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The Nationalist Movement in Indo-China
How was the education policy unfavourable to the Vietnamese students during the colonial period? Explain.
Schools textbooks glorified the French and justified colonial rule. School children were told that only French rule could ensure peace in Vietnam, even if that meant destroying local cultures, religions and traditions, because these were seen as outdated and prevented modern development. Schools became an important place for political and cultural battles. The French sought to strenghten their rule in Vietnam through the control of education. They tried to change the values, norms and perceptions of the people, to make them believe in the superiority of French Civilisation and the inferiority of the Vietnamese. There was a deliberate policy of failing students, particularly in the final year, so that they could not qualify for the better-paid jobs.
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Only one-third of the students in Vietnam would pass the school-leaving examinations.
The French began building canals and draining lands in the Mekong delta.
The government made the Saigon Native Girls School take back the students it had expelled.
Rats were most common in the modern, newly built areas of Hanoi.
Describe the ideas behind the Tonkin Free School. To what extent was it a typical example of colonial ideas in Vietnam?
What was Phan Chu Trinh’s objective for Vietnam? How were his ideas different from those of Phan Boi Chau?
With reference to what you have read in this chapter, discuss the influence of China on Vietnam’s culture and life.
What was the role of religious groups in the development of anti-colonial feelings in Vietnam?
Explain the causes of the US involvement in the war of Vietnam. What effect did this involvement have on life within the US itself?
Write an evaluation of the Vietnamese War against the US from the point of view of:
(a) a porter on the Ho Chi Minh trail.
(b) a woman soldier.
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