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French assistance to Nguyen Anh, the future Emperor of Vietnam Gia Long, founder of the Nguyen Dynasty, covered a period from 1777 to 1824. From 1777, Mgr Pigneau de Behaine, of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, had taken to protecting the young Vietnamese prince who was fleeing from the offensive of the Tay Son. Pigneau de Behaine went to France to obtain military aid, and obtained that a France-Vietnam alliance was signed through the 1787 Treaty of Versailles, between the king of France Louis XVI and Prince Nguyen Anh. As the French regime was under considerable strain at the eave of the French Revolution, France was unable to follow through with the application of the Treaty. However, Mgr Pigneau de Behaine persisted in his efforts and with the support of French individuals and traders mounted a force of French soldiers and officers that would contribute to the modernization of the armies of Nguyen Anh, contributing to his victory and his reconquest of the totality of Vietnam by 1802. A few French officers would remain in Vietnam affair the victory, becoming prominent mandarins. The last of them left in 1824, following the enthronement of Minh Mang, Gia Long’s successor. The terms of the 1787 Treaty of Alliance would still remain one of the justifications of French forces when they demanded the remittance of Danang in 1847.

Protection of Nguyen Anh

The French first intervened in the dynastic battles of Vietnam in 1777 when 15-year-old Prince Nguyen Anh, fleeing from an offensive of the Tay Son, received shelter from Mgr Pigneau de Behaine in the southern Principality of Ha Tien.^[1] Pigneau de Behaine and his Catholic community in Ha Tien then helped Nguyen Anh take refuge in the island of Pulo Panjang. ^[2]

These events created a strong bond between Nguyen Anh and Pigneau de Behaine, who took a role of protector over the young prince. Following this ordeal, Nguyen Anh was able to recapture Saigon in November 1777 and the whole of Cochinchina, and took the title of Commander in Chief in 1778.

Intervention in the Cambodian conflict (1799-1781)

In neighbouring Cambodia, a pro-Cochinchinese revolt erupted to topple the pro-Siam king Ang Non. In 1780, the Cochinchinese troops of Nguyen Anh intervened, and Pigneau helped them obtain weapons from the Portuguese. The Bishop was even accused by the Portuguese of manufacturing weapons for the Cochinchinese, especially grenades, a new weapon for Southeast Asia.^[3] Pigneau de Behaine also organized the supply of three Portuguese warships for Nguyen Anh.^[4] In his activities, Pigneau was supported by a French adventurer, Manuel.^[4] Contemporary witnesses clearly describe Pigneau’s military role:

“Bishop Pierre Joseph Georges, of French nationality, has been chosen to deal with certain matters of war”
— J. da Fonceca e Sylva, 1781.^[5]

1782-1783-1785 Tay Son offensives

The French adventurer Manuel, in the service of Mgr Pigneau, took part in the battles against the 1782 offensive of the Tay Son. He fought commanding a warship against the Tay Son in the Saigon river, but he blew himself up with his warship rather than surrender to the more numerous Tay Son navy.^[6] In October 1782, Nguyen Anh was able to recapture Saigon, only to be expelled again by the Tay Son in March 1783.

In March 1783, the Nguyen were again defeated, and Nguyen Anh and Pigneau fled to the island of Phu Quoc. They had to escape again when their hideout was discovered, being chased from island to island until they reached Siam. Pigneau de Behaine visited the Siamese court in Bangkok end 1783.^[7] Nguyen Anh also reached Bangkok in February 1784, where he obtained that an army would accompany him back to Vietnam.^[8] In January 1785 however the Siamese fleet met with disaster against the Tay Son in the Mekong.^[8]

Nguyen Anh again took refuge with the Siamese court, and again tried to obtain help from the Siamese.^[9] Nguyen Anh also resolved to obtain any help he could from Western countries.^[10] He asked Pigneau to appeal for French aid, and allowed Pigneau to take his five-year-old son Prince Canh with him. Pigneau also tried to obtain help from Manilla, but the party of Dominicans he sent was captured by the Tay Son.^[10] From Pondicherry, he also sent a request for help to the Portuguese Senate in Macao, which would ultimately lead to the signature of a Treaty of Alliance between Nguyen Anh and the Portuguese on 18 December 1786 in Bangkok.^[11]

Treaty of Versailles (1787)

Mgr Pigneau de Behaine arrived Pondicherry with Prince Canh in February 1785.^[12] The French administration in Pondicherry, led by the interim Governor Coutenceau des Algrains, successor of Bussy, seconded by Captain d'Entrecasteaux, was resolutely opposed to intervening in southern Vietnam, stating that it was not in the national interest. In July 1786, Pigneau was allowed to travel to France to ask the royal court directly for assistance. News of his activities reached Rome where he was denounced by the Spanish Franciscans, and offered Prince Canh and his political mandate to the Portuguese. They left Pondicherry for France in July 1786.^[13] which they reached in February 1787.^[14]

Arriving in February 1787 with the child prince Canh at the court of Louis XVI in Versailles,^[15] Pigneau had difficulty in gathering support for a French expedition to install Nguyen Anh on the throne. This was due to the poor financial state of the country prior to the French Revolution.

