Legend has it that the different tribes of Vietnam were born out of wedlock between a dragon and a goddess. L?c Long Quân was the dragon chief and Âu Co was the fairy goddess. According to historians, Vietnam History started with the Dong Son civilization that occupied most of South East Asia. In 208 BC a general of the Qin Dynasty founded a state named Nam Vi?t that included Southern China and Red River Delta. Between 111 BC and 10 th century AD Vietnam was dominated by various Chinese dynasties. In 939 AD the Chinese forces were overthrown by a Vietnamese lord called Ngô Quy?n which led to the independence of Vietnam from the Chinese. Under the rule of the Lê Dynasty, Vietnam expanded southwards conquering the Champa Kingdom and a portion of the Khmer Empire.
The Vietnam War History began from middle of the 19 th century when Vietnam lost its independence to the French. In August 1858, the French set up their colonies in Vietnam and introduced Christianity and western system of education. Colonization gave rise to nationalistic feelings among the Vietnam people and as a result national politics emerged. Political leaders like Phan Boi Chau, Phan Chu Trinh,and Ho Chi Minh demanded independence. In 1940 Japan conquered Indo-China at the same time when their 2 nd World War ally invaded France. As a result Vietnam was under the rule of both Japan and French. In 1941 H? Chí Minh, a communist revolutionary came back to Vietnam and aroused patriotic feelings among his people under the flagship of the resistance group Vi?t Minh. In 1945 the Japanese forces surrendered before the Chinese revolutionaries in the north of Vietnam and before the British forces in southern Vietnam.
As the Vietnam War History advances it is seen that during the First Indochina War (1945-1954) the nationalistic forces, under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, defeated the French in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. This led to the withdrawal of the French from Vietnam. In the same year, Vietnam History took a major turn when the country was divided by the 17 th parallel into North Vietnam and South Vietnam in accordance with the Geneva Accords. In North Vietnam, the Viet Minh established a communist government under the leadership of H? Chí Minh in 1954. In South Vietnam, the United States and United Kingdom controlled government was set up under the Prime Ministership of Ngô Ðình Di?m while B?o Ð?i was made the constitutional monarch. Later in 1955, Ngô Ðình Di?m overthrew the monarch and set up the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). He declared himself as the President of the new republic.
The people of South Vietnam who were against the Di?m's rule and wanted to unite with North Vietnam's government under H? Chí Minh started the National Liberation Front .With the help of the Vietnam People's Army (PAVN) in the North it attacked the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in the south and also American troops installed there. It was decided at the Geneva Accords that elections would be held to set up a unified national government in Vietnam. However, the United States government and the Saigon government (South Vietnam) did not support this which led to the Vietnam War . In 1973 the American troops left Vietnam and in 1976 Vietnam was united under the name of the present government, The Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vietnam history has it that after the war the communist government tortured the people who supported the USA government. Many people had to flee from their country in small boats and became refugees in other neighboring countries.
Vietnam history and culture reflect each other. The Vietnamese value education immensely which was influenced much by the western system of education introduced doing French colonization.
The influence of China on the culture of Vietnam can be vividly seen. The culture of Vietnam is Confucian which stresses on doing duty blindly towards family and people.
