Resisting Foreign Invasion, Protecting Sovereignty (1858

The Nguyen Dynasty also recognized that with a positive attitude, the document " Duong su thuy mac " stated their assessment: "Da Nang port is wide, Western ships can easily dock, and it is surrounded by mountains, there are no waves or wind so it is easy to anchor ships, Westerners have long docked their ships, regardless of the court's rules. Moreover, Da Nang is near the national highway (ie Thien Ly road), near the villages, near the capital, Da Nang is the key of our country, so the Westerners want to take it over" [158: 29]. The Nguyen Dynasty chose Da Nang seaport in communication with the West and built this place into the most solid stronghold, not by chance but because it had a practical basis in terms of national defense strategy. After the Opium War with the defeat of China, France also wanted to find a base in the Far East. French Minister Guizot instructed: "The King has decided that from now on a naval fleet will be stationed between the China and Japan seas with the mission of protecting and defending, if necessary, our political and commercial interests. But France has no permanent base in this sea area for ships to be stationed, where they can supply food, repair leaks, and bring the sick ashore, so it must ask the Portuguese colony in Macau or the naval workshop in Lugon (Philippines) for a base, a shelter, a supply point. This is an unacceptable situation. It is not appropriate for France to be absent from such a large part of the world where other European countries have established bases" [107: 95].

There is no need to talk about the French's purpose and plot any further. This is the part that France has to solve, because compared to other countries, they are still slower. It is easy to understand with the words that France needs "a support, a shelter, a supply point" and "appropriate" to the position of France. It is not beyond the purpose of the language: "the mission to protect and defend" political and commercial interests, precisely colonialism. Therefore, their intervention in Vietnam is getting stronger. The monitoring and then clashes in the style of "teasing" the Nguyen army continuously took place. At the end of December 1817, a French warship named Cybèle equipped with 52 cannons arrived in Da Nang, Captain De Kerganriou wrote a letter to inform Chaigneau and Vannier in Hue. Vannier immediately went to Da Nang but Chaigneau could not go because of a sore leg. De Kerganriou was not allowed to meet the king, the reason being that he did not have a letter of authorization from the French king. Undaunted, on January 16, 1818, De Kerganriou again requested an audience with the emperor.

king but still had no results so he had to return. On the way back, De Kerganriou drew maps of many locations along the coast of Vietnam and re-examined the maps that Dayot had drawn before” [130: 95].

In November 1830, French warships arrived at Da Nang port to communicate but failed. However, they still went up Tam Thai mountain (Ngu Hanh Son) to observe. After the ship left, King Minh Mang dismissed both the citadel and the garrison at An Hai and Dien Hai [65: 191]. According to Taboulet, the actions of the British in China made Minh Mang really worried. "The king wanted to know more clearly the purpose of the French warships appearing at Tourane port more and more" [130: 36]. Therefore, Minh Mang continuously sent official delegations abroad to inquire about the situation. French priest F. Régerau wrote: "On February 28, 1840, a ship of the King of Annam anchored in Penang. This ship went to Calcutta to see how the British were preparing for war. Another ship also of King Minh Mang went to Batavia to see if the Dutch were mobilizing troops. Because based on many reports received, King Minh Mang could not sleep peacefully. Another ship went to London and France" [107: 107-108]. However, the ultimate goal of improving relations with Britain and France was not achieved.

It is worth noting that at this time, not only the Nguyen Dynasty knew about the French plot, but also the people understood this. E. Brown, an Englishman who was blown ashore on the Vietnamese coast, said in his memoirs that many times the Vietnamese informed him that it was fortunate that he was English, because if he were French, he would certainly be mistreated: "Seeing this, it is enough to understand that the Vietnamese were well aware of the bad intentions of the French towards their country and most of them seemed certain that the French would attack soon" [89: 141]. In a meeting with the head of Khanh Hoa province, E. Brown said: "The French have demanded to take Toarane Bay and Coulo Cham Island (Cu Lao Cham), and if they do not get their way, the French will certainly attack" [89: 141].

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In 1845, a clash occurred in Da Nang between an American ship and the Nguyen Dynasty's army. The Constitution, also known as the Old Ironsides, with captain John Percival, arrived in Da Nang initially with the intention of establishing friendly relations, but when he learned that the Nguyen Dynasty was imprisoning French Bishop Lefebvre, the captain used force to arrest all the Nguyen Dynasty officials who were communicating with him.

with him on board as a hostage in exchange for Lefebvre's freedom. King Thieu Tri did not give in. John Percival, after several weeks of provocation, had to release the "hostage" and set sail [195: 54]. Bishop Lefebvre was later released because King Thieu Tri also saw the danger of continuing to imprison him. This event, J. Chesneaux believes, "honor" used force to intervene for the first time in Vietnam belonging to a US naval unit: "In 1845, an American fleet commander - whose name is not recorded in history - stopped in front of Da Nang to land to force the release of a imprisoned French bishop, arrested all the mandarins and seized all the warships anchored in the harbor. But the hostages resisted, and the American commander did not know what to do, so he finally released them and set sail for the sea" [128: 63].

