First Phase of Colonialization
Napoleon III was instrumental in establishing the stronger French presence in the region. In 1858, the emperor approved a naval operation under Rigault de Genouilly, initially said to provide security for French Catholic missionaries there. The operation escalated, and by 1861, it had turned into an invasion led by Admiral Léonard Charner. By 1862, hostilities ceased and in the following negotiations Vietnam was forced to cede three provinces to the French. This eventually became French Cochinchina.
French Cochinchina opened three major ports for essentially unrestricted French trade and allowed French navy ships free passage to Cambodia. Although French Cochinchina also gave French missionaries free rein, it did not stop hostilities between the Vietnamese and the Christian missionaries and their Vietnamese converts.
Read more about this topic: Conquest Of Cochinchina
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