Effects of French Colonialism on Vietnam

Imperialism and Colonialism in Vietnam

Imperialism and colonialism greatly influenced various aspects of the culture and the ways of life in several victim countries. Vietnam was not an exemption as the French imperialism impacted on their language, food culture, building, and education. Although Vietnamese is the recognized language in Vietnam, French is also largely spoken by most Vietnamese. Similarly, there are numerous French restaurants lined up in the streets of Vietnam, and the French architectural designs can be easily noticed in several major buildings that are within the main towns and cities (Vietnam.com). On the other hand, their education and especially higher education is also influenced by the French Imperialism as most wealthy families send their children to France for higher education.

The Impact on Vietnamese Society

The benefits of French colonization on Vietnam were only visible among a relatively small number of an affluent Vietnamese class. The Vietnamese class made up of collaborators was awarded lands at subsidized prices which then promoted landlessness among the peasants and a flourishing class of landlords that exploited the services of the landless tenants. The Vietnam citizens also suffered the wrath of the colonialism effects as they were denied essential social amenities such as health, education, communication, and transportation facilities (Brittanica.com). Currently, Vietnam is experiencing challenges within the education sector, ineffective governance systems, and lack of proper industrialization systems. These issues are as a result of colonialism and imperialism as the French failed to set up educational systems with only one university and three secondary schools, lack of any form of civil liberties for the Vietnamese, and the intentional exclusion of the Vietnamese from modern sector economy especially in the industry and trade sector.

The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, which lasted 1754-1975 was a deadly fierce war that entailed divisive conflicts between North Vietnam and the South and their major ally, the United States. The war saw more than three million individuals die with nearly half of them being Vietnam citizens. The war was further fueled by the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Unions (Raouf). At the very core of the conflict that resulted in the war was the desire by the communist government of the North to unite the country under one regime, but this was met by great resistance from the South that wished to maintain an alliance with the West.

Work Cited

Britannica.com. Effects of French colonial rule. Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/place/Vietnam/Effects-of-French-colonial-rule. Accessed 4th Dec 2018.

Raouf Nebeg. American Imperialism. Case study: The Vietnam War, 2014, https://theses.univ-oran1.dz/document/TH4317.pdf. Accessed 4th Dec 2018.

Vietamnet.com. Imperialism in Vietnam, https://vietnamimperialism.weebly.com/vietnam-today.html. Accessed 4th Dec 2018.