Vietnamese invasions of Cambodia
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The Vietnamese invasions of Cambodia refers to the period of Cambodian history, between 1813 and 1845, when the Kingdom of Cambodia was invaded by the Vietnamese Nguyễn dynasty three times, and a brief period from 1834 to 1841 when Cambodia was part of Tây Thành province in Vietnam, undertaken by Vietnamese emperors Gia Long (r. 1802–1819) and Minh Mạng (r. 1820–1841). The first invasion that took place in 1811–1813 put Cambodia as Vietnam's client kingdom. The second invasion in 1833–1834 made Cambodia a de facto Vietnamese province. Minh Mạng's harsh rule of the Cambodians finally ended after he died in early 1841, an event which coincided with a Cambodian rebellion, and both which triggered a Siamese intervention in 1842. The unsuccessful third invasion of 1845 resulted in the independence of Cambodia. Siam and Vietnam signed a peace treaty in 1847, allowing Cambodia to reassert its independence in 1848.
Background
From the late 16th century onward, Cambodia had been subject to both Thai and Vietnamese aggressive and political intervention. After having been married to a Vietnamese princess in 1623, Cambodian king
The
First invasion of 1811–1813
Locations of Vietnamese garrisons and offices during the occupation of Cambodia (1811–1845)In 1811, king Chan's pro-Siamese faction led by prince
Vietnamese suzerainty over Cambodia (1813–1833)
First, Ang Chan had to convince his loyalty to Gia Long by arriving in a Vietnamese temple in the capital Phnom Penh every two months, had to wear Vietnamese attire and bow before a tablet bearing the Vietnamese emperor's name.
In 1817, tens of thousand Cambodian workers were employed by Vietnamese officials to repair and extend the 40-miles Vĩnh Tế Canal that connects the Gulf of Thailand with the Mekong. The working conditions were described as extremely harsh, and Cambodian labors were noticeably harassed by Vietnamese officials. Frustrated with the exploitation, in 1820–21 many Cambodian workers and ethnic Cambodian in southeast Cambodia, along with the Khmer Kroms joined the Ba Khnom rebellion led by a Khmer Buddhist monk against the Vietnamese rule. Ang Chan tried to suppress the rebellion with his Khmer–Vietnamese military but failed because its Khmer officials (okya) had deserted to the rebellion. The Vietnamese emperor Gia Long died in the same year. His successor, emperor Minh Mạng then sent a fresh army to Cambodia. His force defeated the rebellion at Kampong Cham and had the monk leader tried and executed in Saigon, including many other rebels.[7][8]
The new ruler of Vietnam, Minh Mạng, was a conservative Confucian ruler. He shut down relations with France in 1824, contesting with Siamese ruler Rama III over Laos in 1828–31, and annexed many parts of the country in 1832. He took a different approach toward Cambodia, and also toward ethnic minorities in Southern Vietnam and the Central Highlands. That time Minh Mạng wanted to replace the Viceroy of Cambodia and Saigon, Lê Văn Duyệt, with officials loyal to him in order to consolidate his centralization efforts. In 1832, Duyệt died, the Vietnamese emperor removed the Viceroyalty of Saigon. Lê Văn Duyệt's adopted son Lê Văn Khôi revolted against Minh Mạng and the royal court. Hearing the news, Rama III of Siam, believed that he could scold Minh Mạng with assistance from pro-Siamese Chinese mercantile class in Saigon, sending a large army led by Bodin to attack the Vietnamese positions in Cambodia in early 1833 at the outbreak of the First Siamese–Vietnamese War. The Vietnamese quickly abandoned Phnom Penh and evacuated to Saigon along with king Ang Chan and the Cambodian court. The Siamese entered Phnom Penh with ease, installing Chan's brothers Ang Im and Ang Duang to the new Cambodian government but failed to gain popular support. Rama III promised to restore the Kingdom of Cambodia and punish the insolence of the Kingdom of Vietnam. However, poor communications between Siamese forces and navy caused the Siamese army to withdraw in early 1834 when Vietnamese navy broke the Siamese sea blockade and counterattacked.[9]
Vietnamese annexation of Cambodia (1834-1841)
