View source for Annam (French protectorate)

{{Short description|1883–1949 French protectorate}} 
{{About||the Chinese protectorate|Annan (Tang protectorate)|other uses|Annam (disambiguation)}}
{{More footnotes|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name            = {{native name|fr|Protectorat d'Annam}}<br/>{{native name|vi|Xứ bảo hộ Trung Kỳ}}<br />{{Vi-nom|處保護中圻}} ([[Chữ Hán]])
| conventional_long_name = Protectorate of Annam
| common_name            = Annam
| era                    = 
| status_text            = Protectorate of [[France]]; constituent territory of [[French Indochina]]
| status                 = Monarchy, [[Protectorate]]
| government_type        = [[Absolute monarchy]] under [[French colonial empire|colonial administration]]
| empire                 = France
| year_start             = 1883
| event_start            = [[Treaty of Huế (1883)|Harmand Treaty]]
| event1                 = [[Treaty of Huế (1884)|Patenôtre Treaty]]
| date_event1            = 6 June 1884
| event2                 = [[Abolition of the Nguyễn dynasty]]
| date_event2            = 25 August 1945
| event3                 = Creation of the [[Provisional Central Government of Vietnam]]
| date_event3            = 1948
| event_end              = [[Élysée Accords]] signed on March 8; ratification by the French in 1950, formally recognising the end of the protectorate over Vietnam<ref name="Le-Monde-illustré-1950">[[Le Monde illustré]] - ''Le Vietnam à cessé d'être protectorat français cérémonie à l'hôtel de ville de Saïgon avec l'empereur Bao Daï et le commissaire de la République M. Pignon'' (Vietnam ceased to be a French protectorate, ceremony at Saigon City Hall with Emperor Bao Dai and the Commissioner of the Republic, Mr Pignon.) Published: 1950. Quote: "Au cours d'une cérémonie qui s'est déroulée à l'hôtel de ville de Saigon, S.M. l'empereur Bao Daï et le haut commisaire de la République M. Pignon, ont signé la coxcation pour l'application des accords du 8 mars 1949, qui transfère au Vietnam, indépendant au sein de l'Union française, les pouvoies drenus par la France et remet au souverain le contrôle de l'administracion.". (in [[French language|French]]).</ref>
| year_end               = 1949
| legislature            = None ([[rule by decree]])<br/>[[House of Representatives (Annam)|House of Representatives]] (''de jure'' advisory body)
| life_span              = 1883–1949
| title_representative   = [[Monarchy of Vietnam|Emperor]]
| representative1        = [[Hàm Nghi]]
| year_representative1   = 1884–1885
| representative2        = [[Thành Thái]]
| year_representative2   = 1889–1907
| representative3        = [[Khải Định]]
| year_representative3   = 1916–1925
| representative4        = [[Bảo Đại]]
| year_representative4   = 1925–1945
| p1                     = Nguyễn dynasty{{!}}Empire of Đại Nam
| flag_p1                = Heirloom seal of the Nguyễn Dynasty.svg
| s1                     = State of Vietnam
| flag_s1                = Flag of South Vietnam.svg
| s2                     = Democratic Republic of Vietnam
| flag_s2                = Flag of North Vietnam (1945–1955).svg
| national_motto         = "{{lang|fr|[[Liberté, égalité, fraternité]]}}"
| englishmotto           = "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
| national_anthem        = "[[La Marseillaise]]"<br/>
<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:La Marseillaise Rouget de Lisle Musique de la Garde Républicaine.ogg|alt=sound clip of the Marseillaise French national anthem]]</div>
| royal_anthem           = [[Đăng đàn cung]]<br/>({{langx|en| "The Emperor Mounts His Throne"}}){{center|[[File:Đăng Đàn cung (登壇宮) - 1941 Annam Anthem - Recreation by Prof. Liam C. Kelley (Lê Minh Khải).mp3]]}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Colonial Annam.svg
| image_flag2            = Long tinh flag.svg
| flag_type              = [[List of flags of Vietnam|Top: Protectorate flag <br>Bottom: Civil flag]]
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Annam - S.M. Bao Daï, Le Dragon d'Annam (1980) colour scheme - Đại Nam (大南).svg
| symbol_type            = [[Coat of arms of the Nguyễn dynasty|Coat of arms]]
| other_symbol           = '''[[Seals of the Nguyễn dynasty|Imperial seal]]'''<br/>皇帝之寶<br/>(Hoàng Đế chi bảo)<br/>[[File:Hoàng Đế chi bảo (皇帝之寶).svg|85px]]<br/>([[Abdication of Bảo Đại#Fate of the Hoàng Đế chi bảo seal|Until 1945]])
| image_map              = Atlas de l'Indochine dressé (...)Indochine française bpt6k11001779 70.jpg
| image_map_caption      = Administrative divisions of the French Protectorate of Annam in 1920.
| capital                = [[Huế]]
| common_languages       = [[Cham language|Cham]], [[Bahnar language|Bahnar]], [[Rade language|Rade]], [[Jarai language|Jarai]], [[Stieng language|Stieng]], [[Mnong language|Mnong]], [[Koho language|Koho]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]] (Notably [[Yue Chinese|Cantonese]], [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]]), French, [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]
| religion               = [[Mahayana Buddhism]]<br />[[Confucianism]]<br />[[Taoism]]<br />[[Catholic Church in Vietnam|Catholicism]]<br />[[Vietnamese folk religion|Folk religion]]<br />[[Hinduism]]<br />[[Islam]]
| currency               = [[Vietnamese cash]],<br/>[[French Indochinese piastre]]
| today                  = [[Vietnam]]
| demonym                = Annamite
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| name                   = 
| title_leader           = [[List of administrators of the French protectorate of Annam|Resident Superior]]
| leader1                = [[Charles Dillon (administrator)|Charles Dillon]]
| year_leader1           = 1886–1888
| leader2                = [[Henri Pierre Joseph Marie Lebris]]
| year_leader2           = 1947–1949
}} 

