Resistance to French Rule

27.4.4: Resistance to French Rule

The first wave of resistance to French rule emerged in Indochina shortly after France colonized the region, with particularly active nationalist movements in Vietnam, more limited and mostly elite-based opposition in Cambodia, and fragmented, often ethnically-divided rebellions in Laos.

Learning Objective

Evaluate instances of resistance to French rule

Key Points

  • Nationalist sentiments emerged in French Indochina shortly after colonial rule was established. In 1885, Phan Dinh Phung led a rebellion against the colonizing power. The Can Vuong movement, which sought to expel the French and install the boy Emperor Ham Nghi at the head of an independent Vietnam, initiated the revolt. The insurrection in Annam spread and flourished in 1886, reached its climax the following year, and gradually faded out by 1889. The Can Vuong movement was the first resistance movement that saw all of Vietnamese society, royalty, scholar-gentry, and peasantry, working together against the French.
  • At the beginning of the 20th century, two parallel movements emerged. The Dong Du (“Go East”) Movement led by Phan Boi Chau planned to send Vietnamese students to Japan to learn modern skills so in the future they could lead a successful armed revolt against the French. Duy Tan (“Modernization”) led by Phan Chau Trinh favored a non-violent struggle to gain independence, stressing education for the masses and modernization. The French suppressed both movements and Vietnamese revolutionaries began to radicalize.
  • Phan Boi Chau created the Viet Nam Quang Phuc Hoi in Guangzhou, planning armed resistance against the French. In 1925, French agents captured him in Shanghai and spirited him to Vietnam. Due to his popularity, Chau was spared from execution. In 1927, the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (Vietnamese Nationalist Party) and the party launched the armed Yen Bai mutiny in 1930 in Tonkin, which resulted in many leaders captured and executed by the guillotine.
  • In 1885, Si Votha, half brother of king Norodom and contender for the throne, led a rebellion to dispose of the French-backed Norodom after returning from exile in Siam. Gathering support from opponents of Norodom and the French, Si Votha led a rebellion that was primarily concentrated in the jungles of Cambodia and the city of Kampot. French forces later aided Norodom to defeat Si Votha. Unlike in Vietnam, Cambodian nationalism remained relatively quiet during much of French rule, although Khmer nationalism began to emerge outside of Cambodia.
  • In 1901, a revolt broke out in the south of Laos among groups of Lao Theung led by Ong Kaeo. The revolt challenged French control over Laos and was not fully suppressed until 1910. Between 1899 and 1910, political unrest in the northern Phongsali Province occurred as local hill tribe chiefs challenged French rule and assimilation policies being carried out in the highlands. Although the revolt initially started as a resistance against French influence, it focused on stopping French suppression of the opium trade.
  • Instability continued in the north of Laos in 1919.  Hmong groups, the chief opium producers in Indochina, revolted against French taxation and special status given to the Lao Loum, minorities in the highlands, in a conflict known as the War of the Insane. After the revolt, the French government granted Hmongs partial autonomy in the Xiangkhouang Province.

Examples

Key Terms

War of the Insane
A Hmong revolt against taxation in the French colonial administration in Indochina lasting from 1918 to 1921. Pa Chay Vue, the leader of the revolt, regularly climbed trees to receive military orders from heaven. The French granted the Hmong a special status in 1920, effectively ending the conflict.
Yen Bai mutiny
An uprising of Vietnamese soldiers in the French colonial army in 1930 in collaboration with civilian supporters who were members of the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (Vietnamese Nationalist Party).
Can Vuong movement
A large-scale Vietnamese insurgency between 1885 and 1889 against French colonial rule. Its objective was to expel the French and install the boy emperor Hàm Nghi as the leader of an independent Vietnam.

 

Nationalist Movements in Vietnam

Nationalist sentiments emerged in French Indochina shortly after the colonial rule was established. By the mid-1880s, French troops established a firm grip over the northern region of Vietnam and in 1885, Phan Dinh Phung, a prominent imperial court official, led a rebellion against the colonizing power. The Can Vuong movement, which sought to expel the French and install the boy Emperor Ham Nghi at the head of an independent Vietnam, initiated the revolt in 1885 when Ton That Thuyet, another court official, launched a surprise attack against the colonial forces after a diplomatic confrontation with the French. Thuyet took Ham Nghi northwards to the Tan So mountain base near the border with Laos after the attack failed.

The Can Vuong movement lacked a coherent national structure and consisted mainly of regional leaders who attacked French troops in their own provinces. It initially prospered but failed after the French recovered from the surprise of the insurgency and poured troops into Annam from bases in Tonkin and Cochinchina. The insurrection in Annam spread and flourished in 1886, reached its climax the following year, and gradually faded out by 1889. The Can Vuong movement was the first resistance movement that saw all of Vietnamese society, royalty, scholar-gentry, and peasantry, working together against the French. However, although there were some 50 resistance groups, they lacked collaboration and unifying military authority. Actions taken by the resistance were never national, but the narratives of their struggle against foreign domination were passed down to the next generations.