The core of the above story is that there was an intervention attack related to the priest who was imprisoned by the Nguyen Dynasty. In fact, the above event was just a rash act of the captain. The US government had not ordered the attack. The US President later sent a letter of apology to the Nguyen Dynasty, which was shown in the Chau Ban dated January 24, the 3rd year of Tu Duc (1850) stating that the US President sent a letter of apology for that action: "The acting An Sat Su of Quang Nam Ngo Ba Hy and the military commander Giap Van Tan reported that a military ship of the Ma Ly Can country had docked at Da Nang port, presenting a letter of apology for the fact that their captain had come to our country 4 years ago, gone ashore, and injured and killed our people. And requested trade between the two countries" [85: 30]. The person who apologized to the Hue Dynasty for John Percival's action was President Zachary Taylor (1849-1850). The book " National Dynasty Official Annals Summary" of the National History Institute of the Nguyen Dynasty mentioned this event but did not mention the clash in 1845.

In the 1845 event at the Da Nang seaport, it is noteworthy that there was support from the Catholics who wanted to communicate with the French ships. That was shown in the Chau Ban dated April 29, Thieu Tri 5 (1845), the Ministry of Finance reported that a French ship that had come to attack Da Nang, the patrol team had captured a person carrying a letter to deliver to the French ship: “This time, the Phu Lang Sa warship came to stop and attack Da Nang. That province sent soldiers to patrol, among them the culprit who brought the letter to those bandits was captured, and was brought back to the province for questioning. I dare to present and present the original information. Chau commented: All matters must be reported [52: volume 30, page 358].

The next clash took place in February of the 7th year of Thieu Tri (1847) also at the Da Nang seaport. The book Dai Nam Thuc Luc recorded: "There were two military ships of the Buddhist Lan Tay country anchored at the Da Nang seaport, with 5-6 Taoist priests openly wearing the word "thập" (cross), walking around the seaport. The Quang Nam provincial government found out that they were arrogant when they arrived there, and reported the matter. The king ordered the Deputy Minister of Rites, Ly Van Phuc, to go there immediately... when Phuc had arrived at the seaport, the Westerners set a date to gather together, on the day, the Western leader, Lap Biet Nhi, brought a few dozen followers, wearing swords and guns, straight to the public office; they could not be stopped. They presented a letter from them in Chinese characters, the words were mostly arrogant. Phuc refused to accept it, the Western leader shouted loudly to threaten him, put the letter on a chair and left. Phuc and Dinh Tan discussed with each other: "Receiving the letter is a crime, but burning the letter is also a crime, there is nothing better than sending them to the station to report to the public". Phuc also returned to the capital to await punishment... when Phuc had left [the seaport], the Westerners The Westerners were even more rampant, going ashore every day and going to villages. Our people still followed the left path, mostly going around to spy and report. The military ships patrolling the sea were captured by them at the seaport. There were 5 copper-clad ships from Kinh sent to the south (Kim Ung, Phan Bang, Linh Phuong, Tho Hac, Van Bang) that had not yet gone to sea, and were still anchored at Tra Son lagoon, opposite the Western ships, but they were also attacked and robbed of the sails and ropes. The people in charge of the ships were Deputy Guard Lieutenant Le Van Phap, Captain Nguyen Tri, Nguyen Quyen, Nguyen Hy, Le Tan, all anchored tightly, and reported to the Capital" [128: 63].

The above event, later investigated by the Privy Council to report to King Tu Duc, said that in the exchange between the representative of the Hue court, Ly Van Phuc, and the French, on February 6, Ly Van Phuc had responses that clearly demonstrated a consistent policy towards Western ships, directly the French. Regarding the foreigners asking to visit the capital, Ly Van Phuc replied: "According to the regulations of the country, first submit a letter to the local authorities, the authorities there will forward the letter to the higher authorities, if there is no consensus, then no access is allowed". The French again raised the issue of establishing a town in Tan Da Nang, how to resolve that, Ly Van Phuc said: "The villages here are inherently professional in agriculture, if we establish a town for trade, then

not suitable. Moreover, if your country's merchant ships suddenly come here to trade, our country does not prohibit it, but it is not necessary to establish a town..." [53: episode 112].

