Vietnam has a long history of more than four thousands years since the Hong Bang Dynasty and Au Lac nation-state (2879-258 B.C). And the history of Vietnam is the one of building and struggling for the country’s independence. From the end of the 3rd century BC to the early10th century, Vietnam was under the rule of successive dynasties of China. The Chineses considered the country as a vasal state under the name Jiao Zhi, or Giao Chi (later called Tonkin).

By the time the Chinese had conquered Jiao Chi, two other kingdoms had sprung up south of it. The Mekong Delta and part of southern Cambodia were known as Funan (Phu Nam), the pre-Angkor Cambodian Kingdom. The Kingdom between Funan in the south and Jiao Zhi in the north was called Champa. During the sixth and seventh centuries, the southern kingdom of Funan was conquered by the Chenla (Chan Lap) or Khmer people, and become part of their once powerful empire. Meanwhile in 679 A.D, Jiao Zhi's name was again changed by the Chinese - this time to An Nam or Pacified South.

An Nam became an independent kingdom in 938 A.D when the Chineses were defeated by a Vietnamese general Ngo Quyen, who later on became the first Vietnamese ruler of the country named Dai Co Viet.

For the next 900 years Dai Co Viet grew into an empire, ruled by powerful dynasties, such as Ly and Tran. Dai Co Viet had a powerful army, holding its own through ongoing conflicts with Champa, and attacks by Mongolian armies. However in 1407 it was yet again taken over by China, and only in 1427 the Chineses were defeated by Le Dynasty. The country was renamed to Dai Viet. Lê dynasty ruled for 350 years, years full of conflicts and civil wars. Various families tried to gain control. Key families were the Trinh in the north, the Nguyen in the south, and, ultimately, the Tay Son in central Đai Viet.

The three Tay Son brothers were successful in overcoming the Trinh Lords, and removing the Lê family from the throne in 1778. For about 25 years, the Tay Son family ruled the northern and central regions of Đai Viet, and the Nguyen family ruled the south. In 1802, however, Nguyen Anh, who was supported by the French, defeated the Tay Son family, and became King of a once-again unified country, which he named Viet Nam. The Nguyen family continued to rule, though sometimes in name only, until 1945.

The name of Vietnam through dynasties

During the priod of Chinese domination, Vietnam was called An Nam (or Pacified South). When Vietnam became independent, it was called Dai Co Viet, then Đai Viet. In 1802, Gia Long named the country as Viet Nam. During the French colonization, Vietnam was divided into 3 regions: Tonkin ( Bac Ky or North Vietnam), An Nam ( Trung Ky or Central Vietnam) and Cochin China ( Nam Ky or South Vietnam).

French Colonization and the Struggle for Independence

The French who first arrived in Vietnam were Catholic missionaries in the mid-17th century to disseminate Christianity. Ultimately, the Đai Viet rulers felt threatened, which led to their persecution of the missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Driven by the desire to protect the missionaries and to gain control in the area, the French began to attack Vietnam in 1858 under the orders of Napoleon III of France, heralded the beginning of the colonial occupation in Vietnam. However, it was not until 1887 that the French really took an active role after conquering Vietnam completely. They allowed Vietnam's emperors to continue to reign, although not actually rule. They main duty was to by a “figurehead”. Vietnam became part of French Indochina, along with Cambodia and Laos. The French divided Vietnam into three distinct regions—Tonkin in the north, An Nam in the center, and Cochin China in the south.

During the Second World War, Vietnam was controlled by the Japaneses, Hitler’s allies. However, in September 1945, one month after the end of WWII, the Japaneses were defeated, and Viet Minh led by the Communist Ho Chi Minh had gained control of the country’s main regions. The "fingurehead" emperor stepped down, Ho Chi Minh became the nation’s new ruler, and declared now called Democratic Republic of Vietnam an independend nation.

This victory was short-lived. British and Chinese troops arrived the next month to accept the Japanese surrender and uphold France’s claim on the region. The French forces went to reclaim Cochin in the south, but Viet Minh resistance continued in the south and the DRV controlled the north. By the end of 1946, hostilities escalated and then it was when the war began. To counter the efforts of Viet Minh, the French declared the State of Vietnam in 1949, with Bao Đai as nominal Chief of State. This government was supported by Vietnamese nationals who opposed communism, as well as by France’s allies. The DRV — which held power in the north and also claimed to be the legitimate government of the whole nation — was supported by communist countries. The Indochina War continued until 1954, when the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu. Eventually, French colonial rule in Vietnam ended.

The American Arrival and Vietnam's Reunification

Just before the war ended, a conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland to find a way to maintain peace in the region. The State of Vietnam, the DRV, Cambodia, and Laos represented warring regions and Emissaries from France, the U.S.S.R., the U.K. and the U.S. attended. Conference delegates agreed to a temporary division of Vietnam into two separate countries at the 17 parallel—North and South Vietnam—to be followed in 1956 with elections to re-unite the country. North of Vietnam, to be known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), was governed by Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese Workers Party. The South was headed by the Bao Đai government, which had been supported by the French since 1945. However, right after the French withdrew from Vietnam, the United States replaced France and supported Ngo Đinh Diem as Prime Minister under Bao Đai. With American support, Ngo Đinh Diem won the general election in 1955 and became the President of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). Since then, the war between the North and the South had been escalated by the U.S. military involvement.

However, under the pressure of American public opinion against the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, as well as the negative effects of the Vietnam War on the U.S. economy, the Nixon government agreed to sign the “Paris Peace Agreement” that included a cease-fire and withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam in 1972. This agreement recognized the “independence, sovereignity, unity and territorial integrity of Vietnam.” By April 30, 1975, Vietnam was finally reunited under the Communists and in 1976 the country was renamed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) as it called today. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

Post-war period was a hard for Vietnam . Its economy and industrial base were seriously damaged. The war had killed more than 3 million Vietnamese, and wounded twice that many. Vast numbers of people were homeless. However, the country has gradually had recovered from the ravages of war.

Vietnam Today

Because of the failure of earlier economic policies to stimulate growth after the unification in part, and because of the progressive new leadership of Nguyen Van Linh (The Vietnam General Secretary), in 1986, the Vietnam Government approved a comprehensive economic reform called " Đoi Moi" (Renovation) that introduced market reforms and dramatically improved Vietnam's business climate. People were allowed to form private businesses and sell agricultural produce. Agriculture was somewhat privatized, and foreign investments in Vietnamese business were encouraged as joint ventures. In response to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and its economic support, Vietnam began to liberalize its trade policies and encourage foreign trade. All these efforts had made Vietnam more integrated into the world community.

Vietnam became one of the fastest growing economies in the world with the averaged Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate at 9 % per year from 1990 to 1997 and 6.5% from 1998-2003. In 2004, GDP grew 7.7%. In July 1995, full diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam were established. That same year, Vietnam was accepted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In 1998, it joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and also hosted the ASEAN summit. A bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and Vietnam was signed in July 2000. And now Vietnam is working hard toward accession to the World Trade Organization in 2005.

History of Vietnam through dynasties