Eventually, he was able to seduce the technicians of military action with his precise instructions as to the conditions of warfare in Indochina and the equipment for the proposed campaign. He explained how France would be able to "dominate the seas of China and of the archipelago." The party met with King Louis XVI, Minister of the Navy de Castries and Minister of Foreign Affairs Montmorin on May 5 or 6, 1787.^[16] Prince Canh created a sensation at the court of Louis XVI, leading the famous hairdresser Léonard to create a hairstyle in his honour "au prince de Cochinchine".^[17] His portrait was made in France by Maupérin, and is now on display at the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères in Paris. Prince Canh dazzled the Court and even played with the son of Louis XVI, Louis-Joseph, Dauphin of France, who was about the same age.^[18]^[19]

By November, his constant pressure had proved effective. On 21 November 1787, the Treaty of Versailles was concluded between France and Cochin China in Nguyen Anh’s name. Four frigates, 1650 fully equipped French soldiers and 250 Indian sepoys were promised in return for Pulo Condore and harbour access at Tourane (Da Nang). De Fresne was supposed to be the leader of the expedition.^[21]

The French government, on the eave of the French Revolution, was in tremendous financial trouble,^[22] and saw its position weakened following the outbreak of civil war in Holland, theretofore a strategic ally in Asia.^[23]. These elements strongly dampened its enthusiasm for Pigneau's plan between his arrival and the signature of the Treaty in November.^[24] A few days after the treaty was signed, the foreign minister sent instructions on 2 December 1787 to the Governor of Pondicherry Thomas Conway, which left the execution of the treaty to his own appreciation of the situation in Asia, stating that he was "free not to accomplish the expedition, or to delay it, according to his own opinion"^[25]

Military assistance (1789-1802)

The party would leave France in December 1787 onboard the Dryade,^[26] commanded by M. de Kersaint and accompanied by the Pandour, commanded by M. de Préville. They would again stay in Pondicherry from May 1788 to July 1789.^[27] The Dryade was ordered by Conway to continue to Poulo Condor to meet with Nguyen Anh and deliver him 1,000 muskets bought in France and Father Paul Nghi, a Cochinchinese missionary devoted to Mgr Pigneau.

However, Pigneau found the governor of Pondicherry unwilling to further fulfill the agreement. Although the Royal Council had already decided in October 1788 to endorse Conway, Pigneau was not informed until April. Pigneau was forced to use funds raised in France and enlist French volunteers. Pigneau was unaware of this duplicity. He defiantly noted: "I shall make the revolution in Cochinchina alone." He rejected an offer from the English, and raised money from French merchants in the region.

Conway finally provided two ships to Pigneau, the Méduse, commanded by Rosily,^[28] and another frigate to bring Pigneau back to Cochinchina.^[29]

Pigneau used the funds he had accumulated to equip two more ships with weapons and ammunition, which he named the Long ("Dragon"), commanded by Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau, and the Phung ("Phoenix"), commanded by Philippe Vannier, and he hired volunteers and deserters.^[28] Jean-Marie Dayot deserted the Pandour and was put in charge of supplies, transporting weapons and ammunitions on his ship the St. Esprit. Rosily, who had been commanding the Méduse deserted with 120 of his men, and was put in charge of recruitments.^[28]

Pigneau's expedition left for Vietnam on June 19 1789 and arrived at Vung Tau on 24 July 1789.^[28] The forces gathered by Pigneau helped consolidate southern Vietnam and modernized its army, navy and fortifications.

