French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),[a][b] officially known as the Indochinese Union[c][d] and after 1947 as the Indochinese Federation,[e] was a grouping of French colonial territories in Mainland Southeast Asia until its end in 1954. It comprised Cambodia, Laos (from 1899), the Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan (from 1898 until 1945), and the Vietnamese regions of Tonkin in the north, Annam in the centre, and Cochinchina in the south. The capital for most of its history (1902–1945) was Hanoi; Saigon was the capital from 1887 to 1902 and again from 1945 to 1954.
Indochinese Union
- Saigon
(1887–1902) - Hanoi
(1902–1945) - Saigon–Cholon
(1945–1954)
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1858–1885
17 October 1862
19 April 1899
5 January 1900
22 September 1940
Oct. 1940 – May 1941
9 March 1945
2 September 1945
13 September 1945
19 December 1946
21 July 1954
737,000 km2 (285,000 sq mi)
15,164,500
23,300,000
The Second French Empire annexed Cochinchina in 1862 and established a protectorate in Cambodia in 1863. After the French Third Republic took over northern Vietnam through the Tonkin campaign, the various protectorates were consolidated into one union in 1887. Two more entities were incorporated into the union: the Laotian protectorate and the Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan. The French exploited the resources in the region during their rule, but also contributed to improvements of the health and education system in the region. Nevertheless, deep divides remained between the native population and the colonists, leading to sporadic rebellions by the former. After the Fall of France during World War II, the colony was administered by the Vichy government and was under Japanese occupation until March 1945, when the Japanese overthrew the colonial regime. After the Japanese surrender, the Viet Minh, led by Hồ Chí Minh, declared Vietnamese independence, but France subsequently took back control of French Indochina with the help of the British. An all-out independence war, known as the First Indochina War, broke out in late 1946 between French and Viet Minh forces.
To counter the Viet Minh, the State of Vietnam, led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, was proclaimed by the French in 1949. French efforts to retake Vietnam were unsuccessful, culminating in defeat at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ. On 22 October and 9 November 1953, the Kingdom of Laos and Kingdom of Cambodia proclaimed their respective independences. Following the Geneva Accord of 1954, the French were forced to withdraw from Vietnam, which had been split into the two countries (until 1976), and French Indochina was no more.
Government-General of French Indochina
17 October 1887
21 July 1954
French Indochina
Cabinet of the Government-General
Norodom Palace, Saigon (1887–1902),
Residence of the Governor-General of French Indochina, Hanoi (1902–1945)