Final Project

CHRISTIANITY in the COLONIZATION of INDOCHINE: Outline

See the powerpoint presentation here.

- Where has Christianity fit into this class so far?

o EDUCATION of the characters in novels

o In the MISSION CIVILISATRICE

§ It is this second role upon which this project will focus.

- First contact: Missionaries

o Portuguese Catholics arrive in Vietnam as early as the 16^th century.

o First to find significant numbers converts: the JESUITS

- Who was converted?

o Those interested in the gains of conversion:

§ Material incentives, e.g. rice, aid

§ Education, especially LITERACY

§ Allies

· One article I found describes the effects of Christian missionaries on marginalized ethnic subgroups, specifically the Hmong people. Those likeliest to seek out allies by converting are those who are not integrated into the existing social and religious structures.

o Much later, in the 1960s and 70s, there developed a hostility and resistance among the Hmong people to the European control of their religion. Shong Lue Yang arose as a leader, using partially Christian announcements of the birth of a Hmong King who wanted foreigners dead. He developed a system of writing, the Pahawh alphabet, as a replacement for the European system (see next section), all as a form of reclamation of religion and culture.

- Alexander de Rhodes

o One of best-known missionaries, a French Jesuit.

o In his journals, he claimed to have converted over 6,000 people—while this is almost certainly exaggerated, he did win many converts

o He writes the first Portuguese-Latin dictionary, using an alphabet based on modified roman characters that is still used today.

- Pigneau de Behaine

o Another missionary of significance, Behaine continued the work of de Rhodes and assembled another dictionary.

o He used his influence to collect volunteer French troops to fight for the reclamation of land for the man who then became the founder of the Nguyen Dynasty, Gia Long

- The Nguyen Dynasty

o Because of Behaine’s involvement, the new dynasty (to be the last dynasty of Vietnam) was initially fairly tolerant of European missionaries

o As time passed, missionaries began to be seen as a threat in the royal view, not only because of their European backing and often open support of military attacks on their power, but also because they espoused views that were a cultural threat to the ruling classes, e.g. polygamy in the royal courts.

o The martyrdom of many missionaries under the dynasty, and especially under ruler Minh Mang.

o Though they were viewed as martyrs, many (though certainly not all) of the missionaries killed (often brutally) were actively gathering and leading armies attempting to overthrow the government.

- The French government’s involvement

o King Napoleon III sends an entourage to negotiate with the Vietnamese, ostensibly to stop the persecution of missionaries. However, an agreement was not met, in part because the French were also demanding free trade—a fact they did not advertise widely.

o Using the persecution of missionaries as justification, Charles Rigault de Genouilly is sent to obtain a treaty by force. He captures DeNang, Saigon, and other crucial military points.

o Genouillly is criticized for overstepping his bounds and invading Vietnam… but the lands are not ceded and France continues to extend their reach in the country until the establishment of French Indochine

Conclusions:

- Missionaries played an integral role in the colonization of Indochine, as military leaders and organizers, as cultural leaders through education and alliances with marginalized Vietnamese, and, perhaps most importantly, as justification for invasion

- Now, Vietnam still requires that missionaries be registered and regulated by the government

- Vietnam now has the largest Catholic population in Asia due to French involvement

Works Cited

Ramsay, Jacob. “Extortion and exploitation in the Nguyen campaign against Catholicism in 1830s-1840s Vietnam.” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 35.2 (June 2004). Web.

Cooke, Nola. “Strange brew: global, regional, and local factors behind the 1690 prohibition of Christian practice in Nguyen Cochinchina.” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. (October 2008). Web.

Tapp, Thomas. “The Impact of Missionary Christianity upon Marginalized Ethnic Minorities: The Case of the Hmong.” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 20.1. (March 1989). P. 70-95. Web.

Keith, Charles. “Catholicisme, bouddhisme et lois laiques au Tonkin (1899-1914). Vingtieme Siecle. Revue d’histoire. 87, Numero speicial: Laicite, separation, secularisation (July-September 2005). Web.

Tucker, Spencer C. Vietnam. University press of Kentucky. (1995)