Land forces

Olivier de Puymanel, a former officer of the Dryade who has deserted in Poulo Condor, built in 1790 the Citadel of Saigon and in 1793 the Citadel of Dien Khanh according to the principles of Vauban. He also trained Vietnamese troops in the modern use of artillery, and implemented European infantry methods in the Vietnamese army of Nguyen Phuc Anh.^[30]

In 1791, the French missionary Boisserand demonstrated to Nguyen Anh the usage of balloons and electricity. Puymanel suggested that these be used to bombard cities under siege such as Qui Nhon, but Nguyen Anh refused to use these contraptions.^[31]

In 1792, Olivier de Puymanel was commanding an army of 600 men who had been trained with European techniques.^[32] Puymanel is said to have trained the 50,000 men of Nguyen's army.^[33] French bombs were used at the siege of Qui Nhon in 1793.^[34]

From 1794, Pigneau himself participated to all the campaigns, accompanying Prince Canh. He organized the defense of Dien Khanh when it was besieged by a vastly more numerous Tay Son army in 1794.^[35] Pigneau died at the siege of Qui Nhon in 1799. The French forces in Vietnam continued the fight without him.

Navy

French Navy officers such as Jean-Marie Dayot and Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau were used to train the navy. By 1792, a large Navy was built, with two European warships and 15 frigates of composite design.^[36]

In 1792, Dayot forced the harbour of Qui Nhon, opening the way to the Cochinchinese fleet which then defeated the Tay Son fleet.^[37]

In 1793, Dayot led a raid in which 60 Tay Son galleys were destroyed.^[37]

In 1799, the Englishman Berry witnessed the departure of the Nguyen fleet, composed of three sloops of war commanded by French officers, each of them with 300 men, 100 galleys with troops, 40 war junks, 200 smallers ships, and 800 transport boats.^[38]

Jean-Marie Dayot also did considerable hydrographic work, making numerous maps of the Vietnamese coast, which were drawn by his talented brother.^[39]

Qui Nhon battle (1801)

The Tay Son suffered a major naval defeat at Qui Nhon in February 1801. The French took an active part in the battle.^[40] Chaigneau described the battle in a letter to his friend Barizy:

”We have just burnt all the navy of the enemies, so that not even the smallest ship escaped. This was the bloodiest fight the Cochinchinese had ever seen. The enemies fought to the death. Our people behaved in a superior manner. We have many dead and wounded, but this is nothing compared to the advantages the king is receiving. Mr Vannier, Forsanz and myself were there, and came back safely. Before seeing the enemy navy, I used to despise it, but I assure you this was misconceived, they had vessels with 50 to 60 canons.
— Letter from Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau to Barizy, 2 March 1801.^[41]

Commercial assistance

Nguyen Anh and Mgr Pigneau de Behaine also relied on French officers to obtain weapons and ammunitions throughout Asia through trade.^[42]

In 1790, Jean-Marie Dayot was sent by Nguyen Anh to Manilla and Macao to trade for military supplies.^[42]

Olivier de Puymanel, after having built several fortresses for Nguyen Anh, focused on the trading of weapons from 1795. In 1795 and 1796, he made two trips to Macao, where he sold Cochinchinese agricultural products in exchange for weapons and ammunitions. In 1795 he also travelled to Riau to trade rice received from Nguyen Anh. In 1797-98, he travelled to Madras to obtain the remittance of the Armida, a warship belonging to Barizy, in the service of Nguyen Anh, which had been seized by the British in 1797.^[42]

Barizy, who had entered the service of Nguyen Anh in 1793, also sailed to Malacca and Pulau Pinang to exchange Cochinchinese products against weapons. His ship, the Armida was captured by the British, but finally returned. In 1800, Nguyen Anh sent him to trade with Madras to obtain weapons.^[42] According to one missionnary, he was:

"Agent and deputy of the king of Cochinchina with the various governors of India, in order to obtain all that he needed".
— Letter by Le Labousse, 24 April 1800.^[43]

Continued French presence in Vietnam

Once Nguyen Anh became emperor Gia Long, several Frenchmen remained at the court to become mandarins, such as Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau.^[44] Chaigneau received the tiltle of truong co, together with Philippe Vannier, de Forsans and Despiau, meaning second-class second-degree military mandarins, and later received the title of Grand Mandarin once Gia Long became emperor, with personal escorts of 50 soldiers.^[45]

Several also married into a Vietnamese Catholic mandarin familly, such as Chaigneau, Vannier or Laurent Barizy.^[46]

The results of these French efforts at the modernization of Vietnamese forces were attested by John Crawfurd, who visited Hue in 1822:

"In Cochin China a military organization has been established through the example and assistance of the French refugees in the country which has at least a very imposing appearance. The army consists of about forty thousand men uniformely clothed in British broad cloth, officered after the European manner and divided up into battalions under brigades. The park of artillery is numerous and excellent."
— Narrative of the Crawfurd mission....^[47]

With the death of Gia Long and the advent of Minh Mang, relations strained considerably, and French advisors left the country. The last two of them, Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau and Philippe Vannier left Vietnam for France in 1824, together with their Vietnamese famillies.

