History of Vietnam

Myths about the origin of mankind and the formation of Viet nation began to propagate in 2000 B.C. and have since became a part of Vietnamese traditions. 

Vietnam has been known as the land of wars, but also paradoxically, as the land of victories for its people's courage and indomitable spirit.  Strategically located along the East Coast of Indochina (Southeast Asia), bordering China, Laos, and Cambodia and with full command of the South China Sea, Vietnam has been the target of foreign occupation and intervention.  

In the first century B.C., Vietnam, then a small country occupying only the northern part of the Vietnam today, sought to expel the Han Chinese.  After a thousand years of Chinese domination, a provincial officer named Ngo Quyen heroically led the Vietnamese to freedom.  But the 800 years of independence following Ngo Quyen's victory were highlighted by more battles against the Chinese, Mongols, and Chams and civil war between the North and South.

After several decades of tentative control, the French finally subdued Vietnam in 1884 and began to model it after their provinces.  French colonial exploitation and harsh repression nurtured rebellions among the Vietnamese.  During World War II, the French entered into an agreement with the Japanese, allowing the Japanese to continue their administration.  In March 1945, the Japanese ousted the French and seized control. Under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh and assistance from the United States, Japanese occupation quickly ended four months later.

Peace was barely achieved when another series of war exploded.  The first of the Indochina War resulted from further conflicts between the French and Vietnamese. It concluded with the 1954 Geneva Accords which temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel (into North and South) as a mean to separate French and Viet Minh forces, but also set the stage for the next real war.  The second Indochina War, better known as the Vietnam War, tested Ho Chi Minh's determination to unite Vietnam, and the Americans to halt the spread of Communism in Asia by preventing the unification. After ten years of fighting, over $150 billion dollars poured in from the U.S. alone, nearly 2 million Vietnamese, North and South, and 58,000 U.S. forces dead and incalculable sorrow and suffering, Ho's crusade was posthumously succeeded.  Although reunited, the country was in complete shambles. 

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We have done our best to present Vietnamese history as objectively and sensibly as possible, in hope that our readers may come to understand the people and its country. However, we realize that the Vietnam War is an acutely sensitive issue and that some readers may fervently disagree with what we have written.  We are opened to constructive criticisms, and cordially invite anyone to email us at VietMedia, or open a discussion thread if there is any concerns.