'''Annam''' ({{Lang-vi-hantu|安南}}; alternate spelling: ''Anam''), or '''Trung Kỳ''' ({{Lang|vi|中圻}}), was a French [[protectorate]] encompassing what is now [[Central Vietnam]] from 1883 to 1949. Like the [[Tonkin (French protectorate)|French protectorate of Tonkin]], it was nominally ruled by the Vietnamese [[Nguyễn dynasty]]. Before the protectorate's establishment, the name ''Annam'' was used in the West to refer to Vietnam as a whole; [[Vietnamese people]] were referred to as Annamites.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annam |url=https://indochine.uqam.ca/en/historical-dictionary/59-annam.html |website=Indochina and the French Colonial Empire |publisher=Université du Québec à Montréal |access-date=2025-07-19}}</ref> The protectorate of Annam became a part of [[French Indochina]] in 1887. The region had a dual system of French and Vietnamese administration. The [[government of the Nguyễn Dynasty]] still nominally ruled Annam and Tonkin as the Empire of Đại Nam, with the emperor residing in [[Huế]]. On 23 May 1948, the protectorate was partly merged in the [[Provisional Central Government of Vietnam]], which was replaced the next year by the newly established [[State of Vietnam]].<ref>https://mjp.univ-perp.fr/constit/vn1946.htm#1948</ref> The French legally maintained the protectorate until they formally signed over sovereignty to the Bảo Đại and the government of the State of Vietnam in 1950 after the [[Élysée Accords]] took over in June 1949.<ref name="Le-Monde-illustré-1950"/> The region was divided between communist [[North Vietnam]] and anti-communist [[South Vietnam]] under the terms of the [[Geneva Conference (1954)|Geneva Accord]] of 1954.

== Etymology and pre-colonial usage ==
{{Further|Names of Vietnam}} 

Annam means "Pacified South" in [[Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary|Sino-Vietnamese]], the toponym being derived from the Chinese {{lang|vi|[[Annam (Chinese Province)|An Nan]]}} ({{zh|c=安南|p=Ānnán}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vietnam: What's in a Name? |url=https://asiasociety.org/education/vietnam-whats-name |access-date=9 May 2024 |website=Asia Society|date=25 July 2017 }}</ref> In the [[history of Vietnam]], the designation is one of several given by the Chinese to [[Tonkin]], the core territory of modern-day Vietnam surrounding the city of [[Hanoi]], which included land from the [[Gulf of Tonkin]] to the mountains which surround the plains of the [[Red River (Vietnam)|Red River]].

