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Having in mind the primary ideology of the ind. movement in Vietnam (nationalism, socialism, and communism), the religion as such did not play significant role in the formation of the movement.
However, the fact that the ruling minority in Vietnam was Catholic, we might say that the religion served to instigate opposition and tensions between different social groups.

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Non- violent Methods of achieving  independence 

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Non- violent Methods of achieving  independence 

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- Diplomatic relations with China-USSR,  were developed due to their communist mentality and became Vietnams main allies. On the other hand  due to technical difficulties and communication issues negotiations were not as effective. Having to take its own revolution as a top priority the CCP was unable to offer direct support to Vietnam before 1949. Additionally  by the end of the Vietnam-Wars Vietnam and Beijing became enemies

- Ho Chi Minh gave a unitary speech in 1941 and wrote a  letter to unite the people of Vietnam and spread the the word of revolution arguing for nationalism, communism, national liberation, unity and  combined forces to overthrow the Japanese and French troops

- Ho Chi Minh came wrote a detailed plan for Vietnams ultimate emancipation and independence  forwarded to the Versailles peace conference while at the same time he became a member of the Young Socialist news papers at the end of WWI. This plan was considered quite moderate arguing about the freedom that the Vietnamese deserve, as well as equality and legal rights for the people

- Ho also made an effort to plead the case of his country in front of the  President of the United States Wilson, however he was turned down in 1919, meaning that Vietnam had lost a potential ally

- The Vietminh followed an effective strategy focussing on securing their rear base in the mountains of  North Vietnam
-  Politically the Vietminh retained a high degree of popularity and nationalist legitimacy in France as there was political and public support towards a negotiated solution

- During 1946 Ho hoped to cement his relationship with the US via its 0SS agents. Moreover he also quoted the American delegation of independence in one of his speeches ''we hold these truths that all men are created equal'' that we very effective towards Vietnams fight for independence.

- France on the other hand was determined to regain control of the region, which forced Ho to sign an agreement in order to ''buy time'' which was said  would lead towards  the Ultimate Vietminh independence. As part of this agreement France was allowed to sustain troops in Vietnam for the next several years

- Lastly, the above non-violent methods ended with the Geneva Conference in 1954 where Vietnam supported by China and the USSR. Finally, In July 1954, the Geneva Agreements were signed. As part of the agreement, the French agreed to withdraw their troops from northern Vietnam. Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel, pending elections within two years to choose a president and reunite the country.

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An indirect cause was the on-going war Vietnam had with China, their traditional enemy, lasting more than 2,000 yrs. Despite having been part of their empire and absorbing their customs, they never accepted Chinese rule, and had a history of great struggle, always doing their best to defend their country and build their own separate identity from China. 😳

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WW1
Vietnam  was under French possession  and part of French Indochina. While seeking to increase  the use of Indochina's  resources and manpower to fight the war, France broke down all patriotic movements in Vietnam.

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Violent methods of achieving independence 

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Violent methods of achieving independence 

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- independent fighter groups (since 1862) --> challenged &weakened French control, made Vietnam a costly colony and thus even internally some French opposed the colonization of Vietnam
- US support: military training by OSS --> although Vietnamese military groups already had experience with war, it was important that 1. US, a very powerful country at the time, supported them and 2. They had training by professional troops, so they were familiarized with tactics not used in guerrilla fighting
- guerrilla forces (during WWII, headquarters in Red River near the border with China) --> an effort to create a military force that answers back to an authority (Ho and Vietminh) and does not function independently according to the interest of its members --> organisation of country's forces and preparation to fight with the powerful military of France, Japan etc
- armed struggles- 1st Indochina war (1946-1954) --> war is always an important factor in achieving independence since the winner can establish his rule over the territory, in the case of the Franco-Vietnamese war the latter won and thus they could negotiate for the terms of their independence
- Ho eliminated non communist and opposition groups --> this  did not always happen with violent means and it is not a form of opposition to the colonial power, BUT it did help unite the country and its fighters under one leader and one party, thus making it easier for Ho to deal with the external threats (France, US, China etc) without having to face internal struggles

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Clearly, countries such as China  had their own interests in mind. This lead to the Chinese supporting and -to an extent fuelling- the Vietnamese calls for independence, while the US tried to block them.

Vietnamese independence would've been very different had the Chinese and the Soviets not supplied the Vietnamese Communists with guns, artillery, and other means of consolidating their power and blocking that of others.

3 of China's goals, for example, were to:

Consolidate the North

Promote the revolution in the South

Win people’s sympathy and support [peace-loving people, national independence & democracy lovers]

and that wouldn't have been possible without Chinese intervention and thus fostering the growth of the independence movement.

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They were backed by more powerful forces;

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They were backed by more powerful forces;

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The issue of Vietnam's independence was of great importance to the world powers, everyone raced to make  Vietnam independent, but in their own terms. China funded and aided the Viet MInh in the hopes of creating a communist state, with the USSR also helping, while the US also funded the Viet Minh in the hopes of creating a western state, that would expand the US' influence in the region. This had the consequence of empowering independence movements via the provision of funding and arms.

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WW2
WW2 and Vietnam contribution in it served as catalyst.The war definitely speed things up in Vietnam's road to independence.  The military aid they got but also seeing France get defeated by other countries served as a call  for the Vietnamese + giving them ideas that they could be strong (military wise) and they could achieve defeating France.
Vietnam was occupied by the Japanese and to fight them they got aid from communist superpowers countries (China ; USSR ).This was one of the first times that Vietnam got a sense of a full armed military.

