French Indochina

French Indochina was a colonial federation in Southeast Asia, comprising Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Established in 1887, it ended amid the wars and decolonization of the mid-1950s.

French conquest of Vietnam: France’s nineteenth-century military campaigns established colonial control over parts of Vietnam. Conquest began the process that brought Vietnam into French Indochina.
Governor-General of French Indochina: The senior colonial official who governed French Indochina on behalf of the French state. The office coordinated the federation’s central administration.
Paul Doumer: A French politician who served as governor-general of French Indochina from 1897 to 1902. His administration strengthened central control and developed colonial infrastructure.
First Indochina War: The 1946–1954 war between France and the Viet Minh over control of Vietnam and French Indochina. The war decisively weakened France’s ability to retain the federation.
Cochinchina: A French colony in southern Vietnam, administered separately before joining French Indochina. Its earlier colonial status preceded the federation’s creation.
French Indochinese piastre: The currency issued for French Indochina from 1885 until the federation’s dissolution. A shared currency linked economies otherwise governed through separate territories.
Bao Dai: The last emperor of Vietnam, who ruled under French influence and later became head of state. His shifting role exposed the limits of France’s efforts to preserve authority in Vietnam.
Battle of Dien Bien Phu: The 1954 battle in which Viet Minh forces defeated a major French military garrison. The defeat accelerated negotiations that ended French colonial rule.
Tonkin: The northern Vietnamese region that France made a protectorate in the nineteenth century. Tonkin became one of the federation’s principal Vietnamese territories.
Plantation economy: An economic system centered on large estates producing export crops for distant markets. French rule expanded plantations, especially rubber and rice production.

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