The Vietnamese bourgeoisie of trung ky from the early 20th century to 1930

Basing on the reality mentioned above, a study on the formation; production and entrepreneurship; the transformation from a social stratum to a social class of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

NGUYEN VAN PHUONG

THE VIETNAMESE BOURGEOISIE OF TRUNG KY FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY TO 1930

Major : Vietnamese history Code : 62 22 03 13

DOCTORAL THESIS SUMMARY

HA NOI - 2015

Hanoi University of Education

Science Instructor: Prof PhD Nguyen Ngoc Co

Critic 1: Assoc Prof.PhD Pham Xanh

University of Social Sciences and Humanities- Vietnam National University Ha Noi

Critic 2: Assoc Prof.PhD Nguyen Duc Nhue

Institute of History

Critic 3: Assoc Prof.PhD Trinh Dinh Tung

Hanoi University of Education

The thesis will be defended before an examination Board meeting School level thesis dots in Ha Noi University of Education

at o’clock on day month… year 2015

Can be found the thesis at the library: The National library

and Library of Ha Noi University of Education

INTRODUCTION

1 Reasons for choosing the topic

Trung Ky (known as Annam) was the name based on the French division when France set up its domination in our country According to the Harmand

the region of Trung Ky consisted the provinces extending from Quang Binh to Ninh Thuan After that, in the Patenotre Treaty on June 6th 1884, the French restored Binh Thuan Province in the South, and the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh in the North to the region of Trung Ky So, at that time, Trung Ky was officially established with provinces, namely Thanh Hoa, Nghe

An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Phan Rang, Binh Thuan, Dac Lac, Kon tum, Lam Vien and Da Nang as a conceded city This region includes a lot similarities within it in terms of geographical, natural, social conditions, potential for developing industrial, agricultural, and commercial economic sectors, and attractiveness towards foreign and Vietnamese bourgeoisie

Being impacted by the colonial exploitation and various subjective and objective conditions, together with the whole country’s Vietnamese bourgeoisie, Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky gradually came into beings, developing from a social stratum to a class after the First World War (1914-1918)

Right after inception, the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky had various forms of operation, positively encouraging capitalist-style entrepreneurship with appropriate modes of business They unceasingly rose and gradually proved their role and status, on that basis making contributions to the nationalist movement in the early 20th century

The country’s current reform is yielding fruits, especially our participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is vigorously prompting our integration into global economy Despite favourable conditions, enterprises (both state-owned and private ones) are still confused, not being able to adapt to changes in the new mechanisms of market competition yet The cause of industrialization and modernization in the region is facing a lot of difficulties State’s policy on enterprises and entrepreneurs, and the campaign

“Vietnamese people use Vietnamese products” still have limitations, not satisfying our expectations Thus, there should be socio-economic studies of the pre-reform period to draw lessons as reference to the implementation of the above-mentioned policies

Up to now, there have been studies the topic on Vietnamese bourgeoisie

in the French colonial period, which were carried out by foreign and domestic scientists, some of which were publicized However, there has not yet a study specialized on the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky in the early decades of the 20th century

Basing on the reality mentioned above, a study on the formation; production and entrepreneurship; the transformation from a social stratum to a social class of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky and their engagement

in the national democratic movement in the first 30 years of the 20th century is

of valuable significance in both science and reality

Scientifically, it is a deep and comprehensive evaluation of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky regarding their origin, formation, and noticeable features in political and economic activities; making contributions to right evaluation of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the region and nation’s process of history, drawing lessons for the country’s current industrialization and modernization

Practically, this topic contributes to supplementing and clarifying the assessment and evaluation of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie; providing necessary materials for compiling and lecturing Vietnam’s modern history at university level

For the reasons above, I, the author of the writing, decided to choose the

1930” for Doctoral Thesis of History

2 Study’s subject and scope

2.1 Subject of the study

The subject of study is the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky with the relevant issues as its formation, development, activities in economic sectors, participation in the national democratic movement, and characteristics, historical role in the first 30 years of the 20th century

2.2 Scope of study

- The thesis studies the first 30 years of the 20th century

- Space of study is the region of Trung Ky according to French division, including provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Phan Rang, Binh Thuan, Dac Lac, Kon Tum, Lam Vien and the city of Da Nang

