A paper which looks at Vietnamese nationalism and the rise of Ho Chi Minh to power in 1945, against the backdrop of thousands of years of extensive colonial rule.
The paper shows that national identity is crucial to the Vietnamese because they have an extensive history of colonial rule, beginning in 2nd Century B.C. and ending in 1945 when the Vietnamese drove the French out of their land. The paper traces the rise in Vietnamese nationalism until Ho Chi Minh rose as a communist and nationalist leader in the 1940s to unite his fellow countrymen.
“Vietnamese nationalism and anti- colonialism are indistinguishable because many of the nationalist organizations revolted against French colonial rule. National pride and unique national identity were possible only when oppressive colonial rulers were defeated. From the mid 18th century to 1945, France influenced Vietnam through physical presence like building hydraulic dams, and indirect presence by France manipulating Vietnamese officials as if they were puppets . Between 1904 and 1960, Vietnamese leaders formed numerous revolutionary organizations . Modern Vietnamese nationalism, for the sake of this brief paper, begins at the turn of the century.”