The French invaded and colonized Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia, in the mid 1800s. Because of the French, the Vietnamese received many technology advancements, but the gap between the poor and rich continued to increase significantly. The French left Vietnam vulnerable and broken; the Soviets and the United States saw their chance and created more turmoil among the natives.
Like all other imperialistic nations, France was interested in spreading their religion, making a profit, and adding Vietnam to their growing empire. Vietnam was not France’s only invasion: “France controlled Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, which collectively it called Indochine Francais (French Indochina). Indochina soon became one of France’s most lucrative colonial possessions, part of an empire that spanned northern and western Africa, as well as islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific (J. Llewellyn 1).” The French sprung on Vietnam’s untapped potential. The Catholic French wanted to convert Vietnam. The business men saw economic potential in rice coffee, tea, and rubber. The French also wanted to implement their government among the Vietnamese and create an extreme involvement in that region (”The French in Indochina”). The French played a greedy and destructive game: “The real motive for French colonialism was profit and economic exploitation. French imperialism …show more content…
The wealthiest were able to begin school (J. Llewellyn). Although the French brought advancements in transportation and commerce, and the rich prospered, the poor majority had to bear the economic burdens on their backs. The economic gap between the rich and the poor grew due to rough working conditions. By 1920, actions were taken by the natives to form an equal group, a communist group (“Vietnam”). The French couldn’t understand the mindset of the Vietnamese: a nationalistic mindset (Freeman,
Like all other imperialistic nations, France was interested in spreading their religion, making a profit, and adding Vietnam to their growing empire. Vietnam was not France’s only invasion: “France controlled Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, which collectively it called Indochine Francais (French Indochina). Indochina soon became one of France’s most lucrative colonial possessions, part of an empire that spanned northern and western Africa, as well as islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific (J. Llewellyn 1).” The French sprung on Vietnam’s untapped potential. The Catholic French wanted to convert Vietnam. The business men saw economic potential in rice coffee, tea, and rubber. The French also wanted to implement their government among the Vietnamese and create an extreme involvement in that region (”The French in Indochina”). The French played a greedy and destructive game: “The real motive for French colonialism was profit and economic exploitation. French imperialism …show more content…
The wealthiest were able to begin school (J. Llewellyn). Although the French brought advancements in transportation and commerce, and the rich prospered, the poor majority had to bear the economic burdens on their backs. The economic gap between the rich and the poor grew due to rough working conditions. By 1920, actions were taken by the natives to form an equal group, a communist group (“Vietnam”). The French couldn’t understand the mindset of the Vietnamese: a nationalistic mindset (Freeman,