Ly Van Phuc and Nguyen Dinh Tan gave quite detailed information about the French bombardment of Da Nang in 1847: “The Phu Lang Sa warships entered the Da Nang Bay area on the 6th of last month. Now, we have received an order to come to this warship gate and summon the Quang Nam Provincial Councilor Nguyen Dinh Tan to discuss the work. The Emperor approved that: the officials in the warship and foreigners met to discuss and respond to the work. Nguyen Dinh Tan stated that: on February 1 of this year, he received the Quang Nam Governor Nguyen Duc Tap, and was informed that a Phu Lang Sa warship had arrived at Tra Son port. His subjects immediately sent someone to inquire about the matter. On the 4th, he received Lang Trung of the Ministry of Finance Phan Ba San and interpreter Nguyen Huu Quang to come to the warship gate to inquire about the matter and interpret. On the 7th, a large foreign ship arrived, so he continued to have a meeting with the Left Assistant Minister of Rites Ly Van Phuc and the Royal Guards to discuss the matters. On the evening of the 7th, foreign leaders used French ships to attack Da Nang at the 4th hour. The imperial edict approved Ly Van Phuc, Phan Ba San and the soldiers to carry out countermeasures against the enemy. The Emperor ordered the mandarins to increase the elite troops and immediately go to the gate to meet with the officers and soldiers to strengthen the defense. The Emperor approved the Imperial Envoy Mai Cong Ngon to command the army, control and enforce military laws, and mobilize soldiers and warships to actively defend" [53: episode 112]. The above details show that the French side took the initiative in the second time of causing trouble. The French army showed arrogance while the Nguyen army and soldiers were confused, even the largest bronze-clad ships of the Nguyen dynasty anchored here were also robbed. Some documents even said that they were sunk "in less than a few moments" [155: 715]. The court only worried about reorganizing defenses after being attacked.

Ten years later, in August 1856, French ships caused trouble again in Da Nang. Using the same old trick of demanding a letter of credence to trade. However, this time they first went straight to Thuan An port. When they were not received, they threw everything ashore and sailed to Da Nang with a stubborn attitude: "After delivering the letter, we ran here to wait for the chief and deputy envoys to negotiate; if they do not agree to make peace, we will return and invite the Red Mao country to come over, which will certainly cause trouble." King Tu Duc was very angry and sent troops to patrol. At

According to the French, Da Nang thought they were being threatened so they opened fire first. As a result, the French ships had time to bombard the forts in Da Nang while the army here was helpless. King Tu Duc immediately issued an edict: "There is something going on at the Han gate, I have authorized the Quang Nam provincial officials to request a group of marines to resist. Only Hai Van pass is the place that connects to the Han gate, we must send soldiers there to quickly guard it" [65: 408]. Next, Tu Duc ordered Nguyen Duy to coordinate with Dao Tri to plan a blockade at sea [65: 408]. Immediately after the French ship bombarded the forts in Da Nang, another three-masted ship arrived "along with the previous ship, anchored in the same place". King Tu Duc ordered "to add more soldiers to coordinate with the previous army, stationed to maintain prestige". After a few days, the motor ship left the gate and sailed to the East" [65: 408]. In November 1856, “the Tran Duong Dai Than reported: “The two Western ships that came before, one usually docked in the middle of the bay, the other came and went unpredictably; we sent people to ask, but they often found excuses to say: ‘come to ask about the chief and deputy envoys’. You ordered us to be on strict guard” [65: 409].

In January 1857, the French ship came again to “ask for an official to arrange a peaceful meeting”. Tu Duc assigned Dao Tri to “do his best to take care of the situation” [65: 410]. The minutes stated that on January 3, 1857, “the Ministry of War reported the French ship’s arrival in Da Nang and requested to be taken to the capital to talk to a first-rank official. The Ministry of War suggested that the officials in Da Nang wear court uniforms to welcome and negotiate with them. If the French arbitrarily let the ship arrive in Thuan An, they would handle the situation accordingly”. Then, on January 6, 1857, the Ministry of War reported that they were ready to open fire if the French ship from Da Nang arbitrarily arrived in Thuan An [85: 48]. This also showed the readiness and determination of the Nguyen army to protect. They also caught an insider as reported by the Ministry of Justice on April 2, 1857, “Ho Dinh Hy, a third-rank mandarin at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was guilty of following Christianity, sending his son to Ha Chau to study Christianity, and communicating with the West at the time when French warships bombarded Da Nang” [85: 49].

