In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, politics was a reason why the Frenchcolonists attached great importance to the waterway transport activities of Tonkin, because Tonk
Trang 1HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
PHAN THI THU
WATERWAY TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN TONKIN FROM THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY TO THE EARLY 30S OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Major: History of Vietnam
Code: 9.22.90.13
SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL THESIS
HANOI - 2020
Trang 2HANOI UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
SUPERVISORS: Professor, Ph.D NGUYEN NGOC CO
Reviewer 1: Assoc.Professor, Ph.D Nguyen Van Nhat Reviewer 2: Assoc.Professor, Ph.D Vu Van Quan
Reviewer 1: Assoc.Professor, Ph.D Phan Ngoc Huyen
The thesis is defended at Institutional Thesis Evaluation
Committee at Hanoi University of Education
at … a.m, … , 2020
The thesis is available at National Library, Hanoi and Hanoi National University of Education Library
Trang 31 Rationale for topic selection
Theoretical meaning of transport in general, waterway navigation in particular plays animportant role in economic development Transport is a special material manufacturingindustry, although it does not directly create products but it increases product value Therefore,researching the business activities of the transport sector in Tonkin will help to clarify theeconomic picture in Tonkin
Tonkin was considered as a region which had many kinds of mineral resources, famoustrade villages, and had important economic and political significance The stretching coastline, withHai Phong and Quang Yen (now Quang Ninh) ports, was very potential However, it was not untilthe late nineteenth century when the French expeditions opened a trade route linking Yunnan(China) to Hai Phong seaport that the transport service actually became active
At the end of the nineteenth century, in order to support the plundering of human andmineral resources and the transport of letters in Vietnam, France encouraged waterwaytransport The French shipping companies, operating under the form of capitalist productionwith strong competition with the Chinese capitalists and other rivals, gradually appeared in theTonkin On the surface of the Tonkin’s rivers and sea, more and more steam ships running oncoal fuel and large-scale harbors with modern machines appeared
In the period from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century,waterway transport considered the correlation with the forms of road transport, air transportwas more advantageous and more active Because of the natural conditions of rivers, the seasurface in Tonkin was favorable for development; boats at that time were capable of carryingmuch larger volumes of goods than road transport and were less expensive than air transport
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, politics was a reason why the Frenchcolonists attached great importance to the waterway transport activities of Tonkin, because Tonkinoccupied an important position in strengthening the Vietnam-China border region, with its hands topenetrate potential Chinese markets Moreover, at this stage, China was being divided by theWestern powers The French colonialists had a share in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and theywanted to connect those concessions with their colonial territory in Indochina
Waterway transport business in Tonkin in the late nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies, Chinese bourgeoisie had the advantage of an experienced capital but the Frenchbourgeoisie with the support of the French government quickly dominated the market.Vietnamese shipping companies, which were born late, faced fierce competition from Chineseand French transport companies However, with effort and strategy, the Vietnamese companieshad also confirmed their name This issue needs to be clarified and studied seriously andintensively in scientific aspect
The waterway transport business brought an important change to the face of economicdevelopment in Tonkin at the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentiethcentury Waterway transport played a big role in transporting the quantity of goods andpassengers when the road transport industry had not developed, but no scientists had amonograph on this issue, especially in Tonkin Therefore, it was necessary to have a seriousand in-depth study on issues surrounding the waterway transport business of companies,especially companies operating in Tonkin area
Examining the above subject is an opportunity for the author of the thesis to continuecollecting and preserving valuable historical documents for historical research For the above
reasons, the author decided to choose the topic "Waterway transport companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century" as the thesis topic.
