Transcript Vietnam

Vietnam
Vietnam, a nation located
along the eastern coast of
Southeast Asia, has had
a turbulent history.
Emerging as a distinct
civilization during the 1st
millennium BC, Vietnam
was controlled by China
during the Han Dynasty
and subject to 1,000
years of foreign rule.
Later in the 19th century, it
was absorbed into French
Indochina. Deprived of a
political and economic
role by the colonial
administration,
Vietnamese patriots
turned to protest or revolt.
By the late 1930’s, the
Communist party became
the leading force in the
movement.
During WWII, Japan
occupied Vietnam
until their surrender in
August 1945. Shortly
before in 1941, the
Viet Minh, an antiJapanese and antiFrench front founded
by Ho Chi Minh
revolted and seized
power. For eight
years they fought a
war against colonial
rule which ended in
1954 with the Battle
of Dien Bien Phu.
Shortly after, the major
powers met at Geneva
and divided Vietnam at
the 17th parallel and
called for national
elections in 1956 to
reunify the country. Ho
Chi Minh established a
Communist government
in North Vietnam. The
territory in the south
became the Republic of
Vietnam, though it was
commonly called South
Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem, who
vigorously opposed
Communist control,
became president of
South Vietnam in 1955.
With the approval of the
United States, he refused
to go along with the
proposed nationwide
election. He argued that
the Communists would
not permit fair elections in
North Vietnam. President
Eisenhower sent several
hundred U.S. civilian and
military advisers to assist
Diem.
In 1963, widespread unrest
broke out among the
Buddhists in South
Vietnam, who claimed the
government restricted
their religious practices.
This led to political unrest
in South Vietnam. From
1957 to 1965, the
struggle was mainly
between the South
Vietnamese army
(supported by the U.S.)
and the Communisttrained South Vietnamese
rebels known as Viet
Cong.
From 1965 to 1969 U.S. and North Vietnam did
most of the fighting. In 1968 the North
Vietnamese opened a new phase called the Tet
Offensive. They attacked major cities including
the South Vietnam capitol Saigon.
In 1973, a cease-fire
agreement was signed in
Paris by the United States,
South Vietnam, North
Vietnam, and Viet Cong. It
permitted North Vietnam to
leave troops in the south
and called for internationally
supervised elections to
decide the political future of
South Vietnam. North
Vietnam helped establish
Communist governments in
Laos and Cambodia in
1975. In 1976, it officially
united North and South
Vietnam into the single
nation of Vietnam.
About 58,000 American
military personnel
died in the war, and
about 300,000 were
wounded. South
Vietnamese losses
ranged between
500,000 and 1 million.
Countless numbers of
civilians in North and
South Vietnam also
were killed.
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Population: 86,116,559
Religions: Buddhist 9.3%,
Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao
1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%,
Protestant 0.5%, Muslim
0.1%, none 80.8%
Government: Communist
Economy: the last 30 years has had to
recover from the ravages of war, the loss of
financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and
the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy.
GDP Ranking: 47th