Vietnam has a rich and deeply intriguing history that dates back to the first century BCE (Before Common Era).
History of Vietnam
In 111 BCE, Vietnam was conquered by the Chinese Han dynasty. The Chinese maintained their stronghold over Vietnam until939 AD …nearly one-thousand years. In that year, the Vietnamese finally took back their country and began to expand south. By the eighteenth century, they’d taken over land as far south as the Gulf of Siam. Unfortunately in 1884, Vietnam was once again overtaken by the French. Ho Chi Min started the Viet Minh, which were several anti-French groups.
The French held their place in Vietnam for over sixty years until Japan took power from them in March of 1945. From then on, the Viet Minh started to take back small parts of their country while stationed at mountain bases in the north. The Viet Minh were able to take back Vietnam and on September 2,1945 the Vietnamese declared democratic independence. Despite their declaration, the French regained control of Vietnam. In 1946, the Viet Minh attacked the French in Hanoi which started another war that would last eight long years. In 1954, the French were defeated once and for all at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
In that same year, Vietnam was split into two; the anti-communist south and the communist north. The United States supported South Vietnam’s anticommunist efforts and in 1965, the US (along with several other countries) joined forces with the South and engaged in what would be one of the costliest wars in history.
In 1968, the Paris peace talks commenced though the United States did continue to provide South Vietnam with ground, sea and air support until a peace agreement was signed in January of 1973. After the peace agreement was signed, thousands of Vietnamese troops from the North infiltrated the South. At that time, they were joining more than 160,000 already in the South.
At the beginning of 1975，the North launched a major offensive and Saigon fell on April 30th of that year. After the fall of Saigon, the former Democratic Republic of Vietnam was named the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Later in 1977, Vietnam became part of the United Nations.
In addition to the infamous Vietnam-American War, the Vietnamese fought another war with neighboring Cambodia. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Democratic Kampuchea (in Cambodia), fought several small battles at the border between the two. In December of 1978, Vietnam seized power of Kampuchea and removed the Khmer Rouge form of government from power.
Not only did Vietnam have to deal with the long and devastating Vietnam War as well as the Cambodian War, they were on the embargo list with the United States for over twenty years. In 1995, President Bill Clinton lifted the embargo and the United States has been trading with Vietnam since
Vietnam now has trade established with well over one-hundred countries and diplomatic relations with over one-hundred and sixty. More than fifty foreign countries have invested in Vietnam as well. The people there are known for being able to face any challenge they encounter and are also known for being friendly and accommodating to newcomers
ASEAN Member Nations
Southeast Asian countries in general suffer periodically from incredibly destructive natural weather related disasters. The most common is that of high winds and tornadoes, although there may also be strong monsoon tropical storms and typhoons periodically along the coastal areas.
With the history of Vietnam out of the way, let’s talk about why it’s such a great country to travel or expatriate to!