2 Research purposes and mission
Trang 4- To make some objective comments and assessments on waterway transport companies
in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century Since then,
to mention the effects on the socio-economic situation of Tonkin
3 Research subject and scope
- The research subject: The typical waterway transport companies in Tonkin include
groups of Vietnamese companies, Chinese companies, French companies and some companiesfrom other countries transiting in Tonkin ports
- The research scope:
+ In term of content: Researching the establishment and operation of typical waterway
transport companies in Tonkin by groups of Vietnamese, French and Chinese Tonkin was amarket for many French, Vietnamese, Chinese transport groups and some transit-operatinggroups in Hai Phong port such as British, Japanese and German ships, etc, but the number oftransit-operating groups was more limited and their influence was not much so the authorfocuses on studying three main groups of waterway transport companies operating in Tonkin,namely French, Vietnamese and Chinese On that basis, the thesis gives a number ofassessments and comments on the operational objectives, operational organization, capacityand performance of the above companies
+ In term of space: The limited research space of the topic is the companies that had
regular business activities of transporting or transiting ports in Tokin However, to ensure thelogic of the problem, the thesis has expanded the space to other places to compare and furtherclarify the main research space of the thesis
+ In term of time: The topic is limited in time from the end of the nineteenth century.
Specifically, since 1886, when the French Marty and Abbadie companiy first appeared in HaiPhong The arrival of the new French business method has modernized transport and businessactivities The emergence of French, Chinese and Vietnamese company groups created a livelyactivity in the waterway transport business dominated by Chinese capitalists The author chosethe milestone to end in the early 30s of the twentieth century, after the world economic crisis of
1929 - 1933 and the development of railway and automobile transportation systems leading tothe bankruptcy of many French, Chinese and Vietnamese transport service companies
4 Resources and research methods
4.1 Resources
- Documents archived include original documents about legal conditions, inspectionreports, activities of water transport companies of the French colonial government in Indochina.Documents of some shipping companies and individuals on terms of incorporation, financialreports, financial statements, reports to the French authorities of the shipping firms in Tonkin
Trang 5Daily newspapers published in the early twentieth century such as: Ha Thanh ngo bao, Thuc
nghiep dan bao (newspaper of ship businessman Nguyen Huu Thu), Khai hoa nhat bao
(newspaper of boat businessman Bach Thai Buoi), stored at National Storage Center I andVietnam National Library
- References, reference books on Vietnamese history, Vietnamese economic history
- The monographs refer to the issue of waterway transportation in Indochina in generaland waterway transport services in Tonkin in particular
- Articles in the journals of “Nghien cuu lich su”, “Nghien cuu Dong Nam A”.
4.2 Research Methods
The thesis has studied based on the viewpoint of dialectical materialism and Marxisthistorical materialism with diverse, comprehensive and developed perspectives
The author has mainly used historical methods, logical methods and comparison methods
By using the above methods, the author has posed the problem of water transport companies inTonkin in the general context of Vietnam's economy from the late nineteenth century to the early30s of the twentieth century, to see the development of the economy in general and the waterwaytransport service in particular Although the thesis studies waterway transport companies in aspecific area of Tonkin, it is therefore not completely isolated from the general context ofVietnam's economic situation Therefore, the comparative method is also set out by the thesis tohave a comparison with the Central and Southern regions
In addition, the author has used some other methods such as: collectibles, statistics,synthesis to ensure the accuracy and science of the thesis The method of analyzing events,comparing the system of tables and charts on the operation process of water transport companies
is used to draw some comments on the impacts of econimic, cultural – social caused by shippingcompanies’ operating process, thereby solving the research tasks that the thesis has set
5 Contributions of the topic
Firstly, the thesis contributes to clarify the process of establishment and operation of
the shipping companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of thetwentieth century
Secondly, the topic contributes to clarify Vietnam's economic picture, the major changes in
business methods of waterway transport, waterway transport means from the end of the nineteenthcentury to the early 30s of the twentieth century, through which the influence of waterwaytransport companies on the economy and society of Tonkin can be seen
Thirdly, the thesis clarifies the reality of competition among groups of waterway
transport companies of the French, Chinese and Vietnamese Since then, we can clearly see thepatriotism of some ethnic bourgeois such as Bach Thai Buoi, Nguyen Huu Thu, who dare tospeak out for the benefits of the Vietnamese bourgeois and had the sense of national economicdevelopment Thereby, we have a right assessment of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the aboveperiod At the same time, the topic shows the operational capacity and purpose of eachcompany There were companies operating purely for economic purposes, others working formilitary and political purposes
Fourthly, the thesis draws assessments and comments on the process of establishment and
operation of waterway transport companies in Tonkin
Fifthly, the dissertation serves as a reference for research, teaching and learning topics
related to the history of Modern Vietnam
6 The layout of the topic
In addition to the introduction, conclusion, references, the main content of the topicconsists of 5 chapters:
Trang 6Chapter 1: Overview of research and resources related to the thesis topic.
