The French sought to influence and dominate all the areas of life in Vietnam which brought them into conflict with the Vietnamese. The following were the reasons for this conflict.
(a) The conflict between the French and the Vietnamese began with the French establishing their colony in Vietnam. This provoked nationalist resistance by the Vietnamese.
(b) The French began their military and economic domination over Vietnam and tried to dismantle Vietnamese culture by introducing western education and western style of life which the Vietnamese took as interference in their daily affairs.
(c) The French missionaries introduced Christianity and disliked the mixture of Confucianism, Buddhism and local customs. This led to religious conflicts.
(d) The French began exploiting the natural resources for their own profit. This was seen as drain of wealth and thus Vietnamese came into conflict with the French.

Religion had always played a pivotal role in the lives of people in Vietnam. This fact was used well by the imperialists to aid in their control over the colonies. Thinking this, the imperialists imposed their religion on the Vietnamese locals. Thus anti-imperialist feelings arose in Vietnam against the French imperialist forces. Vietnam followed Buddhism and Confucianism. The French wanted to convert the Vietnamese to Christianity. The Scholars Revolt (1868): It took place as a movement against the spread of Christianity and French power. This revolt was led by the officials at the imperial court. The Vietnamese led a general uprising in the provinces ofNgu and Ha Tein and over a thousand Catholics missionaries were killed. This inspired other patriots to rise against the French government. The revolt was finally suppressed by the French.
Hoa Hoa Movement (1939): It began in 1939 and gained great popularity in the fertile Mekong delta area. It drew on religious ideas popular in anti-French uprisings of the nineteenth century. The founder of Hoa Hao was a man called Huynh Phu So. He performed miracles and helped the poor. His criticism against useless expenditure had a wide appeal. He also opposed the sale of child brides, gambling and the use of alcohol and opium. The French tried to suppress the movement inspired by Huynh Phu So. They declared him mad, called him the Mad Bonze, and put him in a mental asylum. But the doctor, who had to prove him mad, became his follower. Finally, he was exiled to Laos and many of his followers were sent to concentration camps.

Plague strikes Hanoi:
(i) The French decided to rebuild Hanoi.
(ii) In 1903, the modern part of Hanoi was struck by bubonic plague.
(iii) The French part of Hanoi was built as a beautiful and clean city with wide avenues and well laid out sewage system.
(iv) But the native quarter was not provided with any modern facilities.
(v) The unhygienic environment in the French City became the cause of the plague.
(vi) The large sewers also served as great transport system allowing rats to move around the city without any problem.
The Rat Hunt:
(i) To stop the spread of plague, as rat hunt was started in 1902.
(ii) Vietnamese workers were hired for the task and were paid for each rat being caught.
(iii) People began to catch rats in thousands.
(iv) The payment was done when a tail of a rat was shown as a proof that a rat had been killed.
(v) Many people began just clipping the tails and collecting the bounty.
(vi) Many people even began to raise rat to earn more.
(vii) This incident showed that at some juncture even the superior power of a colonial master fails and even the weak can assume a very strong bargaining position.

(i) The French took for granted that Europe had developed the most advanced civilisation.  So it became the duty of the Europeans to introduce modern ideas too colony as a civilising mission.
(ii) It resulted in the destruction of local culture, religious and traditions.
(iii) The cities in Vietnam were dominated by Chineses culture.  To counter the Chinese influence the French systematically dismantled the traditional educational system.
(iv) French schools were established for the Vietnamese.  The French wanted to educate the people of Vietnam to create an Asiatic France which would be solidly tied to the people of Vietnam to create an Asiatic France which would be solidly tied to European France.
(v) They felt that the educated Vietnamese would respect the Frech Sentiments and ideals see the superiority of the French culture and work for the French.

(i) The prices of rubber and rice fell, rural debts increases resulted in unemployment and rural uprisings, especially in Nghe An and Ha Tinh.

(ii) These provinces were among the poorest, had an old radical tradition.  They were called the 'electrical fuses' of Vietnam.  When the system was under pressure they were the first to blow.

(iii) The French put these uprisings down with great severity, even using planes to bomb demonstrators.

Phan's most influential

book is 'The History of the Loss of Vietnam'.  This book focusses on two connected themes

(a) The loss of sovereignty

(b) The severing of ties with China - ties that bound the elites of the two countries within a shared culture.