The Vietnamese forces led by general Trương Minh Giảng reconquered Cambodia from Siamese forces in early 1834 and escorted the Cambodian king back to Phnom Penh. The Siamese army withdrew with two thousand Khmer and Chinese families from Phnom Penh. Along the westward routes to Siam, the Thai army also took massive local Khmer population and deported them to northeast Thailand.[10]
By late 1834, Minh Mạng renamed Cambodia as Tây Thành province and incorporated it into his kingdom. Trương Minh Giảng was appointed as the governor of the province. Entire the Cambodian administration, tax resisters, military, foreign affairs, economy departments,... were transferred to Vietnamese control. The Cambodian Theravada priests were purged and shot.[11] Ang Chan died in early 1835. Minh Mạng appointed Queen Ang Mey as the puppet ruler, and the enthronement ceremony was celebrated following Vietnamese traditions.[12]
"...The barbarians [in Cambodia] have become my children now, and you should help them, and teach them our customs... I have heard, for example, that the land is plentiful and fertile, and that there are plenty of oxen [for plowing]... but the people have no knowledge of [advanced] agriculture, using picks and hoes, rather than oxen. They grow enough rice for two meals a day, but they don’t store any surplus. Daily necessities like cloth, silk, ducks and pork are very expensive... Now all these shortcomings stem from the laziness of the Cambodians... and my instructions to you are these; teach them to use oxen, teach them to grow more rice, teach them to raise mulberry trees, pigs and ducks... As for language, they should be taught to speak Vietnamese. [Our habits of] dress and table manners must also be followed. If there is any out-dated or barbarous custom that can be simplified, or repressed, then do so.[13]
Minh Mạng of Vietnam, 1835
Vietnamization of Cambodia
During this period, thousands of Vietnamese, Chams, Malays, and Chinese settlers were sent to Cambodia to subsidize the Vietnamization of Cambodia, and Vietnamese fashion such as the
Resistance and repression
From 1837 to 39, Cambodian anti-Vietnamese revolts led by Nong and Ey erupted in provinces near Phnom Penh. The governor
Siamese invasion (1841-1845)
Prince Ang Duong (Chan's brother exiled in Bangkok) led the opposition faction to resist the Vietnamese occupation.[17]
Feeling anxiety about the Vietnamization progress of Cambodia, in June 1840
Took advantage, Thai forces numbering 35,000 troops invaded Cambodia, occupying Phnom Penh, and asserted their rule over the abandoned Vietnamese province. Bodin ordered to deport and massacre all Vietnamese in Cambodia. However, Thai rule was short-lived, as they evacuated Phnom Penh in early 1844 and withdrew to Udong.[20]
Third invasion and end of Dai Nam rule (1845-1847)
The Vietnamese launched a counterattack on Phnom Penh in 1845, then attacked Thai stronghold at Udong, which led to immediate peace negotiations. After four years of foreign invasions, chaos, and rebellions, Cambodia was almost exhausted. Vietnamese rules over Cambodia turned into attrition. A peace agreement between Vietnam and Siam was reached in June 1847. The Vietnamese court released all royal members of the Cambodian ruling dynasty, transferring the administration to the new independent Cambodian monarchy of king Ang Duong and withdrew their army from Cambodia, ending the Tây Thành Province and 36 years of Vietnamese invasions and occupations.[21]
Notes
- ^ Kiernan (2019), pp. 259–261.
- ^ Corfield (2009), pp. 15–16.
- ^ Chandler (2018), pp. 136–137.
- ^ Osborne (2008), p. 50.
- ^ Chandler (2018), p. 144.
- ^ Corfield (2009), p. 17.
- ^ Kiernan (2008), p. 208.
- ^ Chandler (2018), p. 145.
- ^ Chandler (2018), pp. 148–149.
- ^ Kiernan (2008), p. 212–213.
- ^ a b Kiernan (2008), p. 216.
- ^ Chandler (2018), p. 151.
- ^ Chandler (2018), pp. 152–153.
- ^ Corfield (2009), p. 18.
- ^ Kiernan (2008), p. 217.
- ^ Chandler (2018), p. 155.
- ^ Chandler (2018), p. 154.
- ^ Chandler (2018), pp. 157–160.
- ^ Chandler (2018), p. 162.
- ^ Kiernan (2008), p. 219.
- ^ Corfield (2009), p. 19.
References
- ISBN 978-0-429-97514-1.
- Corfield, Justin J. (2009). The History of Cambodia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-31335-723-7.
- ISBN 978-1-78238-214-0
- ——— (2019) [2017]. Việt Nam: a history from earliest time to the present. ISBN 978-0-19005-379-6.
- Osborne, Milton E. (2008). Phnom Penh: A Cultural and Literary History. Signal Books. ISBN 978-1-90495-540-5.