Tonquin Stood In Very Much The Same Relationship To China As Corea; And,
Although The Enforcement Of The Suzerain Tie Was Lax, There Was No Doubt
That At Pekin The Opinion Was Held Very Strongly That The Action Of France
Was An Encroachment On The Rights Of China.
But if such was the secret
opinion of the Chinese authorities, they took no immediate steps to arrest
the development of French policy in Tonquin by proclaiming it a Chinese
dependency, and also their intention to defend it.
It is by no means
certain that the prompt and vigorous assertion of their rights would have
induced the French to withdraw from their enterprise, for its difficulties
were not revealed at first; but if China is to make good her hold over
such dependencies, she must be prepared to show that she thinks them worth
fighting for. While Li Hung Chang and the other members of the Chinese
government were deliberating as to the course they should pursue, the
French were acting with great vigor in Tonquin, and committing their
military reputation to a task from which they could not in honor draw
back. During the whole of the year 1883 they were engaged in military
operations with the Black Flag irregulars, a force half piratical and half
patriotic, who represented the national army of the country. It was
believed at the time, but quite erroneously, that the Black Flags were
paid and incited by the Chinese. Subsequent evidence showed that the
Chinese authorities did not taken even an indirect part in the contest
until a much later period. After the capture of Hanoi, the French were
constantly engaged with the Black Flags, from whom they captured the
important town of Sontay, which was reported to be held by imperial
Chinese troops, but on its capture this statement was found to be untrue.
The French were in the full belief that the conquest of Tonquin would be
easily effected, when a serious reverse obliged them to realize the
gravity of their task. A considerable detachment, under the command of
Captain Henri Riviere, who was one of the pioneers of French enterprise on
the Songcoi, was surprised and defeated near Hanoi. Riviere was killed,
and it became necessary to make a great effort to recover the ground that
had been lost. Fresh troops were sent from Europe, but before they arrived
the French received another check at Phukai, which the Black Flags claimed
as a victory because the French were obliged to retreat.
Before this happened the French had taken extreme measures against the
King of Annam, of which state Tonquin is the northern province. The king
of that country, by name Tuduc, who had become submissive to the French,
died in July, 1883, and after his death the Annamese, perhaps encouraged
by the difficulties of the French in Tonquin, became so hostile that it
was determined to read them a severe lesson. Hue was attacked and occupied
a month after the death of Tuduc, and a treaty was extracted from the new
king which made him the dependent of France.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 334 of 366
Words from 174264 to 174780
of 191255