(i) The French built canals and drained lands in the Mekong delta to increase cultivation.

(ii) It increased the rice production and allowed the export of rice to the international market.

(iii) Next infrastructure project were started to help transport of goods for trade, move military garrisons and control the entire region.

(iv) Started constructing Trans-Indo_China rail network to link the northern and southern parts of Vietnam and China.

(i) French troops landed in Vietnam in 1858 and by the mid-1880s they had established a firm grip over the northern region.

(ii) After the Franco-Chinese war the French assumed control of Tonkin and Annam and, in 1887, French Indo-China was formed.

(iii) In the following decades the French sought to consolidate their position.  It resulted with development of Nationalist resistance.

(i) The colonisation of Vietnam by the French brought the people of the country into conflict with the colonisers in all areas of life

(ii) The most visible form of French control was military and economic domination but the French also built a system that tried to reshape the Vietnamese.

(iii) Nationalism in Vietnam emerged through the effort of different sections of society to fight against the French and all they represented.

(i) According to him, the development of economy will raise the standard people and people would buy more foods.  The market would consequently expand, leading to better profit for French business.
(ii) According to Bernard, there were several barriers to economic growth in Vietnam, such a large population, low agricultural productively and extensive indebtedness amongst the peasants.
(iii) To reduce the poverty and increase agricultural productivity, it was necessary to carry out land reforms.
(iv) Industrialisation was alone essential for creating more jobs as agriculture was not likely to ensure sufficient employment opportunities.

To stop the spread of plague, as rat hunt was started in 1902.  Vietnamese workers were hired for the task and were paid for each rat being caught.  People began to catch rats in thousands.  The payment was done when a tail of a rat was shown as a proof that a rat had been killed.  Many people began just clipping the tails and collecting the bounty.  Many people even began to raise rat to earn more.  This incident  showed that at some juncture even the superior power of a colonial master fails and even the weak can assume a very strong bargaining position.

(a) The colonisation of Vietnam by the french brought the people of the country into conflict with the colonisers in all areas of life. Nationalist resistance developed when the French troops landed in Vietnam.
(b) Schools became an important place for cultural and political battles. Students played a major role by travelling outside Vietnam to Japan to acquire modern education. Their main aim was to seek foreign help to overthrow the puppet emperor and re-establish the Nguyen dynasty. By 1920s, students were forming various political parties such as Party of Young Annan and publishing journals such as Annanese Student to promote patriotic feelings.
(c) Teachers and students did not accept the French curriculum in schools. Teachers spread nationalism by modifying texts and criticising what was stated in the textbooks. 
(d) During the nationalist movement, a new image of womanhood emerged. Political thinkers and writers began idealising women rebels of the past. Many women joined the resistance movement. They helped in nursing the wounded, constructing underground rooms and tunnels and even shot down 15 enemy fighter-planes.
(e) Religious scholars opposed the presence and spread of Christianity by French Christian missionaries.

(i) Development in China also inspired Vietnamese nationalists.

(ii) In 1911, the long-established monarchy in China was overthrown by a popular movement under Sun Yat-sen.

(iii) A Republic was set up.  Inspired by these developments, the Vietnamese students organised the Association for the Restoration of Vietnam.

(iv) Now the nature of the anti-French independence movement changed.  It aimed at establishing a democratic republic instead of a constitutional monarchy.

(i) From the eighteenth century, many religious movement were hostile to the Western presence.  An early movement against Frech control and the spread of Christianity was the Scholars Revolt in 1868.

(ii) This revolt was led by officials at the imperial court.  In Ngu An and Ha Tien provinces over a thousand Catholics were Killed.  The French crushed the movement but this uprising served to inspire other patriots to rise up against them.

(i) While teaching, Vietnamese teachers quietly modified the text and criticised what was stated.  When a Vietnamese girl was refused a seat with font row of the class and expelled from school a major protest erupted in the Saigon Natives Girls School in 1926.

(ii) Elsewhere students fought against the colonial government's efforts to prevent the Vietnamese from qualifying for white-collar jobs.

(iii) Students formed political parties like party of young Annan and published nationalist journals such as the Annamese Student. Thus schools became an important place for political and cultural battles.