2. The region known as Indochina was made up
of the countries Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos.
Fansipan mountain is the only major
mountain.
Indochina has several small rivers with a
large system in Cambodia that flows through
Southern Vietnam.

3. The French felt that they had to be superior
to the UK in all respects.
The French believed that their culture was
superior, they wanted to spread it all over
but mainly in the East.

4. The French wanted to protect religious
missions in the Indochina area.
They wanted to find a southern route
through China for more trade options
They felt that Catholicism was in danger of
extinction in the far East so they wanted to
protect it
Indochina was full of tin, pepper, coal, cotton
and rice. The French were never very
successful in the trade of these items.

5. The French & British joined up to fight China in the 2nd
Opium war.
Vietnamese involvement with China led to France
occupying part of Southern Vietnam.
France was given 3 provinces in Southern Vietnam,
which was later named Cochin China.
French power spread through the exploration.
France asserted its dominance in the region by
defeating China in the war 1883.
France governed Cochin China (Southern Vietnam)
directly but also “protected” the regions of Northern
Vietnam , Cambodia & Laos

6. Most of the government’s officials in French
Indochina were really just figureheads,
meaning that they didn’t really make
decisions, they answered to the French.
The French regulated all flow of goods in &
out of the country.

7. During the French domination of the separate
countries in Indochina, there were several rebellions.
The Khan Rebellion in 1901 took six years to put down
& was later followed by the Tai rebellion in the Sam
Neua province.
The French occupation of territories like Vietnam
infuriated the general population & raised levels of
nationalism.

8. There was a general loss of identity, because
the French got rid of many things like the
Monarchy which gave the countries a source
of pride.
Because of the French’s technology
Confucianism was left behind because many
tenants were proved wrong by modern
science.

9. Communist take over of China in 1949 revived
the fortunes of the Vietnamese
Chinese military advisors began assisting
the Vietminh in July 1950
By 1954, the U.S. had spent 1 billion U.S.
dollars in support of the French military and
was paying 80% of the costs of the war.

10. The battle of Dien Bien Phu marked the end
of the French involvement in Indochina.
After the French declined the American offer
of Nuclear weapons, they were forced to
surrender to the Vietnamese.
At the Geneva Conference the French
negotiated a ceasefire agreement with the
Vietnamese. Independence was granted to
Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam.

11. Communist state – Government
First day of Independence – September 2nd
1945
Natural hazards occasional typhoons ( May
to January) with flooding, especially in the
Mekong River delta
Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in
the world with a population of 86 million.
The government maintains a tight grip on the
improving economy.