Nguyễn dynasty

Lore & Background

The House of Nguyễn Phúc established control over large amounts of territory in Southern Vietnam as the Nguyễn lords (1558–1777, 1780–1802) by the 16th century before defeating the Tây Sơn dynasty and establishing their own imperial rule in the 19th century. The dynastic rule began with Gia Long ascending the throne in 1802, after ending the previous Tây Sơn dynasty. In 1802, Nguyễn Phúc Ánh established the Nguyễn dynasty. In the second year of his rule, he asked the Jiaqing Emperor of the Qing dynasty to confer on him the title 'King of Nam Việt / Nanyue' after seizing power in Annam. The Qing Emperor refused because the name was related to Zhao Tuo's Nanyue, which included the regions of Guangxi and Guangdong in southern China. The Qing Emperor, therefore, decided to call the area 'Việt Nam' instead. Between 1804 and 1813, the name Vietnam was used officially by Emperor Gia Long. In 1839, under the rule of Emperor Minh Mạng, the official name of the state was Đại Việt Nam, and it was shortened to Đại Nam.

Reader's Guide

The Nguyễn dynasty was gradually absorbed by France over the course of several decades in the latter half of the 19th century, beginning with the Cochinchina Campaign in 1858 which led to the occupation of the southern area of Vietnam. A series of unequal treaties followed; the occupied territory became the French colony of Cochinchina in the 1862 Treaty of Saigon, and the 1863 Treaty of Huế gave France access to Vietnamese ports and increased control of its foreign affairs. Finally, the 1883 and 1884 Treaties of Huế divided the remaining Vietnamese territory into the protectorates of Annam and Tonkin under nominal Nguyễn Phúc rule. In 1887, Cochinchina, Annam, Tonkin, and the French Protectorate of Cambodia were grouped together to form French Indochina. The Nguyễn dynasty remained the formal emperors of Annam and Tonkin within Indochina until World War II. Japan had occupied Indochina with French collaboration in 1940, but as the war seemed increasingly lost, Japan overthrew the French administration on 9 March 1945 and the Nguyễn dynasty proclaimed independence for its constituent protectorates two days later. It also regained Cochinchina on 14 August 1945. The Empire of Vietnam under Nguyễn Emperor Bảo Đại was a nominally independent state but actually a Japanese puppet state during the last months of the war. It ended with the abdication of Bảo Đại following the surrender of Japan then August Revolution led by the communist Việt Minh in August 1945. This ended the 143-year rule of the Nguyễn dynasty.

Did You Know?

• The name 'Việt Nam' was first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình and appears on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Hải Phòng dating to 1558.
• Emperor Gia Long originally asked the Qing emperor for the title 'King of Nam Việt', but it was refused because the name was linked to Zhao Tuo's Nanyue, which included parts of southern China.
• In 1839, Emperor Minh Mạng changed the official name of the state to Đại Việt Nam, later shortened to Đại Nam.
• The Nguyễn dynasty's 143-year rule ended with the abdication of Emperor Bảo Đại in August 1945 after Japan's surrender and the August Revolution.
• During the 1930s, the Nguyễn dynasty government used the name 'Nam Triều' (Southern dynasty) on its official documents.