Chapter 2: Conditions for the establishment and operation of waterway transport companies in Tonkin.
Chapter 3: Activities of waterway transport companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to 1914.
Chapter 4: Activities of waterway transport companies in Tonkin from 1914 to the early 30s of the twentieth century.
Chapter 5: comments about waterway transport companies in Tonkin.
CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH AND RESOURCES RELATED
TO THE THESIS
1.1 Studies on transportation in Indochina and Vietnam
The issue of waterway transport in Indochina and Vietnam has been studied by manyresearchers: The book "Works of Indochina public transport works" by Chief Engineer A.A.Pouyanne - General Inspector of Indochina Public Works wrote by engineer Nguyen TrongGiai translated into Vietnamese in 1994; The book "Vietnamese History 1919 - 1929" by HoSong written in 1972; The book "Vietnamese history from the origins to the middle of thetwentieth century" (Translator: Nguyen Nghi) by Le Thanh Khoi published in 2016; AuthorNguyen Khac Dam wrote the book "Exploiting tactics of French capital in Vietnam" in 1957;The book "Understanding the Vietnamese bourgeoisie during the French colonial period" byNguyen Cong Binh was published in 1959; The author Chau Hai wrote in his book "Chinesecommunity groups in Vietnam" in 1992; The book "Some issues on Vietnam's economichistory", written by Le Quoc Su, was published in 1998; The book "History of VietnamTransport" was compiled in 1999 by groups of authors Phan Van Lien, Truong Giang andNguyen Dinh Thuan; The book "Vietnam under the French domination" by Nguyen The Anhwas published in 1970; The research paper "The development of transport service industry inthe 20s of the twentieth century" by Ta Thi Thuy published in the Journal of HistoricalResearch No 2 in 2007; Continuing research on Vietnam's economy in modern times, author
Ta Thi Thuy published a study on "Commercial economy in Vietnam in the early years of thetwentieth century" in Journal of Historical Research No 6, 2013; The research paper "Theposition of the Chinese in Vietnamese commerce during the French colonial period" by TranKhanh analyzed the relationship between the Chinese and French capital in the early Frenchcolonial period
1.2 The research works mentioning the problem of waterway transport in Tonkin during the French colonial period
The book "Tonkin today" translated by Tran Van Quang in 1924 of the author HenriCucherousset mentioned the situation of Tonkin in the early years of the twentieth century,assessing the capacity of seaports in Tonkin; The book "Geography of Northern Provinces" by
Do Dinh Nghiem, Ngo Vi Lien and Pham Van Thu in 1930 refers to the natural, economic conditions of each province in Tonkin The book describes the process andinstructions for moving to localities by river and road as the basis for promoting economic andtourism exchanges The book "Dai Nam Facing France and China" by Yoshiharu Tsuboi(Translator: Nguyen Dinh Dau) in 2011; Pierre Gourou's book "The farmer of Tonkin"(translator: Nguyen Khac Dam) of Pierre Gourou published in 2015; The book "The power ofthe resident and the issue of migration to Cochinchina" by Dao Trinh Nhat in 1924; The book
Trang 7socio-"Tax regime of the French colonialist in Tonkin from 1897 to 1945" by Ho Tuan Dung written
in 2003; Understanding about Hai Phong port, author Martinez Julia T published the study
"Chinese rice trade and shipping from the North Vietnamese Port of Hai Phong" in 2007;Journal article: "The formation of the urban port in northern Vietnam in the early colonialperiod - Hai Phong history (1802 - 1888)" by Vu Duong Luan was published in 2009; Theresearch paper "The national spirit in business of Vietnamese enterprises under the Frenchcolonial period: The case of Bach Thai Buoi" by Pham Xanh in 1998; Contributing to theproblem research process, the author of the thesis also invested seriously in the article
