
colonial Vietnam, known then as Indochina. Writings about the colony that do exist were
written mostly by European authors at the height of the French Empire with a strong pro-colonial
bias as the French sought to justify their actions abroad. The most detailed accounts of colonial
Indochina were published prior to World War I, and these books often dealt with specific
subjects. They provide information about the agriculture, the industry, and the economy of the
colony in an effort to give to give the general reader in Europe a basic understanding of French
overseas accomplishments. There is much written about what the French specifically changed
and improved, but little about how money was spent, or how effective the new programs were.
Scholarship written during the colonial era contains almost no information about the everyday
lives of the indigenous Annamites.1 Accounts by the Annamites themselves are nearly
nonexistent as any material deemed antagonistic to French rule was confiscated, censored, or
destroyed. As a result, few Europeans truly understood the impact French civilization had on
the Indochinese.
Before 1945, most Europeans only read about the positive changes that the French
instilled overseas and learned little about the civilization that they colonized. Virginia
Thompson’s French Indochina (1937) was a notable exception with its detailed accounts of
Indochina’s pre-colonial empire, government, and local Annamite traditions. Thompson wrote
this book after she visited the colony at the height of the French empire. Her goal was to
provide the English-speaking readers a general understanding of Indochinese history, a feat she

1 Annamites composed of nearly 75 percent of the Indochinese population. This term is used instead of
“Vietnamese” because French primary and early secondary sources referred to the indigenous people as such. The
word “Annamite” is used continuously throughout the thesis to maintain consistency.


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accomplished with ease. She also discussed the French colonial government, its administration,
and its reaction to the indigenous population. Unlike other books written about French
Indochina, Thompson’s devotes substantial scholarship to the rest of Indochina, especially Laos
and Cambodia. By illustrating these cultures, she demonstrates that the Annamites were not the
only people affected by French influence. Because she mostly used French sources, most of the
book discusses how the Annamites benefited from European intervention, not how the
Indochinese reacted to French power. Without a doubt, French Indochina is a valuable asset for
anyone wanting a basic knowledge of the Southeast Asian countries through the eyes of
Frenchmen. Although strongly biased, this book does provide an understanding of the French
approach to scholarship about their Empire.
There are other approaches to colonial history aside from the discussion of the general
history of an area. Many works about Indochina concern specific aspects of the colony and
colonial rule. Gail Paradise Kelly’s work, French Colonial Education: Essays on Vietnam and
West Africa (2000), is an excellent example of such a topical book, and one vital to
understanding the development of indigenous consciousness. French Colonial Education
focuses on the years 1918 to 1938, a pivotal time in Annamite history as the educated
Indochinese began to understand fully what French domination meant to the development and
future of their society. Kelly claims in her introduction that the colonizers exhibited arrogance,
racism and ruthlessness toward their colonial subjects because events such as the Dreyfus Affair
and World War I made the French question their own superiority. These attitudes appear to
have influenced some of the driving forces behind the French institution of harsh codes in the
Franco-Annamite schools, but there is little concrete evidence linking the two. These codes,

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along with the Indochinese reaction to these laws, became a vital cause of further complications
between the French and Annamites.
Charles Robequain’s The Economic Development of French Indochina (1949) discusses
colonial economics, another subject necessary to understanding the failure of the colony. This
work focuses on the changes in the local economy and on the local peasants as the French
instituted new industries and farming methods to increase production and profit. With the help
and funding of the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of the Colonies, and the
Government-General of Indochina, Robequain was fortunate to travel to Indochina and gather
the most up-to-date information about the colony—from the French point of view. Robequain
wanted his readers to understand the value and importance of Indochina to the French economy,
and conversely, the importance of France to the well-being of Indochina. Essentially, this book
promoted pro-colonial propaganda to the general public and French administration. Robequain
conveys the civilizing mission message throughout, as he consistently reinforces the
humanitarian aid and improvements brought in by the French.
Unlike the previous works that focus on a single subject, Vietnamese Tradition on Trial
(1981), written by David G. Marr, discusses multiple conditions that led to rebellion,
mobilization, and war. Changes in the political and social consciousness of the Annamite
population between 1920 and 1945—and the ability of the French to control numerous aspects of
Annamite life, the alteration of the village economy and social relationships, and the introduction
of a cash economy—all contributed to the onset of the Vietnam War. Marr spends little time
discussing the development and actions of the Communist Party or Ho Chi Minh because he
wants to show why the French lost their colony rather than explain why the Indochinese won.

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If the reader is looking for sources that err on the side of anti-colonial, one needs to look
no further than Ngo Vinh Long’s Before the Revolution: the Vietnamese Peasants under French
Domination and Pham Cao Duong’s Vietnamese Peasants Under French Domination. Before
the Revolution, the more anti-French of the two books, discusses the social repercussions of
French policies on the rural areas and population from the 1880s to 1945. Growing up in rural
Vietnam, Long had the personal experience to portray a straightforward account of peasant life.
By using multiple Vietnamese sources, he explains the neglect of the peasantry and their poor
living conditions—subjects rarely mentioned in English language writings. Long argues that
most writers and historians neglected the subject of the peasant because they wrongly believed
that the events of the colonial era and what the French called improvements to Annamite life had
no bearing or influence on future events such as the Indochinese and Vietnam Wars. In trying to
break this myth, Long instead discusses how the French influence truly impacted the lives of the
peasants and led to rebellion.
Although Duong was a refugee from the Vietnam War, he takes a less anti-colonial
approach than Long. His Vietnamese Peasants Under French Domination focuses not only on
peasant conditions but also on the conditions that governed the economics, society, and mentality
of peasant life. Like Long, Duong believed that too little material existed about peasant life and
so sought the writings and oral histories of former mandarins, notables, and descendants of large
landowners. Unlike Long, he used colonial memoirs from the French administrators,
politicians, and travelers, as well as articles from French and Vietnamese journalists to balance
the Eastern works. Duong explains how the French plans for agricultural development changed
the evolution of the rural society and the Annamites. The plans provoked resistance from the
outset, but true confrontation came only in the 1930s. He refrains from discussing such

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