- The content of study is limited in the Vietnamese bourgeoisie’s condition, formation, business activities, engagement in the national democratic movement, characteristics and historical role in the process of national history

in the first 30 years of the 20th century

3 Objective and tasks of thesis

3.1 Objective of study

It aims to systematically study the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky’s formation, development; their characteristics and roles in economic, political and social sectors in the first 30 years of the 20th century

3.2 Tasks of the thesis

The thesis has the main tasks as follows:

- Analyzing historical conditions and origin of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie

of Trung Ky in the early 20th century

- Redrawing business system of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky

in each concrete economic sector; their participation in the national democratic movement from the early 20th century to 1930 Accordingly, clarifying the success and limitations in activities of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky

in the first 30 years of the 20th century

- Basically drawing the characteristics and roles of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky in the first 30 years of the 20th century

4 Material sources and methodologies

4.1 Material sources

The thesis is written with various material sources:

- Classics of Marxism-Leninism; documents of the Communist Party of Vietnam; writings of President Ho Chi Minh, Party and State leaders

- Documents in the Archives Department of Vietnam No.1 and No.4, the Institute of Social Sciences Information, the National Library, and provincial libraries in region of Trung Ky The documents, decrees, reports, journals, statistical yearbooks of the colonial administration published in the press at that time

- Published studies related to the thesis, including monographs, reference books, textbooks, articles in newspapers, magazines, journals in French and Vietnamese, recognized master and doctorial theses related to the thesis

- Also, material sources on the Internet

5 The thesis’ contributions

The thesis makes contributions as follows:

- Systematically presenting on the basis of exploiting and processing collected materials about the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky’s formation and engagement in the national democratic movement in the first 30 years of the 20th century

- Mentioning and objectively evaluating the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky’s characteristics and historical roles in the first 30 years of the 20thcentury

- The results of the thesis mention objective historical awareness that is more specific about the Vietnamese bourgeoisie, thus it can be used for reference to study Vietnam’s modern history, especially political and socio-economic situation of the Trung Ky region and the whole country as a whole in the French colonial period

6 Thesis layout

Apart from introduction, conclusion, reference list and appendix, the main contents are presented in 4 charters

Charter 1 OVERVIEW OF STUDYING THE ISSUE

1.1 The process of study related to the thesis

1.1.1 Studies on the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in general

Before the August 1945 Revolution, there had been a number of articles that introduced business and production establishments of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie and reflected their voice in the fight for political and economic

interest of their class Typical examples were: “Our current business is worse than the visitors’ business” on Civilizing Daily No.132 December 20th 1921;

“For a rich country and a wealthy people, we must use domestic merchandise”

During the period of 1945-1975, studying the Vietnamese bourgeoisie was focused on by historians, thus there appeared many studies on the

Vietnamese bourgeoisie Typically, they were: “Studying the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the French colonial period” by Nguyen Cong Binh, “On the Vietnamese bourgeois class: opinions on its formation and development” by Minh Tranh and Nguyen Kien Giang; “Seed of capitalism and the development

of capitalism in Vietnam” by Dao Trong Tuyen; “Characteristics of the formation of Vietnam bourgeoisie” by M.A Trescov

Addition to aforementioned studies specialized in the Vietnamese bourgeoisie, there were a number of studies on the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in

the French colonial period, namely “A reference book on the Vietnam’s modern revolutionary history, volume 4” by Tran Huy Lieu, Van Tao, and Huong Tan;

“A discussion about Vietnamese revolution” by Truong Chinh; “Under the Party’s glorious flag, for the sake of independence, freedom, and socialism, we march to new glories” by Le Duan; “Studying the development of Vietnam’s society” by Minh Tranh; “A draft on the developments of Vietnam’ handicraft”

by Phan Gia Ben

Moreover, at that time, there were a lot of articles on the Vietnamese

bourgeoisie, such as “Vietnamese bourgeoisie’s business activity in the French

colonial period” and a series of articles under the title “Situation and characteristics of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the French colonial period” by Nguyen Cong Binh; “A discussion about the formation of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie” and “Vietnamese bourgeoisie’s characteristics and their role in the revolution for national liberation” by Minh Tranh; “A contribution to studying situation and characteristics of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the French colonial period” by Dao Hoai Nam