"Experience of transport business of Vietnamese companies in Tonkin in the early years of thetwentieth century ”, published in the Asia-Pacific Economic Journal No 450 - August 2015; Inaddition, a number of articles mentioned transportation issues in different aspects such as: “TheTonkin Industry and Trade Association, colleagues and Friends of the magazine with theprotection of the interests of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie ", By Pham Xanh - Nguyen DiuHuong's author, Journal of Historical Studies, No 381 (January 2008), pp.10-19; "Careerrevival activities of Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the early twentieth century", author Tran VietNghia published in the Journal of Historical Research, No 7-2008; "A brief introduction aboutthe transit of goods in transit between Hong Kong and Yunnan via the Red River from 1889 to
1899 (via the report of the Indochina Department of Tariffs and Monopolies)" by Le TrungDung published in the Journal Historical Research, No 7, 2009; "Trade relations at theVietnam - China border from the end of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentiethcentury" of Chuong Thau published in the Journal of Historical Research No 5 in 2000;
The doctoral thesis of "History of Northern Vietnam Internal Trade in the 1919 - 1939period" by Vu Thi Minh Huong was defended in 2002 at the Institute of History; The thesis
"Vietnamese bourgeois in Tonkin in the first three decades of the twentieth century" by TranThanh Huong was protected at Hanoi National University of Education in 2012; The thesis
"L'industrialization de la ville de Haiphong de la fin du xixe siècle jusqu'à l'année 1929(Industry of Hai Phong city from the end of the 19th century to 1929)" by Tran Van Kiendefensed in 2017 at Aix-Marseille University
The above studies have covered various fields related to the topic However, there has notbeen any in-depth and complete research work on the operation of waterway transportation firms inTonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century
1.3 The archives related to the subject
Contemporary daily newspaper: "Khai hoa nhat bao" was first issueed on July 15th, 1921and suspended on September 10th, 1927 "Ha Thanh ngo bao" from 1927 to 1952 is suspended
"Thuc nghiep dan bao" was published in the years 1920 - 1935 "Trung hoa nhat bao" waspublished in 1924 and ceased in 1945
The French-language files at the National Storage Center I: The File of Nha registration,properties, stamps of Indochina has 4 documents related to the topic, The File of Van Nam -Dong Duong Railway Company has 2 records, The File of Financial Department of Indochinahas 15 records, The File of Fleet of Indochina has 12 records, The File of Hanoi Doctrine has 2records, The File of the Governor of Tonkin has 171 records, The File of General Governor ofIndochina has 16 files, The File of Indochina General Public Inspector has 1 file, etc Somerecords have been digitized or readable on computers, but some are still in the form of paperdocuments written centuries ago so it is inevitable that decay, termites, fuzzy letters, andhandwriting are difficult to translate The author of the thesis must have had an academicexchange process with the French History Professor, Mr Henri Eckert - Deputy Director, aspecialized instructor in the history of the University of Antilles - University of TeacherTraining and educating Martinique to get the most accurate Vietnamese translation of theseFrench documents
Trang 8In summary, the published works mentioned above are valuable references for theauthor when researching the topic The author of the thesis hopes that his research results willfully and systematically illustrate the picture of waterway transport economic activities inTonkin in the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century systematicallyassesses its role in economic development in Tonkin and the level of influence and economicexchange brought about by waterway transport activities.
