Mongkut and the Modernization Wave of the 19th Century

A 19th century Thai King, despite lacking youth, embraced modernization and all in the name of his Kingdom's independence. But he did not act alone, across Asia and Africa, many countries, facing the same imperialist threat, undertook the painful decision. This wave of modernization, however, faced mixed results with some success and many failures.

Table of Contents

1. What Reforms did Mongkut Introduced?

2. Wave of Modernization

A. Imperial Playbook and Argument

B. The Counter Argument and Movement

3. Behind Successes and Failures

4. Summing Up

Funan: The Earliest Maritime Kingdom of Southeast Asia

A kingdom with an impressive wealth and an extraordinary network, the Funan Kingdom stood as one of the earliest most powerful kingdoms in Southeast Asia. With the capital in Vyadapura or the City of Hunters in Khmer language, it dominated the area that composed Cambodia, Vietnam, and parts of the Malaya Peninsula and Thailand. It ruled the area from the 3rd and up to the 7th century. But with the changing in the maritime trade of Asia, Funan felt the effects catastrophically, leading eventually into its assimilation with its neighboring kingdom.

Minh Mang: The Rise of Confucianism in Nguyen Vietnam

Minh Mang

The Nguyen Dynasty had ruled a unified Vietnam for two decades by 1820. Its founder, Gia Long passed away. His son then ascended to the throne as Emperor Minh Mang. Under his rule, Vietnam plunged into orthodox Confucianism and towards centralization and conquest.

Gia Long: The Founder of the Nguyen Dynasty

Gia Long

The 19th century opened for Vietnam with a new dynasty in power – the Nguyens. From overlords to the ruling family of Vietnam, it began its journey to power from the persevering and determined Nguyen Phuc Anh, who later took the name – Gia Long.

The Cochinchina Campaign

Capture of Saigon

Indochina, composed of modern day Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, became the center of French imperialism in the Far East. For more than half a century, they subjugated the local people for economic benefits. The conquest that led eventually to the creation of the French Indochina began in the middle of the 19th century. The French first displayed their might through the conclusion of the issue concerning a missionary and the bombardment of the major port city of Touraneor modern day Da Nang in 1847. A decade later, they launch a campaign in southern Vietnam, then known as Cochinchina, that sowed the seeds of the French in Vietnam, leading the path towards the formation of the French Indochina.

Lefebvre Affair and the Bombardment of Tourane

Charles Rigault de Genouilly

Tourane, Vietnam, 1847 – two warships came to the coast. The warships had French flags and demanded the release of one of its missionary – Dominique Lefebvre. Suddenly, the French began a bombardment of Tourane. But events prevailed before the Bombardment of Tourane? What happened during the Bombardment? And lastly, what happened after the incident occurred?

Treaty of Saigon (1862)

French warships in Da Nang (1858)

In the 1850’s, Asia faced a growing threat from the mighty industrialized nation of the West. France and Britain began an active harassment and conquest of many independent countries in the Far East. China had already tasted defeat in the hands of the modern steam-engine warships of the British. By the late 1850’s, China’s client state in Southeast Asia – Vietnam – also faced the prospect of succumbing to the nuisances of Westerners. The Treaty of Saigon symbolizes the result of the gunboat diplomacy of Europeans to the Vietnamese.

The Nguyen Dynasty - The Last Ruling Family of Vietnam

Gia Long

They once ruled Vietnam. They were in fact, the last family to rule it as a monarchy. They faced constant threats from rivals at home and later, from abroad. It took toils in order to win and to establish their rule. It took also defiance to survive in a changing world. And it took a communist icon in order to remove them. The Nguyen Dynasty was last ruling monarchial family.

French Conquest of Indochina

The extent of French Indochina (Yellow)

France was one of the greatest powers in the world. Along with its European rivals, it acquired a huge empire that comprised territories from the Africa to Asia. In the region of Southeast Asia, France became a major player in its politics during the 19th century. In competition with Great Britain, it exerted a lot of effort in order to acquire lands as much as possible. At the end, France managed to obtain the region known as Indochina. And for the countries, of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, it was a start of a half a century of colonization and exploitation.