At the beginning of the 20th century, two parallel movements emerged. The Dong Du (“Go East”) Movement started in 1905 by Phan Boi Chau. Chau’s plan was to send Vietnamese students to Japan to learn modern skills so that in the future they could lead a successful armed revolt against the French. With Prince Cuong De, he started two organizations in Japan: Duy Tan Hoi and Viet Nam Cong Hien Hoi. Due to French diplomatic pressure, Japan later deported Chau. A second movement, Duy Tan (“Modernization”), led by Phan Chau Trinh, favored a peaceful, non-violent struggle for independence. It stressed education for the masses, modernizing the country, fostering understanding and tolerance between the French and the Vietnamese, and peaceful transitions of power.

The French suppressed both movements and Vietnamese revolutionaries began to turn to more radical paths, particularlyafter witnessing revolutionaries in action in China and Russia. Phan Boi Chau created the Viet Nam Quang Phuc Hoi in Guangzhou, planning armed resistance against the French. In 1925, French agents captured him in Shanghai and spirited him to Vietnam. Due to his popularity, Chau was spared from execution and placed under house arrest until his death in 1940. In 1927, the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (Vietnamese Nationalist Party), modeled after the Kuomintang in China, was founded. The party launched the armed Yen Bai mutiny in 1930 in Tonkin, which resulted in its chairman Nguyen Thai Hoc and many other leaders captured and executed by the guillotine.

 

Resistance in Cambodia

The first decades of French rule in Cambodia included numerous reforms into Cambodian politics, including the reduction of the monarch’s power. In 1884, the governor of Cochinchina, Charles Anthoine François Thomson, attempted to overthrow the monarch and establish full French control over Cambodia by sending a small force to the royal palace in Phnom Penh. The movement was largely unsuccessful as the governor-general of French Indochina prevented full colonization due to possible conflicts with Cambodians and the monarch became a mere figurehead. In 1885, Si Votha, half brother of king Norodom and contender for the throne, led a rebellion to dispose of the French-backed Norodom after coming back from exile in Siam. Gathering support from opponents of Norodom and the French, Si Votha led a rebellion that was primarily concentrated in the jungles of Cambodia and the city of Kampot. French forces later aided Norodom to defeat Si Votha under agreements that the Cambodian population be disarmed and acknowledge the resident-general as the highest power in the protectorate.

King Norodom, the monarch who initiated overtures to France to make Cambodia its protectorate in 1863 to escape Siamese pressure

In 1904, King Norodom died and the French passed the succession to Norodom’s brother Sisowath, whose branch of the royal family was more submissive and less nationalistic. Norodom was viewed as responsible for the constant Cambodian revolts against French rule. Norodom’s favorite son Prince Yukanthor, his natural successor, had on one of his trips to Europe stirred up public opinion about French colonial brutalities in occupied Cambodia.

Unlike in Vietnam, Cambodian nationalism remained relatively quiet during much of French rule. The population had limited access to education, which kept literacy rates low and prevented nationalist movements like those in Vietnam from widely circulating their message. However, among the French-educated Cambodian elite, the Western ideas of democracy and self-rule and French restoration of monuments such as Angkor Wat created a sense of pride and awareness of Cambodia’s powerful status in the past. Cambodian students resented the favored status of the minority Vietnamese. In 1936, Son Ngoc Than and Pach Choeun began publishing Nagaravatta (Notre cité),  a French language anti-colonial and at times, anti-Vietnamese newspaper. Minor independence movements, especially the Khmer Issarak, began to develop in 1940 among Cambodians in Thailand who feared their actions would have led to punishment if they operated in their homeland.

 

Resistance in Laos

In 1901, a revolt broke out in the south of Laos in the Bolaven Plateau among groups of Lao Theung led by Ong Kaeo, a self-proclaimed “holy man” who led a messianic cult. The revolt challenged French control over Laos and was not fully suppressed until 1910 when Ong Kaeo was killed. His successor Ong Kommadam became an early leader in the Lao nationalist movement.

Between 1899 and 1910, political unrest in the northern Phongsali Province occurred as local hill tribe chiefs challenged French rule and assimilation policies being carried out in the highlands. At the height of the revolt, the unrest spread to the highlands of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and was largely concentrated among the minority groups of the Khmu and Hmong. Although the revolt initially started as a resistance against French influence and tightening of administration, it later focused on stopping the French suppression of the opium trade.

Instability continued in the north of Laos in 1919 when Hmong groups, the chief opium producers in Indochina, revolted against French taxation and special status given to the Lao Loum, minorities in the highlands, in a conflict known as the War of the Insane. Hmong rebels claimed that both Lao and French officials treated them as subordinate and uncivilized groups. They were defeated in 1921. After the revolt, the French government granted Hmongs partial autonomy in the Xiangkhouang Province.

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