1.4 The dissertation issues inherited and focused on solving
1.4.1 The dissertation issues inherited
Firstly, the research works have focused on clarifying the role of transport, providing anoverview approach for the thesis topic From there, it is possible to compare and evaluate theperformance of the waterway transport companies in Tonkin compared to other regions
Secondly, analyzing the natural, socio-economic conditions of Tonkin which directly orindirectly impacted on waterway transport activities The above conditions determined the type
of transport, the direction of transport, the mode of transport business and the competitiveenvironment of water transport companies in Tonkin
Third, reflecting the activities of a number of transport companies in Tonkin andimportant routes Transport infrastructure, the number of ships and boats moving on the bigrivers have been mentioned Especially, the seaport systems invested and developed in: HaiPhong, Hon Gay and Nam Dinh
Fourthly, analyzing transport activities of a number of companies / traders of French,Chinese and Vietnamese groups from the end of the nineteenth century to the first 30 years ofthe twentieth century
Fifthly, clarifying the impact of transport activities on the Indochina economy, analyzingthe changes of the socio-economy of Tonkin associated with the development of transportactivities
Sixthly, aggregated data on the activities of a number of transport companies: routes,operations, human resource, volume of transportation, etc were mentioned by some works.Although the above figures are incomplete and still scattered, they are an important basis forthe thesis to research deeply
In summary, by researching the relevant documents, the author realized that up tonow, there has not been a topic focusing on in-depth research on water transport companies
in Tonkin since the end of the nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century.This is considered to be the most prosperous period for waterway transport companiesoperating in Tonkin
Besides the issues studied, some contents related to shipping companies in Tonkin fromthe end of the nineteenth century to the first 30 years of the twentieth century have not beenresolved as follows:
Firstly, works related to transport companies often reflect some fields such ascommerce, finance, agriculture and industry Some research authors have placed transportservices as a complementary industry and only reflected the activity of economic sectors ratherthan generating profits for themselves
Secondly, studies directly related to transport often reflect a number of transportdirections developed and colonized by the colonial government after World War I: roads andrailways Water transport focused mainly on Hai Phong port (sea) but the field of rivertransport had not been concerned, has not been considered the connection between the river andthe sea Therefore, it is not possible to fully and comprehensively evaluate the waterwaytransport industry in this period
Thirdly, the works mentioning transport companies have been pointed throungh, notgeneralized and clarified the process of birth, operation and competitiveness of the above
Trang 9companies Compared with other fields, the transport service industry was the only fieldwhere Vietnamese bourgeois has initially built up a position to compete with foreigncapitalists.
Fourthly, the assessments of the above works from the perspective of an economic entityassociated with Vietnamese, Chinese and French people, so they have not evaluated in theperspective of a new production and business method that the subject was involved Therefore,the study of the thesis topic has contributed to further clarifying new research perspectives ofhistory during this period
1.4.2 The dissertation issues focused on solving
Firstly, exploring the conditions for the establishment and operation of shippingcompanies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century.Thereby clarifying the nature of French colonialism in Vietnam and assessing the advantagesand disadvantages for waterway transport services
Secondly, reflecting the process of establishment and operation of waterway transportcompanies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century,which is mainly represented by three groups of companies: Vietnamese, French and Chinese
Thirdly, making some objective comments on the shipping companies in Tonkin fromthe late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century From that, it points out theeffects of waterway transport activities of these companies on the socio-economic situation ofTonkin in this period
CHAPTER 2 CONDITIONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF
WATERWAY TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN TONKIN.
2.1 Natural condition
Vietnam locating in the tropical monsoon region and the high rainfall has many riversand streams which densely arrange throughout the country The sea in hot water zone withoutfrozen is very convenient for boats The system of rivers in Tonkin is divided into two systems:the Red River system and the Thai Binh river system, flowing in the Northwest - Southeastdirection, which is quite convenient for means of goods transporting with the cheap cost TheFrench government had invested in many expeditions on Tonkin rivers with the expectation ofexporting goods to Yunnan (China) via the river in Tonkin Hanoi became the center ofdomestic goods circulation Sea freight is concentrated in Hai Phong port which was built early
by France and considered the center for the trade activities of Tonkin and international cargotransshipment to Hong Kong, Singapore or to France
However, during the flood or shallow season with the large amount of alluvium andalluvial sand in the Tonkin rivers made the transport length shorter Toward the upstream,people could not interfere too deeply due to the risk of changing in flow Tonkin often facedmany storms and tropical depressions causing floods and rising water levels The rains causeddike breaks on rivers, creating turbulence at sea, strongly affecting economic activities andwaterway transportation
2.2 Socio-economic conditions
In the period of exchanging and trading activities became more and more exciting,transportation was considered as a continuation of production and circulation, promotingproduction and business activities The waterway transport activities were created relatively earlybecause of their effectiveness and low demand for construction of the infrastructure Many new
Trang 10means of transport appearing such as: magnets (Chaloupe), barges (Chaland), shipping ships(bateau), ferries (Bac), canoes, etc increased the capacity of the tonnage many times.