The name has also been applied to the [[Annamite Range]] ({{langx|fr|la Chaîne Annamitique}}), a {{convert|1100|km|mi|abbr=on}} mountain range with a height ranging up to {{convert|2958|m|ft}} that divides [[Vietnam]] and [[Laos]]. The [[Vietnamese language]] or its central dialects were called "Annamese", as in the seminal dictionary {{lang|la|[[Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum]]}}.

{{lang|vi|An Nam}} is usually considered offensively demeaning to Vietnamese people, and mostly used in a sarcastic manner.<ref>Mark W. McLeod & Thi Dieu Nguyen, ''Culture and Customs of Vietnam'', Greenwood Press, 2001, p. 4.</ref> {{lang|vi|Trung Kỳ}} (also spelled {{lang|vi|Trung Kì}}) is used instead in formal contexts. At least one dictionary has translated Annamiticum as {{lang|vi|Việt}}.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

==Establishment==
{{See also|History of Vietnam|Tonkin campaign|Sino-French war|Treaty of Huế (1883)|Treaty of Huế (1884)|Treaty of Tientsin (1885)}}
[[File:Nam_Tien.PNG|upright|left|thumb|Map showing the southward conquest by the Vietnamese over 900 years.]]

Towards the end of the 18th century, the [[Tây Sơn rebellion]], led by [[Nguyễn Nhạc]] and later [[Quang Trung|Nguyễn Huệ]], overthrew the [[Nguyễn lords]] and established the [[Tây Sơn dynasty]], but one of its members, [[Gia Long]], by the aid of a French force, in 1801 acquired sway over the whole of present-day Vietnam (Annam, Tongking and Cochinchina). This force was procured for him by [[Pigneau de Béhaine|Pigneau Monsignor de Béhaine]], [[Titular Bishop]] of [[Daraa|Adran]]. The [[Monsignor]] saw in the political condition of Annam a means of establishing French influence in Indochina and counterbalancing British power in India. Before this, in 1787, Gia Long had concluded a treaty with [[Louis XVI]], whereby in return for a promise of aid he ceded [[Tourane]] and Pulo-Condore to the French. That treaty marks the beginning of French influence in Indochina.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=63}}

After [[Cochinchina campaign|conquering Cochinchina]] in 1858–1862, the French resumed in 1883 their expansion in Southern Asia. The [[Treaty of Huế (1883)|first protectorate treaty]] was signed in 1883, although it was replaced the next year by a [[Treaty of Huế (1884)|slightly milder treaty]]. With the [[Treaty of Tientsin (1885)|treaty of Tientsin]], China recognised the French protectorate over Annam and Tonkin and implicitly abandoned her own claims to suzerainty over Vietnam. Annam and Tonkin became part of [[French Indochina]] in 1887. On 9 May 1889, they were split in two ''Résidences supérieures'', each subordinated to the Governor-General of [[French Indochina]]. The [[Nguyễn dynasty]] still nominally ruled over both protectorates. Tonkin was ''de facto'' ruled directly by the French, while the imperial government maintained some degree of authority over Annam. On 27 September 1897, the Vietnamese imperial council in Annam was replaced by a council of ministers, presided ''de jure'' by the French representative.<ref>Pierre Brocheux and Daniel Hémery, Indochine : la colonisation ambiguë 1858–1954, La Découverte, 2004, p. 78-89</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:An Nam Dai Quoc Hoa Do by Jean Louis Taberd 1838.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Map of the ''An Nam Empire'' by [[Jean-Louis Taberd]].]]

Annam comprised a sinuous strip of territory measuring between 750 and {{convert|800|mi|km}} in length, with an approximate area of {{convert|52000|sqmi|km2}}.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=61}} It had a rich, well-watered soil which yields tropical crops, and was rich in naturally occurring [[minerals]].