Seclusion and persecutions

Only Catholic missionaries, mostly members of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, remained in Vietnam, although their activities were soon prohibited and they became persecuted.

In Cochinchina, the Le Van Khoi revolt (1833-1835) united Vietnamese Catholics, missionaries and Chinese settlers in a major revolt against the ruling emperor, in which they were defeated. Persecutions would follow, leading to the killing of numerous missionaries and local Catholics, such as Joseph Marchand in 1835, Jean-Charles Cornay in 1837, or Pierre Borie in 1838.

In 1847, French warships under De Lapierre and Rigault de Genouilly demanded that persecutions cease, and that Danang be remitted to them in application of the 1787 Treaty of Versailles. The French sank the Vietnamese fleet in Danang in the Bombardment of Đà Nẵng (1847), and negotiation with Emperor Thieu Tri broke down.^[48]

Persecutions of Catholics, combined with French desire for colonial expansion, would trigger ever stronger military interventions from France. The dispatch of an expeditionary force under Rigault de Genouilly would mark the return of the French military of Vietnamese soil, with the Siege of Đà Nẵng (1858) and the Capture of Saigon (1859), origin of the establishment of French Indochina.

Notes

^ Mantienne, p.77
^ Mantienne, p.77
^ Mantienne, p.78
^ ^a ^b Mantienne, p.81
^ Quoted in Mantienne, p.79-80
^ Mantienne, p.81-82
^ Mantienne, p.83
^ ^a ^b Mantienne, p.84
^ Mantienne, pp.84–85
^ ^a ^b Mantienne, p.85
^ Mantienne, p.87
^ Mantienne, p.84, p.200
^ Mantienne, p.92
^ Mantienne, p.93
^ Dragon Ascending By Henry Kamm p.86-87 [1]
^ Mantienne, p.96
^ Viet Nam by Nhung Tuyet Tran, Anthony Reid, p.293 [2]
^ "He dazzled the Louis XVI court at Versailles with Nguyen Canh, ... dressed in red and gold brocade, to play with the Dauphin, the heir apparent." in The Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls, and Our Fantasies by Sheridan Prasso, p.40
^ "The Dauphin, about his age, played with him." French Policy and Developments in Indochina - Page 27 by Thomas Edson Ennis
^ Mantienne, p.97/204
^ Mantienne, p.97
^ Mantienne, p.106
^ Mantienne, p.104
^ Mantienne, p.103-108
^ Mantienne, p.98. Original French: "il était "maître de ne point entreprendre l'opération ou de la retarder, d'après son opinion personnelle""
^ Mantienne, p.109-110
^ Mantienne, p.110
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d A History of Vietnam By Oscar Chapuis p.178
^ "Conway finally provided the frigate Meduse and another vessel to repatriate the mission" in The Roots of French Imperialism in Eastern Asia - Page 14 by John Frank Cady 1967 [3]
^ The Vietnamese Response to French Intervention, 1862-1874 by Mark W. McLeod, p.11 [4]
^ Mantienne, p.153
^ Mantienne, p.153
^ Colonialism By Melvin Eugene Page, Penny M. Sonnenburg, p.723 [5]
^ Mantienne, p.132
^ Mantienne, p.135
^ Mantienne, p.129
^ ^a ^b Mantienne, p.130
^ Mantienne, p.129
^ Mantienne, p.156
^ Mantiene, p.130
^ Quoted in Mantienne, p.130
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Mantienne,p.158-159
^ Quoted in Mantienne, p.158. Original French:"Agent et député du roi de Cochinchine auprès des différents gouverneurs etc... de l'Inde, pour lui procurer tout ce dont il a besoin"
^ A Vietnamese Royal Exile in Japan by My-Van Tran, Tran My-Van, p.16 [6]
^ The Vietnamese response to French intervention, 1862-1874 by Mark W. McLeod Page 20 [7]
^ Viet Nam by Nhung Tuyet Tran, Anthony Reid p.207 [8]
^ In Alastair Lamb The Mandarin Road to old Hue, p.251, quoted in Mantienne, p.153
^ A History of Vietnam By Oscar Chapuis p.194 [9]

References

Mantienne, Frédéric 1999 Monseigneur Pigneau de Béhaine, Editions Eglises d'Asie, 128 Rue du Bac, Paris, ISSN 12756865 ISBN 2914402201