In addition to the military purpose, Hai Phong port was built with the purpose of becoming
an intermediary in the process of transporting goods from Saigon to Hong Kong, connecting withthe Guangzhou border (to be rented by France from Man Thanh government), subcontracting cargo
in Tonkin before moving to Yunnan in the following manner: From Hong Kong on steamboats orIndochina shipping companies to Hai Phong, transporting goods to small ships crossing the RedRiver of riverside companies to Hanoi, travelling to Lao Cai by smaller boats, from Lao Cai totransport goods by mule or ships, rafts to Van Nam
The colonial activities of aggression and invasion had invisibly promoted thetransportation service industry In Indochina, when planning to invade Vietnam, the Frenchcolonialists focused on investing in transport infrastructure, especially rail and waterwaytransport systems with the desire to quickly transport goods to the country itself and easilytransporting goods and troops to important areas, ensuring its rule The dredged resourcesexported are mostly transported by river and sea because it will be less expensive than othertypes such as rail and road
The colonial government was extremely interested in connecting river traffic to rich areas, developing a seaport system to bring goods and minerals back to the country or to buy,sell and exchange with foreign countries With the infrastructure investment, which was part of thecolonial exploitation policy, the colonial government hoped to attract more French merchants tocome to Tonkin to do business and live Cargo transportation is still mainly compared topassengers Until road transport became popular, the colonial government still tried to maintain awater transport company because the road system was unable to reach mines, and when the rainyseason reached many routes roads were flooded, road transport was interrupted, and river routesstill promoted certain values, especially in Tonkin
resource-In Tonkin, the issue of water treatment was taken seriously by the colonial authoritiesafter surveying opinions of localities Clearing the flow and dredging the riverbed need theefforts of many businesses Expanding waterway transport activities is a way for thegovernment to save dredging costs, collect taxes and reduce intermediate costs for mineralresources and agricultural products
To save costs, the colonial government used waterway transport to transport resourcesand minerals and gather to Hai Phong port, then put them on big ships to export Tradingactivities in Tonkin were entirely in the hands of colonial government, the increased import taxmainly imposed on Japanese and Chinese goods The importation of the capitalist productionmethods made the Vietnamese economy have a profound change Some newly emergingeconomic sectors such as mineral exploitation, thermal power plants, textile factoris andcement factories were born Economic centers, urban centers and population gatherings whichwere set up, required investment and development of transport systems For the first time, thetransport sector was considered as a separate business, bringing great economic profits.Markets serving the exchange of goods were built: Dong Xuan Market (Hanoi), Buoi Market(Hanoi), Iron Market (Hai Phong), Dragon Market (Nam Dinh) and so on stimulated trade inregions The main export activities were coal, ore and importation of cotton yarn and food
Indochina Bank sought to encroach on investment in the transport sector, associated thefinancial and economic forces in Tonkin to annex this key field The presence of Indochina Bank inports of Hai Phong (1885), Hanoi (1886) and Nam Dinh (1926) attracted companies The linkbetween the two intermediary sectors, finance and transport, has created a catalyst to promoteeconomic activities in Tonkin Logistics systems for waterway transportation were built such aswarehouses, transit stations and ship repair workshops in Hai Phong, Hanoi and Nam Dinh ports.The shipbuilding and repairing workshops appearing in Tonkin were able to repair many large and
Trang 11modern ships without returning to the country: Marty and Porchet workshops, Robert Guérin Théard mechanical workshop Hai Phong Maritime Workshop, Mechanical ManufacturingCompany, Ship Mechanic Factory of Dau Ngua.
