In Vietnamese Americans by Montero, Vietnam is described as a small nation in Southeast Asia, located on what is termed the Indochina Peninsula. While Vietnam has adopted many of the cultural characteristics of the larger nations of India and China, it nevertheless had maintained a culture distinctly its own throughout many centuries of outside influence and, at times, domination. Vietnam was originally a heterogeneous mixture of varying racial and cultural types. The diverse groups of which

The conquered Vietnamese suffered under their often-brutal Chinese overlords. Through Vietnam grew rich, experiencing technological and economic progress under Chinese rule, the bulk of its population remained poor. The peasants were forced to contribute labor, taxes, and recruits for the army. The old Vietnamese feudal lords also resented the Chinese, who had abused their positions of power and authority (p.12).

Referred to as Vietnam's "architect of national unity,aE? Le Loi instituted agricultural reforms and redistribution of land. Once again, however, the peasants were the last to be considered. As land was doled out to influential upper-class Vietnamese and military officers, there was none left for the lower Vietnamese classes. Powerful overlords emerged, subjugating the peasants and squabbling among themselves. They split the country as no outside force had been able to do, ushering in 150 years of struggle between two powerful feudal families, the Trinh in the North and the Nguyen in the South. During those years of strife, the peasants alone, bound together by the strong culture of village life, preserved the national unity of Vietnam ( p.14).

In France a few well-informed critics began to denounce French policy in Indochina. For the most part, however, the French government and people remained indifferent to colonial affairs. In Vietnam a governor now and then appeared on the scene that was sincerely interested in making life better for the Vietnamese and who wanted to promote good relations between the French and the local inhabitants. But such efforts were essentially too little, too late, and were always undermined by the basics inequities of colonialism itself ( p.18).

When the Chinese Empire finally united under the Han dynasty in 111B.C. Vietnam was captured and colonized. China ruled Vietnam for 1,000 years. During that time the Vietnamese adopted Chinese clothing, customs, and forms of government. Yet the Chinese failed to drastically change the people of this tiny nation, who exhibited remarkable ethnic durability, and influence their language and unique culture. The long prehistory of Vietnam had given them a sense of their own identity. Despite their location at the edge of the Chinese Empire, they were able to ignore Chinese attempts at domination because China was often distracted during times of internal strife or war ( p.12).

The fall of Vietnam to France was part of a larger struggle between the French and the British to seize chunks of Asia for economic exploitation. In the early 1800's France had tried through peaceful and diplomatic methods to obtain trading privileges in Bietnam, but these efforts had failed. The French then had no contacts at all with Vietnam for decades, with the exception of the missionaries who continued their efforts to turn the people to Christianity. During those years, however, the anti-Catholic policy of the Nguyen regime made martyrs of the Christians in Vietnam and provided France with an excuse for military intervention in Vietnam ( p.18).

Years of struggle followed, and at one point the Vietnamese government expelled foreign Christian missionaries. The missionaries were viewed with suspicion by the Vietnamese government, which considered them to be agents of a foreign power. A long ban on the Christian religion ended when the French Bishop of Adran, Pigneau de Behaine, saved the life of the 16-year -old nephew of the Nguyen king. This occurred during the Tay Son rebellion in1777. Pigneau then pressed the French court to expand its influence in Indochina. When the Nguyens defeated the Tay Sons and returned to power in 1802, they continued to look upon France with some measure of respect (p. 17).

Because the Portuguese were hostile to Dutch efforts in the South, the Dutch concentrated their efforts in the North. There they established a trading post with the support of the powerful Trinh family. In 1672 the English opened a trading

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Approximate Word count = 4505
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)