discuss the role of religions groups in the development of anti colonial feeling in vietnam against french
Answers
Religion played an important role in uniting Vietnanese against colonial control. Vietnam's religious beliefs were a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism and local practices.
The French missionaries introduced Christianity and tried to convert Vietnamese to Christianity. This gave rise some religious groups in Vietnam which aroused anti-colonial feeling in the country.
a) The Scholar's Revolt:
1. Started in 1868 was led by officials at the imperial court.
2. These officials were angered by the spread of Catholicism and French Power.
3. They led a general uprising in Ngu An and Ha Tien provinces where over a thousand Catholics were killed.
4. The French successfully crushed the movement but this uprising inspired other patriots to rise up against them.
b) Hoa Hao Movement:
1. Another movement called Hoa Hao Movement, started in 1939 in the fertile Mekong delta area.
2. It drew on religious ideas popular in anti-French uprisings in the 19th century. Its founder was Huynh Phu So. He opposed the sale of child brides, gambling and the use of alcohol and opium.
3. The French tried to suppress the movement inspired by Huynh Phu So. They declared him mad. But when in 1941, even the French doctors declared that he was sane, the French authorities exiledhim in Laos.
4. These movements were of great significance in arousing anti-colonial sentiments in Vietnam.