fme_830197 - THIRD REPUBLIC - INDOCHINE FRANÇAISE - PROTECTORAT OF TONKIN Médaille, A l’armée du Tonkin

THIRD REPUBLIC - FRENCH INDOCHINA - TONKIN PROTECTORATE

The second half of the 19th century saw the slow takeover of China by European powers. Among the many episodes of this process, the capture of Tonkin by France constitutes a major stake in French colonial policy.. Wishing to acquire strong positions in southern China, France decided to take control of the Red River which connects Hanoi, capital of Tonkin, to the rich province of Yunnan in China, which triggered a war between these two countries ( September 1881 - June 1885). Commanded by Captain Henri Rivière, the French, equipped with three gunboats and 700 men strong, seized Hanoi on April 25, 1882. A year later, in May 1883, Rivière's death unleashed passions within the Chamber of Deputies in Paris.. Hanoi was surrounded and Jules Ferry then entrusted the two naval divisions of the Far East to Rear Admiral Courbet who arrived unexpectedly on August 18, 1883 in front of Thuân-an, the port of Hué, which he bombarded. A week later (August 25, 1883), the Emperor of Annam ceded Tonkin to France in the form of a protectorate by the Treaty of Hué. China rejects treaty and invades Tonkin province. Although neither country had formally declared war, military operations began in the fall of 1883 and ended in June 1885, shortly after the fall of the Ferry government.. caused by Lang Son's retirement. Despite this retreat, land operations saw French success in Tonkin, while French naval victories forced China to concede defeat.. The treaty ending the war is signed on June 9, 1885. China recognizes the Treaty of Hue and gives up its sovereignty over Annam and Tonkin. Already possessing Cochinchina, Cambodia and Laos, France, together with Annam and Tonkin, now controls all of the eastern Indochinese peninsula.. In 1891-1893, the Indochinese Confederation was created, made up of Cochinchina and the four protectorates.. These territories are included in French Indochina.