-In order to promote companies and create business power, some bourgeois found a way
to invest in the press field, considered it an advertising channel, promoting prestige, creatingcompetitive advantages for their own company From the form of business organization, whichwas small and lacked competition, entrepreneurs had to upgrade the business forms intocompanies with a legal basis and a clear business strategy, legal entity and professionalleadership and operating apparatus Increasing of seaports and steam-powered mechanical shipsbecame a symbol of national power The management of capitalist economy changed the face
of Tonkin's economy, thereby creating a foundation for large and modern motorized waterwaytransport activities
In the condition that road and rail transport did not meet the requirements of colonialauthorities, waterway transport brought about positive results when ensuring the connectionamong regions in Tonkin However, the budget for improving, dredging and adjusting the flowwhen the sand season comes was very limited Therefore, large ships and barges only run ondeep and relatively wide rivers such as Red River, Da River, Day River and Duong River Thesystems of sluices extended from Ben Thuy to Hai Phong, along with many companies'headquarters appeared at the main marinas
Socially, the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in general shew great maturity in both quantity andbusiness ability Their business activities were expanded and had larger scale The bourgeoisentering the transport business had experienced many business areas, accumulated a lot ofexperience and how to deal with foreign bourgeois as well as colonial government However, in thecourse of their business, they were always under pressure, obstructed from many sides frombourgeois French to Chinese This also made the Vietnamese bourgeois challenge to train in times
of unequal competition with the opponent but won Some classes appeared: Workers, owners,merchants, officials, intellectuals, etc These signs had created new points for the Vietnameseeconomy Some Vietnamese merchants had risen and started to have an important voice in theeconomy and politics After accumulating capital, production experience, they gradually becamethe bourgeoisie However, the presence and growth of the foreign bourgeoisie (French bourgeoisieand Chinese bourgeoisie) created great challenges for the national bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ofVietnam must compete unequally and alone in the competition with the bourgeoisie abroad TheFrench bourgeoisie represents a progressive capitalist production force, protected by thegovernment The Chinese bourgeoisie had economic experience, which had long dominated theTonkin market The development of economic sectors has led to a growing interdependence amongregions, the need for socio-economic exchanges and inter-regional connectivity has furtherpromoted the waterway transport sector strong The success of traffic works, the presence ofmodern ships on the rivers in Tonkin represent the strength of France, which was a symbol forFrance to spread its influence on the residents of colonial countries
The population in Tonkin was constantly increasing, with diverse nationalities andconcentrated in major economic centers In 1890, the number of Chinese people was close tothat of the indigenous people, especially in Hai Phong The Chinese predominate completely incommercial activities compared to the French and Vietnamese The colonial government had apolicy of discriminating between the French bourgeoisie in the native region and the rest of thecolony The economic and political protection of the colonial government has causedfrustration for the bourgeoisie of the Vietnamese and the Chinese The oppressive andexploitative policies of the French colonialists on the working class, peasantry and nationalbourgeois were the main causes of the struggle movements in Vietnam The nationalism thathad absorbed the flow of progressive ideas from the outside has awakened and aroused the will
Trang 12to fight of the classes, narrow the gap of interests and seek common voices in the struggle toprotect national interests.
2.3 Legal conditions
At this stage, the main legal provisions issued by colonial authorities by the Nguyengovernment no longer played a role in Tonkin The French government imposed taxes on boatstraveling on the river in 1886 French colonialists devised a lot of tax tactics to increaserevenue and make Chinese shipping companies suffer and reduce their competitiveness.competing with French companies The French government tightened licensing conditions forChinese who wanted to conduct sea trade activities in Tonkin In 1887, the French governmentset up a Consulate in Bac Hai (China) and established a merchant fleet in Hai Phong Fromthere, Chinese people who want to come to Vietnam trading by sea must apply for exitdocuments in Beihai or ask for rich certified merchants, go to "Duong Vu Department" to issue
a letter of introduction then come to the Consulate to in exchange for identification documents
on exit Trading via seaway in Vietnam and the North Sea was gradually controlled by theFrench
All boats traveling on the Red River had to have a passport when leaving Taxes on HaiPhong seaport were favored by the Tonkin authorities over the tariffs in Saigon port becausethey want to create space for French companies to invade the Tonkin market The governmentregulated that investments in river and seaport constructions in Tonkin, especially in HaiPhong, were borrowed Therefore, paying for the construction of traffic works, upgrading orclearing the flow every year must consider and seek the direction from the Governor of Tonkin
to the Governor General of Indochina, even to enlist the cooperation and contribution of watertransport companies The use of state budget to pay for some shipping companies was onlydone for French companies
The government also issued many strict regulations to control the train driver'squalifications, tax evasion, overcarrying the prescribed number of people, collisions, litigationdisputes, regulations on sizing and registration of ships, boats to apply for mortgage of vessels,regulating the legal status of activities in the name of a waterway transport company,conditions for establishing companies, etc These regulations created a legal corridorprofessional management is an opportunity for the waterway transport industry to grow, therewas still the French company favor
CHAPTER 3 ACTIVITIES OF WATERWAY TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN TONKIN
FROM THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO 1914
In the context of the newly established protection in Tonkin, the colonial governmentdid not have enough conditions to build the infrastructure for road transport connecting with therich areas of natural resources, so the waterway traffic was still played important role In 1886,the French company Marty and Abbadie first appeared in Hai Phong, made a big change in thewaterway transport business that had previously been dominated by the Chinese capitalists TheFrench quickly took the number one position in the shipping business market When WorldWar I broke out in 1914, the French government had to focus all its energy on the war in thecountry, so there was a loosen in shipping business in general and waterway transport inparticular Vietnamese and Chinese companies took advantage of this opportunity to asserttheir position in the period after 1914
3.1 Vietnamese waterway transport company
Trang 13The Vietnamese bourgeois was born lately, faced with many difficulties, responding tothe movement "Duy Tan drumming, Industry flag raising", in the ship transport business,Vietnamese bourgeois was quite active in Tonkin The most famous was Bach Thai Buoi withthe establishment of a transportation company; successive bourgeois Nguyen Huu Thu.