Thus, the Hue court did not give in but was clearly passive in all the clashes and suffered heavy consequences. The warning about the risk of being attacked was clear. The Nguyen Dynasty was aware of this, a report of the Nguyen Dynasty clearly stated: "The European barbarians are very determined and very persistent; the tasks that they could not complete, they assigned to their descendants to complete; the programs that they

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If they do not have time to carry it out, they entrust it to their successors. They do not neglect any strategy. And they do not lose heart in the face of any difficulty. That is what worries us most. These barbarians come to all countries without fear of any fatigue. They bribe peoples without fear of any expense" [118: 63].

After the Western ships' aggression in Da Nang and Thuan An, the Tu Duc court had to strengthen the defense at these two seaports. In January 1857, "the Thua Thien government official requested to build two circular ramparts at Thuan An port, on the sandbank, to the south and north to help with defense, and he agreed" [65: 378]. On July 18, 1857, the three ministries of Finance, Military, and Public Works submitted a "port defense" dossier to Dao Tri requesting to build two forts at Da Nang port, to strengthen the fortifications to prevent the French from invading the port [85: 52]. In addition to the above-mentioned clashes, there were also Western infiltrations into other seaports. The minutes stated that on August 29, 1857, "the Ministry of War reported to the Quang Binh provincial governor Ta Huu Khue that: at Than hour on the 20th of the previous month, two Western ships from the south arrived at the sea area of So Tieu Trang, about 30 people landed on the shore, robbed buffaloes, cows, pigs, and chickens of the villagers and searched for Catholics" [85: 52]. This shows that the incident seemed serious but the report was very late, there was not a single detail mentioning the proposal.

resistance, showing a certain helplessness in the face of the bold invasion of Westerners.

Those first clashes, although somewhat reckless and not yet official, showed the weakness and lack of initiative of the defense activities at the most heavily fortified seaports, Da Nang and Thuan An. In short, when Western warships advanced to the East, the Nguyen Dynasty had reason to be on guard against invasion plots. Those were experiences from previous centuries, having to deal with frequent territorial encroachments from the West, knowing the fate of the two great countries China and India as well as some other countries, making those inferences have a basis to consolidate. The key point was that the Nguyen Dynasty was afraid of harming the independence of the country.

3.4.2. Fighting foreign invaders, protecting sovereignty (1858 – 1883)

After efforts to penetrate through diplomatic channels and demand the implementation of the treaty were fruitless, and efforts to establish trade relations were also firmly rejected by the Nguyen Dynasty, the French had to consider a new plan. Until

In the mid-nineteenth century, France had to penetrate by any means, and if it could not be "persuaded", then using force was inevitable. Author Cao Huy Thuan was right when he said that the explorations had specific goals, aimed at specific strategic locations: "it was not a simple show of force, nor was it a temporary occupation of one or more locations on Vietnamese territory; it was clearly a colonial expedition, because it aimed to build a permanent French colony in this corner of the Far East" [184: 53]. He was referring to France's opening fire to invade Vietnam in 1858.

3.4.2.1. The French-Spanish coalition failed at the Da Nang battlefield.

What was to come, came, after settling the matter in China with the Treaty of Tianjin, gathering enough troops with Spain, on August 31, 1858, the French-Spanish coalition with 14 warships, 3,000 troops, under the command of Regault de Genouilly entered the Da Nang seaport. On the morning of September 1, 1858, the French-Spanish coalition attacked the defense system here. In just about 30 minutes of firing, the citadels of An Hai, Dien Hai and the fortress on Son Tra were all neutralized. On the first day, the French-Spanish coalition landed on Son Tra, neutralized the fortresses, occupied An Hai citadel, the next day they occupied Dien Hai citadel.

The overwhelming and favorable situation made the French think that, at that rate, it would only take a few weeks to reach Hue, while the Nguyen army was in chaos. However, Regault de Genouilly did not understand the internal situation and the terrain outside Da Nang (where many French ships had visited), nor did he believe the words of the missionaries, so he had reasons not to take the risk. It is also possible that, according to some documents, Regault de Genouilly did not receive further instructions to invade the colony as originally intended by the French emperor: “At that time, everyone saw that the Annamese people had to be forced to follow the common religion, not to take over the country. Emperor Napoleon III had no desire to occupy any guest land, except for a port” [162: 231-235]. At that time, Regault de Genouilly was still a general on the battlefield, and was given full authority by Foreign Minister Walewski to make decisions, so he could go further if he deemed it advantageous.

The book Thuc Luc recorded about the French-Spanish attack on Da Nang as follows: "Western warships entered the Da Nang estuary (in Quang Nam province) and fired

Resisting Foreign Invasion, Protecting Sovereignty (1858 – 1883)

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