The History of Vietnam (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations)

183 Pages·2008·0.77 MB·English

by  Justin Corfield

THE
HISTORY OF
VIETNAM
ADVISORY BOARD
John T. Alexander
Professor of History and Russian and European Studies,
University of Kansas
Robert A. Divine
George W. Littlefield Professor in American History Emeritus,
University of Texas at Austin
John V. Lombardi
Professor of History,
University of Florida
THE
HISTORY OF
VIETNAM
Justin Corfield
The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations
Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling, Series Editors
Greenwood Press
Westport, Connecticut (cid:129) London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Corfield, Justin J.
The history of Vietnam / Justin Corfield.
p. cm. — (The Greenwood histories of the modern nations, ISSN 1096–2905)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978–0–313–34193–9 (alk. paper)
1. Vietnam—History. I. Title.
DS556.5.C67 2008
959.7—dc22 2007049596
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2008 by Justin Corfield
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007049596
ISBN: 978–0-313–34193–9
ISSN: 1096–2905
First published in 2008
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Every reasonable effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright materials in this
book, but in some instances this has proven impossible. The author and publisher will be
glad to receive information leading to more complete acknowledgments in subsequent print-
ings of the book and in the meantime extend their apologies for any omissions.
Contents
Series Foreword
Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling vii
Preface ix
Abbreviations xiii
Timeline of Historical Events xv
1 Vietnam until the Tay Son Rebellion 1
2 The Nguyen Dynasty (1780–1887) 15
3 The French Protectorate (1887–1945) 25
4 From 1945 until the Geneva Agreements
(1945–1954) 39
5 From Geneva Agreements to the Start of War
(1954–1960) 57
vi Contents
6 From the Formation of Vietcong to U.S. Soldiers
(1960–1965) 65
7 From U.S. Involvement to Tet Offensive
and Death of Ho Chi Minh (1965–1969) 77
8 From the Death of Ho Chi Minh to
Reunification (1969–1976) 93
9 From Reunification until the Withdrawal
from Cambodia (1976–1989) 103
10 Vietnam Today (1989–Present) 115
Notable People in Vietnam since 1945 127
Selected Bibliography 139
Index 143
Series Foreword
The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations series is intended to provide
students and interested laypeople with up-to-date, concise, and analytical his-
tories of many of the nations of the contemporary world. Not since the 1960s has
there been a systematic attempt to publish a series of national histories, and, as
editors, we believe that this series will prove to be a valuable contribution to our
understanding of other countries in our increasingly interdependent world.
Over thirty years ago, at the end of the 1960s, the Cold War was an accepted
reality of global politics, the process of decolonization was still in progress,
the idea of a unified Europe with a single currency was unheard of, the United
States was mired in a war in Vietnam, and the economic boom of Asia was
still years in the future. Richard Nixon was president of the United States,
Mao Tse-tung (not yet Mao Zedong) ruled China, Leonid Brezhnev guided
the Soviet Union, and Harold Wilson was prime minister of the United King-
dom. Authoritarian dictators still ruled most of Latin America, the Middle
East was reeling in the wake of the Six-Day War, and Shah Reza Pahlavi was
at the height of his power in Iran. Clearly, the past 30 years have been witness
to a great deal of historical change, and it is to this change that this series is
primarily addressed.
With the help of a distinguished advisory board, we have selected nations
whose political, economic, and social affairs mark them as among the most
viii Series Foreword
important in the waning years of the twentieth century, and for each nation
we have found an author who is recognized as a specialist in the history of
that nation. These authors have worked most cooperatively with us and with
Greenwood Press to produce volumes that reflect current research on their
nations and that are interesting and informative to their prospective readers.
The importance of a series such as this cannot be underestimated. As
a superpower whose influence is felt all over the world, the United States
can claim a “special” relationship with almost every other nation. Yet many
Americans know very little about the histories of the nations with which the
United States relates. How did they get to be the way they are? What kind of
political systems have evolved there? What kind of influence do they have
in their own region? What are the dominant political, religious, and cultural
forces that move their leaders? These and many other questions are answered
in the volumes of this series.
The authors who have contributed to this series have written comprehensive
histories of their nations, dating back to prehistoric times in some cases. Each
of them, however, has devoted a significant portion of the book to events
of the last thirty years, because the modern era has contributed the most to
contemporary issues that have an impact on U.S. policy. Authors have made
an effort to be as up-to-date as possible so that readers can benefit from the
most recent scholarship and a narrative that includes very recent events.
In addition to the historical narrative, each volume in this series con-
tains an introductory overview of the country’s geography, political in-
stitutions, economic structure, and cultural attributes. This is designed to
give readers a picture of the nation as it exists in the contemporary world.
Each volume also contains additional chapters that add interesting and
useful detail to the historical narrative. One chapter is a thorough chronol-
ogy of important historical events, making it easy for readers to follow the
flow of a particular nation’s history. Another chapter features biographical
sketches of the nation’s most important figures in order to humanize some
of the individuals who have contributed to the historical development of
their nation. Each volume also contains a comprehensive bibliography,
so that those readers whose interest has been sparked may find out more
about the nation and its history. Finally, there is a carefully prepared topic
and person index.
Readers of these volumes will find them fascinating to read and useful in
understanding the contemporary world and the nations that comprise it. As
series editors, it is our hope that this series will contribute to a heightened
sense of global understanding as we embark on a new century.
Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling
Indiana University Southeast
Preface
Many books have been written about aspects of Vietnamese history, espe-
cially ists recent history; and there is intense historical, and indeed political,
debate over a large number of areas. For many people outside the country,
Vietnam’s history is immutably tied to the Vietnam War because of its portray-
al in countless films and documentaries. The views of these people, and also
of many writers and commentators, vary considerably with the experiences
of their own country in the war. In the United States, the period of the war
largely covers the period of the major U.S. involvement, from 1957 until 1975,
with many Americans either having fought in the war themselves or knowing
somebody who has. For Americans, Khe Sanh, the Tet Offensive, and the Cu
Chi Tunnels represent different examples of the U.S. experience in the war. For
Australians, discussions of the war concern both the fighting at Long Tan and
other places, and also the vast antiwar movement that was mobilized in the
early 1970s in Australia, as well as the writing of Denis Warner and Morris
West. The French focus on the war is largely the period of French colonial
power, culminating in their defeat at Dien Bien Phu, or the war as depicted
in the novels of Jean Hougron. In Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the
Philippines—the latter two countries supplying soldiers for the war effort—the
governments of these four U.S. allies in the region saw the defeat of the United
States in Vietnam as the continuation of the “Domino Theory,” by which they,