Nguyen dynasty’s second war against Siam in 1842

Abstract

After the failure of the 1834-invasion, Siam had not given up its expansionist intentions to the East, closely monitoring the situation in Dai Nam, and waiting for an opportunity to take revenge. In 1840, taking advantage of the Khmer’s dissatisfaction with Nguyen policies, the Siamese King Rama III supported Khmer King Nặc Ông Giun (Ang Duong) to raise a new revolt against the Nguyen Dynasty in Tran Tay protectorate (the Khmer land of the Chan Lap kingdom that was annexed by Hue court since 1835). Siam also sent troops to fight against Vietnamese army. In 1841, Emperor Minh Mang passed away, and his son Thieu Tri came tothe throne with a decision to temporarily withdraw troops from Tran Tay. Bangkok seized the opportunity,dispatched Chao Phraya Bodin to invade Vietnam once again. Vietnamese resistance took place fiercely fromFebruary to July 1842, and can be seen as a glorious page in the history of the Nguyen Dynasty and thenation. Like the defensive war in 1834, the 1842-fight, although carefully recorded in the official history ofthe Nguyen Dynasty and mentioned in many historical works in the 20th and early 21st centuries, has not yetreceived due attention, research and widespread dissemination from Vietnamese historians. In order tocontribute to a more comprehensive understanding of this war in particular and history of the NguyenDynasty in general, this initially synthesizes and researches related documents to, on the one hand, provide aliterature review of the event and, on the other hand, outline the main features of the resistant war and itssignificance in the national history