French Colonial Period
French involvement in Vietnam began in 1787, when Monsigner Pierre Joseph Georges Pigneau de Behaine, Bishop of Adran returned to France from Vietnam with Nguyen Canh, the seven-year old son of a pretender to the throne of Vietnam. Following the seating of Nguyen Anh (Canh's father) on the throne of Vietnam in 1802, the royal dynasty would last with French support until 1954, ending with the final Vietnamese emperor, Bao Dai.
Direct involvement began 1835 with the arrival of Dominique Lefèbvre, who in 1844 conspired with a group of French priests to replace then-emperor Thieu Tri with another ruler more aligned with Christian interests. The plot failed, but Lefebvre was imprisoned. Learning of his capture, the French fleet responded, and a battle ensued on March 23, 1847. Following this skirmish, France would send troops, who were forced to evacuate Tourane in 1859. In 1861, under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Léonard Victor Joseph Charner, French military forces would enter Saigon, claiming the city as their own. From that point forward, Vietnam was a colony of France.
Read more about this topic: Background To The Vietnam War
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