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The History of Vietnam dates back to 2879 B.C., when the first ruler of Vietnam, Hung Vuong founded the nation. The people of Vietnam are the descendants of the nomadic Mongols who migrated from China. China ruled the nation from 111 B.C. which was then called Nam Viet. The rule continued till the 15th century when the Cambodians were pushed out from the southern area of the country. History of Vietnam is rich and will give an interesting insight into the land and its people.
The Portuguese entered the country a century later. Then, came the France who established themselves in the 19th century. The French conquered the three regions of Cochin-China in the south, the Tonkin in the north and the Annam in the central region.
The unification of Vietnam was first done in 1887 after the creation of single governor-generalship. Then a rail and road system connection was made between north and south. There were internal differences among the three regions till the beginning of World War II. In the year 1940, Japan took over military bases in Vietnam, paving the way for a pro-Vichy French administration. Then afterwards, Ho Chi Minh started movement for independence bringing the weak influence of France to good use. This movement was known as Vietminh. After the war, the followers of Ho Chi Minh seized Hanoi and declared a republic which was short lived. The republic ended after the arrival of the French forces in 1946.
After the bitter defeat on May 5, 1954, at Dien Bien Phu in the northwest Vietnam, the French got defeated and resulted in the division of Vietnam. In the southern region, the monarch was deposed and Ngo Dinh Diem who was the prime minister made himself the president. Dienm with U S backing tried to create an authoritarian regime and suppressed all opposition. But he could not eradicate the Northern communist Viet Cong. A full scale war broke out with U S involvement with the result of many military governments running the country.
There were U S bombing as well as invasion of Cambodia during the sumer of 1970 and it was the end of major U S participation in the fight. By mid 1971, most of the U S troops were withdrawn from fighting. A peace negotiations led by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger happened with the signing of peace settlement in Paris on January 27, 1973.
By the end of April 9, 1975, the troops of Hanoi went close to 40 miles of Saigon. The president of South Vietnam, Thieu fled after resigning. The General Duong Van Ming, who was the new president surrendered the South Capital, Saigon on April 30 and ended the war. The toll from the war was the lives of 1.3 million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans.
According to History of Vietnam, there were border clashes between Vietnam and Cambodia in 1977. China also accused that its residents in Vietnam were subjected to persecution. In 1979, Vietnam was conducting two front wars, on one side defending the northern border from Chinese invasion and helping its army in Cambodia against the war against Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerrillas. The Vietnam troops started limited withdrawals from Laos and Cambodia in 1988.
The trade ban of U. S. on Vietnam was lifted in February 1994, which was imposed since the involvement of U S in the war. Full diplomatic relationship was established in July 1995.
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