Since 1975 there have been a number of studies on the Vietnamese

bourgeoisie’s business and production, such as “Socio-economic structure of Vietnam in the colonial period 1858- 1945” by Nguyen Van Khanh;

“Vietnam’s handicrafts (1858-1945)” by Vu Huy Phuc Meanwhile, “The development of ideology in Vietnam from the 19 th century to the August Revolution: bourgeois ideology and its impotence in historical missions” by Tran Van Giau, and “Vietnam nationalist movement in the fight against French Colonialists (1885-1918)” by Nguyen Ngoc Co were interested in political

attitude, activities, and role of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the national democratic movement in the early 20th century Besides, on magazines there

appeared several articles on the Vietnamese bourgeoisie, such as “Thinking about the national bourgeois class in the past and at present” by Vu Duong Ninh; “Vietnamese bourgeoisie’s making entrepreneurship prosper in the early 20th century” by Tran Viet Nghia; “Tonkin Association of industrial and commercial fellowship and Huu Thanh Journal and the issue on protecting the Vietnamese bourgeoisie’s interests” by Pham Xanh and Nguyen Diu Huong

To conclude, studies on the Vietnamese bourgeoisie mentioned above partly referred to the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky However, not being monographs on the Vietnamese bourgeoisie, they were not presented in a systematic and comprehensive way the historical condition, formation, business, production, engagement of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of the region

in the national democratic movement in the first 30 years of the 20th century Notably, those studies did not give out the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung

Ky’s characteristics and role as well as a satisfactory evaluation on their positive and weak points in the country’s first 30 years of the 20th century

1.1.2 Studies on Trung Ky’s history, culture, economics, society,

revolutionary movements

Before the August 1945 Revolution, the number of studies on history, economics, politics, culture, society, and ethnicity of the Trung Ky region in general and of the provinces within the region made by French and Vietnamese authors was not large, but they did refer to the Vietnamese bourgeoisie

Typically, there were a number of studies, such as “L’Annam en 1906”; “Le Thanh Hoa” by Ch Robequain; “Monographie de la province du Darlac 1930”

by A.Monfleur; “Geography of Kon Tum province” on Nam Phong Magazine;

“The old records of An-Tinh” by Hippolyte le Breton; “Geography book of Phu Yen province” by Nguyen Dinh Cam and Tran Si; “Les province de l’Annam (Phu Yen) 1907”; “Province Binh Dinh”; “Province de Nghe An 1907” Moreover, there were articles on some of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky’s production establishments, method of business, typically “Sugaring occupation in Quang Nam, Quang Ngai” on Entrepreneurship People’s Newspaper; “Les camions à gaz pauvre de bois sur la route de Vinh à Thakhek”

on L’Eveil Economique Magazine; and articles on economics and transportation in Trung Ky and Vinh; on sugar cane planting in Nghe An and Trung Ky on Making Indochina Economics Prosperous Maganize

Since 1945, the number of studies on different historical angles of Trung

Ky region in general and its provinces in particular has been rather plentiful and various in terms of genres including books, articles, theses In which they referred to the number, production, business, engagement in the national democratic movement of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the French colonial

period Typically, there were “Duy Tan movement” by Nguyen Van Xuan; the Proceedings of the international science workshop called “100 years of the Dong DU movement and Vietnamese-Japanese cooperation” Studies on the history of provinces in Trung Ky, such as “Thanh Hoa in the period 1802-

1930” by Thanh Hoa provincial committee for history study; “History of Ha Tinh” by Dang Duy Bau; “The formation and development of Vinh city (1804- 1945)” by Nguyen Quang Hong; “History of Danang city” by Duong Trung Quoc; “History of Quy Nhon city” by Do Bang; “History of Phu Yen 1900- 1930” by Nguyen Van Nhat; “100 year history of Phan Thiet town (1898- 1998)” by Truong Quoc Minh; “Geography book of Gia Lai”, “Geography book of Dak Lak”

Besides, we need to mention monographs on Trung Ky provinces’

economics over historical periods, such as “A draft on Thanh Hoa’s economic history (from primitive age to 1945) by Pham Van Dau; “Nghe An economics from 1885 to 1945” by Nguyen Quang Hong, all of which outlined the

