France colonized Vietnam from the late 1800s to 1954. France established control over Vietnam and developed its economy and infrastructure, but also exploited Vietnam's resources and suppressed Vietnamese nationalism. The Vietnamese resisted French rule through various independence movements. After World War 2, the First Indochina War erupted as the Vietnamese fought for full independence from France. The war lasted from 1946 to 1954 and ended with a French defeat and Vietnam being partitioned.