In 1909 Bach Thai Buoi established a transport company, run the route Hanoi - Nam Dinh,headquartered in Nam Dinh, operating quite often in the first two years, despite of Chinesecompetition In 1910, the routes: Hanoi - Hai Phong, Hanoi - Nam Dinh, Hanoi - Tuyen Quang,Hanoi - Cho Bo, were opened The year 1914 marked a turning point of Bach Thai Buoi Because theFrench government was focusing its efforts on the First World War in its nation, the business of BachThai Buoi was easier Realizing that this was an opportunity for career development, on August 1,
2014, Mr Bach opened another office in Hanoi Also in 1914, Mr Bach began to head in Hai Phong,although, before that, Bach Thai Buoi had had transport routes to Hai Phong, Hanoi Before 1914,Bach Thai Buoi could not stand in the transport market in Hai Phong port due to the maximummonopoly of French capitalist companies
Bach Thai Buoi's ships, when operating river routes, considered their direct competitor
to be a Chinese ships Battles for passengers led to accidents that was quite common Bach ThaiBuoi and Chinese merchants did not directly resolve disputes in the accident because they didnot want to involve the government in handling big cases It could be seen that bothVietnamese and Chinese identified difficulties if they had to compete with the French whenthey were favored by the government and the legal system in Tonkin still had many unfairproblems with indigenous people if compared to the French The French were not subject tosanctions under the law in Tonkin because the government stipulated that they were onlypunished by France A number of occasional accidents occurred due to natural disasters,usually during the high and dry seasons Bach Thai Buoi recognized the relationship betweeneconomy and politics, participating in Tonkin Chamber of Commerce was the way for BachThai Buoi to have more prestige and greater advantages in the market Bach Thai Buoi wasvery successful when receiving orders for transporting wine (exclusive French goods) to theFrench government That showed the agility of Bach Thai Company
The personnel on board were quite complete and professional, on the ships, there must
be a ship owner, a helper, a merchant, a machine supervisor and a sailor (maître d’équipage - acrew) Bach Thai Buoi boldly hired many Chinese and French to work for his company Atleast 50% employees working on board were foreigners Bach Thai Buoi often acquired thefacilities of the old companies, and also reserved the business rights of these companies.Therefore, Bach Thai Buoi proved to be quite positive when acquiring rival companies not onlyfor facilities but also for the great benefits from the privileges that only French companies have.All orders and interests of the colonial government assigned to the French company werereserved and transferred to Bach Thai Buoi This approach had helped Bach Thai Buoi buildreputation for the company's activities in the future
In short, the Vietnamese transportation company was lately established, but it operatedvigorously, competed strongly with Chinese and French companies The growth of even oneindividual, Bach Thai Buoi, inspired Vietnamese businessmen to confidently and bravelyinvolve in many economic and political fields in Indochina
3.2 Chinese shipping companies
Chinese shipping companies were born early and considered to be a business that gaveChinese people significant profits and benefits Like other places, the Chinese went whereverthey lived, they also set up shopping centers and considered that place as "second homecountry" - the second hometown Their businesses were built up very orderly, solitarily, withactivities to support and help each other Even when the Nguyen government surrenderedcompletely to the French colonialists in 1884, the transport business market in Tonkin was still