The country consisted chiefly of a range of [[plateaus]] and wooded mountains, running north and south and declining on the coast to a narrow band of [[plain]]s varying between 12 and {{convert|50|mi|km}} in breadth. The mountains are cut transversely by short narrow valleys, through which run rivers, most of which are dry in summer and torrential in winter. The [[Ma River|Song Ma]] and the Song Ca in the north, and the Song Ba, Don Nai and Se Bang Khan in the south, are the only rivers of any size in the region. The chief harbour is that afforded by the [[Da Nang Bay|bay of Tourane]] at the centre of the coastline. South of this point, the coast curves outwards and is broken by [[peninsulas]] and indentations; to the north it is concave and bordered in many places by [[dunes]] and [[lagoons]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=61}}

==Climate==
In Annam, the [[wet season|rainy season]] begins during September and lasts for three or four months, corresponding with the northeastern [[monsoon]] and also with a period of [[typhoons]]. During the rains the temperature varies from 59 degrees Fahrenheit (or even lower) to 75&nbsp;°F (from 15 degrees Celsius to 24&nbsp;°C). June, July and August are the hottest months, the temperature often reaching {{convert|85|°F|°C|abbr=on}} or 90&nbsp;°F (32&nbsp;°C) or more, though the heat of the day is to some extent compensated by the freshness of the nights. The southwest monsoon which brings rain in Cochin China coincides with the dry season in Annam, probably because the mountains and lofty plateaus separating the two regions retain the precipitation.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=61}}

== Economy ==
During the French period there was little industry. The economy was an agricultural one based on:

* the cultivation of rice, which grows mainly in the small [[river delta|deltas]] along the coast and in some districts gives two crops a year.
* fishing, fish salting and the preparation of [[fish sauce]]{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=62}}

Silk spinning and weaving were carried on in what the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition]] called "antiquated lines ...[[silkworms]] [are] reared in a desultory fashion". Other crops were tea, tobacco, cotton, [[cinnamon]], precious woods and rubber. Coffee, [[black pepper|pepper]], [[sugarcane]] and [[jute]] were also cultivated to a minor extent. The exports comprised tea, raw silk and small quantities of cotton, rice and sugarcane. The imports included rice, iron goods, flour, wine, [[opium]] and cotton goods. There were coal mines at Nong Son, near Da Nang, and as well as mining of gold, silver, lead, iron and other metals which occur in the mountains.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=62}} [[Human trafficking]] in Annamite women and children to China occurred from the 1870s to the 1940s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lessard|first1=Micheline|title=Human Trafficking in Colonial Vietnam|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|location=Abingdon, UK|isbn=9781138848184|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y2KhCAAAQBAJ}}</ref> Trade, which was controlled by the Chinese, was mostly carried out on the sea, with the chief ports being Da Nang and Qui Nhơn, open to European commerce.

== Administration ==
[[File:Expo coloniale 1906.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Postcard of the Annam Tower, built in [[Marseille]] for the 1906 [[Colonial Exhibition]].]]

Annam was ruled in theory by its emperor (from the [[House of Nguyễn Phúc|Nguyễn Phúc family]], which was also the ruling dynasty of the [[Nguyễn lords|previous Vietnamese state]] in the region), assisted by the "''comat''" or secret council. This council was composed of the heads of the [[Six Ministries of the Nguyễn dynasty|six ministerial departments]] nominated by the emperor, namely interior, finance, war, ritual, justice, and public works. Formally the four protectorates of [[French Indochina]] were ruled by their respective monarchs, but in fact the protectorates were all under the close control of the French senior residents.<ref name="Encyclopedia-1914-1918-French-Indochina">{{cite web|url= https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/indochina|title= Indochina (Version 1.0).|date=11 January 2022|accessdate=17 August 2022|author= Claire Thi Liên Trân|publisher= 1914-1918-online - International Encyclopedie of the First World War ([[Free University of Berlin]], [[Bavarian State Library]], and [[Deutsch-Französische Gymnasium]], among others)|language=en}}</ref> As a [[Governor-General of French Indochina]], [[Pierre Pasquier (colonial administrator)|Pierre Pasquier]], stated: “The King reigns but the Resident superior rules.”<ref>Edwards, Penny: ''Cambodia. The Cultivation of a Nation 1860-1945'', [[Honolulu]] (2007), p. 86.</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia-1914-1918-French-Indochina"/> The effective power in the protectorate was in the hands of the resident-superior with both the monarch and the local high officials playing a subordinate role to his office.<ref name="Encyclopedia-1914-1918-French-Indochina"/>

