Chronology of Events In Vietnam’s History 1545
Civil strife disturbs Viet Nam, splitting the nation for nearly two centuries.
1627
Alexandre de Rhodes, a French missionary, adapts the Vietnamese Language to the Roman alphabet. Paves the way for further French influence in Vietnam.
1772
Start of the Tayson Rebellion. The ruling Nguyen clan is unseated from power. French missionary activity spreads.
1820
Captain John White of Salem, Massachusetts, is the first American to set foot in Vietnam.
1843
A permanent French fleet is deployed in Asian waters.
1847
French forces clash with Vietnamese mandarins at the city of Tourane, now known as Danang. Tu Duc ascends to the throne and plans to eliminate Christianity in Vietnam.
1861
French troops capture the city of Saigon.
1862
Tu Duc signs a treaty with France granting the French broad religious, economic and political concessions.
1863
French control extends to Cambodia.
1873
French inroads into Tonkin begin.
1879
Cochinchina’s first French civilian governor is appointed.
1883
France establishes a “protectorate” over Annam and Tonkin and rules Cochinchina as a colony.
1890
Ho Chi Minh is born in central Vietnam.
1911
Ho leaves Vietnam, not to return for 30 years.
1914
World War I begins in Europe. Several hundred thousand Vietnamese are sent to France to serve in labor battalions.
1919
Ho tries to petition President Woodrow Wilson, at the Versailles Peace Conference, for self-determination in Vietnam.
1920
Ho joins the newly formed French Communist Party in December.