[1] Mantienne, p.77

[2] Mantienne, p.77

[3] Mantienne, p.78

[m81-4] Mantienne, p.81

[5] Quoted in Mantienne, p.79-80

[6] Mantienne, p.81-82

[7] Mantienne, p.83

[m84-8] Mantienne, p.84

[9] Mantienne, pp.84–85

[m85-10] Mantienne, p.85

[11] Mantienne, p.87

[12] Mantienne, p.84, p.200

[13] Mantienne, p.92

[14] Mantienne, p.93

[15] Dragon Ascending By Henry Kamm p.86-87 [1]

[16] Mantienne, p.96

[17] Viet Nam by Nhung Tuyet Tran, Anthony Reid, p.293 [2]

[18] "He dazzled the Louis XVI court at Versailles with Nguyen Canh, ... dressed in red and gold brocade, to play with the Dauphin, the heir apparent." in The Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls, and Our Fantasies by Sheridan Prasso, p.40

[19] "The Dauphin, about his age, played with him." French Policy and Developments in Indochina - Page 27 by Thomas Edson Ennis

[20] Mantienne, p.97/204

[21] Mantienne, p.97

[22] Mantienne, p.106

[23] Mantienne, p.104

[24] Mantienne, p.103-108

[25] Mantienne, p.98. Original French: "il était "maître de ne point entreprendre l'opération ou de la retarder, d'après son opinion personnelle""

[26] Mantienne, p.109-110

[27] Mantienne, p.110

[c178-28] A History of Vietnam By Oscar Chapuis p.178

[29] "Conway finally provided the frigate Meduse and another vessel to repatriate the mission" in The Roots of French Imperialism in Eastern Asia - Page 14 by John Frank Cady 1967 [3]

[30] The Vietnamese Response to French Intervention, 1862-1874 by Mark W. McLeod, p.11 [4]

[31] Mantienne, p.153

[32] Mantienne, p.153

[33] Colonialism By Melvin Eugene Page, Penny M. Sonnenburg, p.723 [5]

[34] Mantienne, p.132

[35] Mantienne, p.135

[36] Mantienne, p.129

[m130-37] Mantienne, p.130

[38] Mantienne, p.129

[39] Mantienne, p.156

[40] Mantiene, p.130

[41] Quoted in Mantienne, p.130

[M158-42] Mantienne,p.158-159

[43] Quoted in Mantienne, p.158. Original French:"Agent et député du roi de Cochinchine auprès des différents gouverneurs etc... de l'Inde, pour lui procurer tout ce dont il a besoin"

[44] A Vietnamese Royal Exile in Japan by My-Van Tran, Tran My-Van, p.16 [6]

[45] The Vietnamese response to French intervention, 1862-1874 by Mark W. McLeod Page 20 [7]

[46] Viet Nam by Nhung Tuyet Tran, Anthony Reid p.207 [8]

[47] In Alastair Lamb The Mandarin Road to old Hue, p.251, quoted in Mantienne, p.153

[48] A History of Vietnam By Oscar Chapuis p.194 [9]

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v t e French Indochina
Background	France–Asia relations French colonial empire France–Vietnam relations France–Thailand relations France–China relations
Constituent territories	Cochinchina Tonkin Annam Cambodia Laos Guangzhouwan Provisional Central Government of Vietnam State of Vietnam
Events	French assistance to Nguyễn Ánh (1777–1820) Lê Văn Khôi revolt (1833–35) Bombardment of Tourane (1847) French conquest of Vietnam Siege of Tourane (1858) Cochinchina campaign (1858–62) Tonkin campaign (1883–1886) Sino-French War (1884–1885) Pacification of Tonkin Franco-Siamese crisis (1893) Holy Man's Rebellion (1901-1936) World War I 1916 Cochinchina uprising Thái Nguyên uprising Vue Pa Chay's revolt Bazin assassination Yên Bái mutiny World War II French–Thai War (1940–1941) Japanese invasion of French Indochina Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina August Revolution Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam French Permanent Military Tribunal in Saigon First Indochina War Battle of Dien Bien Phu Partition of Vietnam
Treaties	Treaty of Versailles (1787) Treaty of Saigon (1862) Treaty of Huế (1863) Treaty of Saigon (1874) Treaty of Huế (1883) Treaty of Huế (1884) Treaty of Tientsin (1885) Geneva Conference (1954)
French personalities	Pierre Pigneau de Behaine Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau Jean-Baptiste Cécille Charles de Montigny Charles Rigault de Genouilly Amédée Courbet Henri Rivière Francis Garnier Ernest Doudart de Lagrée Auguste Pavie Albert Sarraut
Organisations	Paris Foreign Missions Society Tirailleurs indochinois Tonkin Expeditionary Corps Tonkinese Rifles Governor-General of French Indochina