The Resident Superior, stationed at Huế, was the representative of France and the virtual ruler of the country. He presided over a council (''Conseil de Protectorat'') composed of the chiefs of the French services in Annam, together with two members of the "''comat''"; this body deliberated on questions of taxation affecting the budget of Annam and on local public works. A native governor (''Tong Doc'' or ''Tuan Phu''), assisted by a native staff, administered each of the provinces into which the country was divided, and native officials of lower rank governed the areas into which these provinces were subdivided. The governors took their orders from the imperial government, but they were under the eye of French residents.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=62}}

Native officials were appointed by the court, but the Resident Superior had power to annul an appointment. The mandarinate or official class was recruited from all ranks of the people by competitive examination. In the province of Tourane ([[Da Nang]]), a French tribunal alone exercised jurisdiction, but it administered native law where natives were concerned. Outside this territory the native tribunals survived.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=62}}

From 1 January 1898, the French directly took over the right to collect all taxes in the protectorate of Annam and to allocate salaries to the Emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty and its mandarins.<ref name="Bảo-tàng-Lịch-sử-Quốc-gia-tháng-7-biến-động">{{cite web|url= http://baotanglichsu.vn/vi/Articles/2001/66916/nha-nguyen-va-nhung-thang-7-bien-djong.html|title= Nhà Nguyễn và những tháng 7 biến động. – Phải chăng tháng 7 với triều Nguyễn là một sự trùng hợp, khi Pháp mở đầu cuộc tấn công 1/9/1885 (nhằm vào 24/7/1858 âm lịch) và trận chiến đấu cuối cùng dưới sự lãnh đạo của triều đình nhà Nguyễn cũng diễn ra vào 5/7/1885.|quote=Trong một thông tri ngày 24/8/1898, Khâm sứ Trung kỳ đã viết “Từ nay, trên vương quốc An Nam không còn tồn tại hai chính quyền nữa mà chỉ tồn tại một chính quyền thôi” (tức chính quyền Pháp).|date=28 July 2016|accessdate=7 August 2021|author= Thu Nhuần (tổng hợp) |publisher= [[National Museum of Vietnamese History|Bảo tàng Lịch sử Quốc gia]] |language=vi}}</ref> In a notice dated 24 August 1898, the Resident-Superior of Annam wrote: "From now on, in the Kingdom of Annam there are no longer two governments, but only one" (meaning that the French government completely took over the administration).<ref name="Bảo-tàng-Lịch-sử-Quốc-gia-tháng-7-biến-động"/>

== Education == 
{{Further|Confucian court examination system in Vietnam}} 
{{See also|Education in Vietnam|Imperial examination}}

During the French period the [[Confucianism|Confucian-oriented]] education system was slowly being replaced with a local version of the [[Education in France|French education system]].<ref name="Middlebury-History-of-Education-of-Vietnam">{{cite web|url= https://sites.miis.edu/educationinvietnam/historyofvietnam/history-of-education/|title= History of Education § Educational Roots: Feudal Period (Up to the late 19th century).|date=2011|accessdate=30 May 2021|author= Kathryn Lattman|publisher= [[Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="World-Bank-2010-Education-in-Vietnam">[[World Bank]] ([[World Bank Group]]) – [https://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1121703274255/1439264-1153425508901/Education_Vietnam_Development.pdf “Education in Vietnam”]. Published: 2010.</ref> Prior to French domination teachers were held in high regard in the Confucian system, and the traditional values of the Vietnamese people include the promotion of learning and high respect for educators.<ref name="Middlebury-History-of-Education-of-Vietnam"/><ref name="World-Bank-2010-Education-in-Vietnam"/> In this old system teachers were deemed to be "only lower than the King" (Emperor) according to a 2010 report by the [[World Bank]].<ref name="Middlebury-History-of-Education-of-Vietnam"/><ref name="World-Bank-2010-Education-in-Vietnam"/> In order to become a teacher in Imperial Vietnam, the [[Mandarin (bureaucrat)|mandarins]] would request that those who applied to become teachers should already have high grades in competitive Confucian-style exams, as well as excellent prior learning achievements.<ref name="Middlebury-History-of-Education-of-Vietnam"/><ref name="World-Bank-2010-Education-in-Vietnam"/> The 2010 report by the World Bank also noted that historically in Vietnam teachers would often be invited to reside together with well-to-do villagers so they would be able to tutor the children of these wealthy families as well as other children that lived in the village.<ref name="Middlebury-History-of-Education-of-Vietnam"/><ref name="World-Bank-2010-Education-in-Vietnam"/>