Vietnamese bourgeoisie’s production and business in economic fields Theses

on history and economics of Trung Ky’s provinces, such as “Thanh Hoa’s plantations in the French colonial period (1900-1945)” by Nguyen Thi Hanh;

“Thanh Hoa city’s formation and development from 1804 to the August Revolution 1945” by Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, referred to the Vietnamese

bourgeoisie’s production, business, and participation in the national movement

Generally speaking, studying the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in general, the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky in particular has been carried out early at home and abroad Considering these groups showed us that to some extent, they referred to the basic issues of the thesis:

First, these theses basically clarified the origin and birth of the

Vietnamese bourgeoisie, however there were different opinions on the time they developed into a social class

Second, these theses generalized the development of the Vietnamese

bourgeoisie in each French colonial period closely attached to the French colonial policies in the economic field Accordingly, they pointed out positive and negative impacts of the French economic policies on the development of the class

Third, they mentioned, at various degrees, the activities of the

Vietnamese bourgeoisie in political and socio-economic fields in the French colonial period

Fourth, these groups initially made comments on the characteristics of the

Vietnamese bourgeoisie’s business activities, and pointed out their political attitude before the Communist Party of Vietnam’s establishment (1930)

The preceding scientists’ results of study, varied and rich, mentioned the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the French colonial period, but in general there have not yet been any theses specialized and systematic in the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky in the first 30 years of the 20th century Moreover, studying and evaluating the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky’s characteristics and role in that period were not mentioned much in their theses Nevertheless, they are sources of materials which are significant and suggestible so that we could choose and form the direction of study Also, they are valuable materials for the implementation of the thesis

1.2 The issues concentratedly clarified by the thesis

Considering the theses on the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the French colonial period, we could realize that there have not yet been any theses systematic and comprehensive on the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky in the first 30 years of the 20th century This fact has provided us with a lot of things to study in our thesis systematically and comprehensively as follows:

First, analyzing historical context and political, socio-economic,

cultural, and ideological conditions for the formation and development of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky in the first 30 years of the 20thcentury Accordingly, we could have satisfactory and objective assessment

on the conditions’ impacts on the development of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie, particularly the policy of rule of the French colonialist in the region of Trung Ky

Second, studying the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky’s business

activities and their participation in the national democratic movement in the

first 30 years of the 20th century associated with the French colonialist’s economic policies in specific historical periods: from the beginning of the 20thcentury to the first World War (1914) and from the first World War (1914-1918) to 1930

Third, drawing and correctly evaluating the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of

Trung Ky’s position and role in the process of national history in the three first decades of the 20th century; clarifying limitations in their business activities and political attitude in the above-mentioned historical periods

Chapter 2 THE VIETNAMESE BOURGEOISIE OF TRUNG KY

FROM THE EARLY 20 TH CENTURY TO THE BEGINNING

OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR (1914)

2.1 The formation of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky

2.1.1 Historical conditions for the birth of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie

of Trung Ky

2.1.1.1 International conditions

In the middle of the 20th century, colonialism speeded up its invasion of non-capitalist countries, making them markets for products consuming and material providing; at the same time, destroying the traditional economy, accelerating the existing seeds of capitalism within these countries Meanwhile,

in the Southeast Asia countries, national bourgeois class was also born, taking

in the new ideology, developing the national economy, and carrying out the struggle for national independence While “the bourgeois class dominated globally” and developed quickly in the neighboring countries, the birth of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky was neither too early nor suitable for the trend of the times

2.1.1.2 Domestic conditions

- Economic conditions

+ Goods production has developments

+ Merchandise trade and movement on the market was strengthened

- Social conditions

The differentiation of merchant force occurred more quickly and strongly Few of them became rich, or the owners of factories, a number of others became bankrupt and employed by the owners

The first colonial exploitation increased the number of poverished and depleted peasants and craftsmen This is an objective condition for capitalism to develop and the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky to be born

- Cultural and ideological impacts

When society and economy had positive changes, bourgeois ideologies from France continuously impacted our country and created favourable conditions for the birth of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky

2.1.2 The formation of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky

In the early 20th century, the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky appeared and became a part in the region’s structure of social classes However, the origin of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky was not homogeneous, resulted from the historical characteristics of the country in general and the region of Trung Ky in particular It could be said that the Vietnamese bourgeoisie of Trung Ky originated from: