What this lesson teaches
I can weigh up which circumstances mattered most in leading a European power to take more control in Southeast Asia.
Syllabus K330, Extension of European Control in Southeast Asia, Learning Outcomes. Assess the circumstances that led to the extension of European influence in Southeast Asia.
Make a guess
Why do you think France wanted Tonkin in northern Vietnam?
- It hoped the Red River would open trade with China, and feared Britain.
- It wanted Tonkin's oil fields to fuel the French navy's warships.
- Tonkin's people asked France to protect them from China.
Show the answer
It hoped the Red River would open trade with China, and feared Britain.
French promoters dreamed of markets in southern China. Rivalry with Britain and lost pride after 1870 added pressure.
France hoped Tonkin would open trade with China and boost its power, and it feared Britain would get there first.
Tonkin's Red River seemed to offer a route to markets in southern China. French promoters hoped goods could travel along it between the coast and buyers inland. This would give French businesses more customers and resources. Controlling ports, routes and trade rules would help secure that access. But these were hopes, not proof the route would make the promised profits.
Imperial rivalry, competition between states building empires, also mattered. French leaders feared Britain would gain influence and shut France out of a valuable region. France had also been defeated in Europe in 1870 by Prussia, a major German state, and its allies. Gaining colonies could help restore France's standing in the world.
Divisions within the Vietnamese court, the emperor and his officials, and local conflicts made it harder for Vietnam to resist together. These conditions created openings. But French officers and politicians still chose to use pressure and force.
In 1885, Jules Ferry, a leading French politician and former prime minister, told parliament that colonies brought markets and national power. He was speaking in a debate about funding a campaign in Madagascar. His speech shows how he argued for empire. It was not the order that started the Tonkin expeditions, and it does not prove empire helped the Vietnamese people.
- Red River
- Hoped-for trade route to southern China.
- Rival
- Fear that Britain would gain the region first.
- Jules Ferry, 1885
- Argued that colonies brought markets and power.
Worked example: A route and a rival
Explain how hopes of trade and fear of Britain worked together.
- France hopes the Red River will open trade with China.
- It fears Britain might take control of that trade first.
- So the fear makes France act faster to take Tonkin.
Watch out for this
Economic and political motives must be kept completely separate.
They often worked together. Trade gave power, and power protected trade.
Check your understanding
What did Jules Ferry's 1885 speech show?
- The order that started the French conquest of Tonkin in 1883.
- How a French leader argued that empire brought markets and power.
- That French empire brought clear benefits to the Vietnamese people.
Show the answer
How a French leader argued that empire brought markets and power.
Yes. It shows the arguments used to win support for empire.