Immediately after the establishment of the colony of [[French Cochinchina]] the French established schools to teach the Vietnamese French and the French Vietnamese in order to train [[Language interpretation|interpreters]] for the army.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Người Pháp với quá trình xác lập nền giáo dục Tây học ở Việt Nam giai đoạn 1861–1919 |url=https://thanhdiavietnamhoc.com/nguoi-phap-voi-qua-trinh-xac-lap-nen-giao-duc-tay-hoc-o-viet-nam-giai-doan-1861-1919/ |website=Thánh địa Việt Nam học}}</ref> In Cochinchina the French immediately began replacing the Nguyễn government apparatus with the French government apparatus and education, and this formed an important part of this process.{{cn|date=July 2021}} This education and training system that was established in French Cochinchina initially met the two basic goals that the French had set up in helping to train both interpreters and secretaries for the French military and colonial government, while organising a new form of education for the indigenous population that popularised French words and romanised the local languages, gradually replacing [[Chinese characters]].{{cn|date=July 2021}} Despite their efforts French words were not readily adopted, and Chinese script persisted; thus these goals only found limited success in French Cochinchina.{{cn|date=July 2021}} 

Following the establishment of two protectorates over the Nguyễn dynasty the French expanded the education system they had set up in Cochinchina to the rest of Vietnam.{{cn|date=July 2021}} The new French-based education system was created in the hope of training indigenous people that could serve French interests in the colonial system.<ref name="Middlebury-History-of-Education-of-Vietnam"/><ref name="World-Bank-2010-Education-in-Vietnam"/> During the colonial period the French built elementary schools, primary schools, primary colleges,{{clarify|date=December 2024}} secondary schools, and three universities across Vietnam; all these used mainly the [[French language]] for instruction.<ref name="Middlebury-History-of-Education-of-Vietnam"/><ref name="World-Bank-2010-Education-in-Vietnam"/> 

Education during the French protectorate period started at the [[primary school]] level ({{Vie|v=Tiểu học|hn=小學|label=no}}); [[early childhood education]] only became a concern in Vietnamese society following the [[abolition of the Nguyễn dynasty]] in 1945.<ref name="Springer-Open-Early-childhood-education">{{cite journal |doi=10.1186/s40723-020-00080-4 |doi-access=free|title=Early childhood education in Vietnam, history, and development|year=2021|last1=Vu|first1=Thao Thi|journal=International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy|volume=15 |page=3}}</ref> During most of the French protectorate period as well as before, early childhood education was not considered to be a social task,{{clarify|date=December 2024}} and thus there was no formal educational system or curriculum for preschool children.<ref name="Springer-Open-Early-childhood-education"/>
===20th century===
In the year 1906, France enacted its first educational reform in French Indochina to expand their influence over the local populations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vu |first=Milkie |title=Examining the Social Impacts of French Education Reforms in Tonkin, Indochina (1906–1938) |url=http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/634/2/examing-the-social-impacts-of-french-education-reforms-in-tonkin-indochina-1906-1938 |website=Inquiries Journal}}</ref> These reforms were aimed at controlling the spiritual lives of the people and limiting the influence of the Confucian mandarins.{{cn|date=July 2021}} The traditional mandarins were seen as a threat to French influence, as they used Confucianism to promote Vietnamese nationalism.{{cn|date=July 2021}} The 1906 reforms implemented French at every level.{{cn|date=July 2021}} In the 1906 the basic subjects for boys were reading and writing, mathematics, history, geography, [[morality]], and [[accounting]], while the basic subjects for girls were reading and writing, mathematics, morality, [[hygiene]], and [[Homemaking|housework]].{{cn|date=July 2021}} [[Vocational education]] was also established to train the indigenous population to work for French capitalists as skilled labourers.{{cn|date=July 2021}} 

