Vietnam History - A Brief Overview

The Communist Party of North Vietnam invades South Vietnam in March 1975, taking control of the entire country. The city of Saigon is renamed Ho Chi Minh City. The Socialist Republic of Vietnamese is proclaimed in 1976, and in 1979, the Communist Party forces push back Chinese troops from the border. Today, the Communist Party remains a strong force in Vietnamese society, but in the late 1970s the country embraced more democracy.

The Communists of North Vietnam took over in 1954, with the support of the United States and the Soviet Union. However, they were not able to hold elections to reunify the country. Instead, they attacked the capital city of Saigon and renamed it Ho Chi Minh City. The war resulted in an uneasy peace in the South and a return to civil war. The two sides fought in the Mekong Delta, with South Vietnam claiming the territory of Cambodia and the Mekong Delta.

From the 11th century on, the Communist Party seized power. General Nguyen Van Thieu was made chief of state and Air Vice Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky became prime minister. In March 1967, a new constitution was approved, establishing a strong executive and bicameral legislature. In addition, Thieu and Ky were elected president and vice president, respectively. Despite the many reforms and changes, the military junta government continued to face problems. The heavy fighting and unrest in 1968 and 1969 forced many people to seek refuge in cities. The Tet offensive in 1968 caused heavy damage to the Tongking Delta. Click here for more details about Ngàn Năm Sử Việt

In the early nineteenth century, ancient Vietnamese inhabited the northern region. During the third century BC, they established the state of Au Lac. In 179 BC, the Au Lac Empire annexed the territory. In the year 939, a group of warlords allied with the Dinh Bo Linh clan, unified the country, and proclaimed themselves Dinh Tien Hoang, the first king of the country. In 1869, the French occupied the Indochina Peninsula, and the French eventually ended the reign of the Dinh dynasty.

After independence, the Vietnamese were able to assert their independence and expanded their role in southeast Asia. In the next century, a series of European invasions caused the country to fall into conflict with the communists. The Communists, in turn, were defeated by the Communists in a guerilla war. The French, however, ruled the country for a decade. Fortunately, they did not invade China. They remained loyal to their emperor, but did cause great division in Southeast Asia.

After the Communists won the war, the military junta became the ruling authority. They became the most powerful people in the country and imitated China's culture. As a result, they became afraid of the Communists and developed their military capabilities. By the eleventh century, the Buddhists began to imitate the Chinese, and Buddhist religion grew in popularity. They also learned about Confucianism and other ideas, which they used as the basis of their state.