Because only a small number of schools were constructed across Vietnam, access to these schools was extremely limited and as much as 95% of the Vietnamese population would remain [[Illiteracy|illiterate]] during most of the period of French domination, showing the inefficiency of the education system.<ref name="Middlebury-History-of-Education-of-Vietnam"/><ref name="World-Bank-2010-Education-in-Vietnam"/>

In the year 1917 clear educational guidelines were established for French Indochina, and at the primary school and elementary school level Vietnamese classes were given with instructions written in [[Vietnamese alphabet|Chữ Quốc Ngữ]] to replace Chinese characters.{{cn|date=July 2021}} The Quốc Ngữ alphabet was used to turn Vietnamese into "a vehicle used to transport French ideology and interests in Indochina".{{cn|date=July 2021}} 

While apologists for the French colonial regime would claim that French rule led to vast improvements to the Vietnamese education system,<ref name="Encyclopædia-Britannica-Effects-of-French-colonial-rule-on-Vietnam">{{cite encyclopedia|url= https://www.britannica.com/place/Vietnam/Effects-of-French-colonial-rule|title= Vietnam – Effects of French colonial rule.|date=2021|accessdate=31 May 2021|encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref> the official statistics that were compiled and kept by the French authorities in Indochina cast doubt on such assertions.<ref name="Encyclopædia-Britannica-Effects-of-French-colonial-rule-on-Vietnam"/> 

In the year 1939 no more than 15% of all school-age children had received any amount of education, while 80% of the general Vietnamese populace still remained illiterate.<ref name="Encyclopædia-Britannica-Effects-of-French-colonial-rule-on-Vietnam"/> This was in contrast to pre-colonial times when the majority of the Vietnamese people were at least partly literate.<ref name="Encyclopædia-Britannica-Effects-of-French-colonial-rule-on-Vietnam"/>

[[File:Bằng cấp tiểu học bổ túc cấp bởi bộ trưởng Giáo Dục của Chính Phủ Đại Nam dưới thời vua Bảo Đại năm 1939.jpg|thumb|center|An Indochinese [[primary school]] completion certificate (''Bằng-Cấp Tiểu-Học Cụ-Thề Đông-Pháp'') issued by the [[Ministry of Education (Nguyễn dynasty)|National Ministry of Education]] of the [[Nguyễn dynasty]] in the year 1939. It has a modern [[France|French]] design but displays traditional symbols like the [[Seals of the Nguyễn dynasty|seal]] of the minister, and uses [[Classical Chinese]] alongside Romanised Vietnamese.]]

== See also ==
* [[List of administrators of the French protectorate of Annam]]
* [[List of French possessions and colonies]]
* [[Names of Vietnam]]

== References ==
{{see also|History of Vietnam#Sources}}
{{Reflist}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Annam|volume=2|pages=61–63}}
* C. Gosselin, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ll3QiEWTfUkC ''L'Empire d'Annam''] (Paris, 1904)
* Legrand de la Liraye, [https://books.google.com/books?id=fbRXAAAAcAAJ ''Notes historiques sur la nation annamite''] (Paris, 1866?)
* E. Sombsthay, [https://books.google.com/books?id=YhhCAQAAMAAJ ''Annam & Tonkin, cours de législation et d' administration annamites''] (Paris, 1898).

{{French Indochina}}
{{Former French colonies}} 
{{Nguyễn dynasty topics}} 
{{Authority control}}
{{coord missing|Vietnam}}

[[Category:Annam (French protectorate)| ]]
[[Category:1883 establishments in the French colonial empire]]
[[Category:1883 establishments in Vietnam]]
[[Category:1948 disestablishments in French Indochina]]
[[Category:1948 disestablishments in Vietnam]]
[[Category:Former colonies in Asia]]
[[Category:Former countries in Vietnamese history]]
[[Category:Former French colonies]]
[[Category:Former protectorates]]
[[Category:French Union]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1948]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1883]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1948]]