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Unexpectedly, the US also somewhat helped the independence of Vietnam.

The US, being a former colony, tried to liberate other colonies/weaken colonialist efforts whenever possible.

This is why Vietnamese independence was so controversial amongst the US population: They were colonised, but at the same time they were also communists.

Long story short, one can clearly see the US aiding Vietnamese independence by simply looking at parts of Ho Chi Minh's declaration of independence, which reads:

"All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

These words were Jefferson's own , and this clearly points to the American Declaration of independence as a sort of inspiration for Vietnamese Independence.

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Initial Foundations of Socialism. Workers party and Communist party decided to switch to Socialism by passing the capitalist development.

1958:  period of socialist transformation began.

Resulted in: formation of state economic sector, conversion of private capitalist industrial and commercial undertakings into State or joint State-private enterprises, and creation of handicraft cooperatives.

In the North the communists had embarked on a program intended to revolutionise the socioeconomic structure.

The economic change was both political and social, based on Marxist class struggle.

Classes were eliminated and a proletarian dictatorship was established in which in which workers and peasants emerges as new masters of socialist and ultimately classes state.

Worker-peasant alliance created.

Land reform began in 1953 completed by 1957.   About 15,000 landlords or “enemies of the state” executed in early years.

Government recognised excesses and some land returned to those who had been imprisoned or families of those executed “in error.” 1958-59: low-level cooperatives introduced.  Establishment of agricultural cooperatives which by end of 1960 covered about 86% of peasant households.

Economic difficulties:  unstable agricultural development due to the weather.  Heavy industry:  still embryonic, transportation system rudimentary,  lack of skilled workers and management, low productivity and living standards.

Lack of appropriate technology and equipment for harvesting and working the land. The Vietnamese in the North did not mange to have a steady growth in harvesting numbers.

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- Upper class vietnamese families gave their children a french education which expanded their ideologies.
- The french exploited the vietnamese work force forcing them to work for long hours in inhumane conditions.
- Taxes were insanely high and most of what was produced in agriculture was exported leaving the vietnamese to starve. Approximately 60% of the crops were sold by the landlords.
- Few peasants were able to cultivate their own land (15% of the land was peasant owned) and most worked for landlords that exploited them and owned 45% of the land.
- widespread famine fueled the rebellions as the government refused to offer help.
- Demonstrations and small guerilla groups had been active throughout the time of the french rule. The violent french response to demonstrations caused a lot of anger and strengthened the desire for independence. The guerillas, although mostly unsuccesful, showcased the percevierance of the vietnamese which was often encouraging for the people.
- The Vietnamese were given no administrative power, choices or any civil liberties. This especially angered the educated minority that was able to identify the injustice.

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Before the war against the french 90% of Vietnam's population lived in squalor as impoverished farmers. Followoing the achievment of independence the north purusued a policy of massive socieconomic restructuring while the south preserved most elements of colonial rule. Before independece society was heavily stratified with the french at the top of the food chain followed by wealthy urban vietnamese "aristocrats" and wealthy land owners that also often served as village leaders. A small and weak middle class of urban dwelling technicians and specialists was developing however it was overshadowed by a massive lower class of uneducated farmers that sustained vietnam's rice export based economy.
Vietnam maintained its tribal and clan based organization as well as its deeply animist beliefs.
Many indegenous groups existed beyond the reach of colonial authorities in the north especially such as the Kha and Hmong.

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The winning of important strategic battles;

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The winning of important strategic battles;

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Although the Viet Minh were weaker militarily  than the French, the winning of Dien Bien Phu was of great stratigic importance, bringing them substantial say over the matter of their independence in the Geneva conference.
Additionally by humiliating the French they shifted public perception against the war.

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-Soldiers prepared to sacrifice themselves for the independence of their nation.
- Different political parties united under the same cause
- Supported by peasants, workers and farmers

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Independence French and no influence from the Chinese

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Independence French and no influence from the Chinese

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Ho Chi Minh’s nationalist ideas and policies allowed Vietnam to not only be independent from the French in first place, but also to have support of major powers like the People's Republic of China without being under their influence. The Vietminh needed weapons from China to fight, but it was the Vietminh’s war, not something other powers forced them to do.

Ho Chi Minh Thought, as codified by the Communist Party of Vietnam, describes the following as the core of ideological system of Ho Chi Minh Thought:

National liberation, class liberation, human liberation;

National independence

National Unity

People's ownership, building the true State of the people, by the people, for the people;

National defense of all people, building of the people's armed forces;

Economic and cultural development, constantly improving the material and spiritual life of the people;

Revolutionary ethics needs, thrifty, integrity, righteousness and impartiality;

Take care of fostering revolutionary generations for the next life;

Building a clean, strong Party, cadres and party members who are both leaders and loyal servants of the people

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- Support from the majority of the population
- There were not many supporters of the French in Vietnam, and even those who supported them did not have much power.

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Also known as the Anti-French Resistance war in Vietnam, the First French Indochina War lasted from 1946 to 1954. The unexpected forces of the Vietminh, and their success due to their skills united people across the country in a nationalist movement led by Ho Chi Minh. The end of the war led to the Geneva conference, and should be considered a direct cause as the Vietnamese were fighting for their independence.

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The Dien Bien Phu Battle
- The specific battle was a direct cause of the raising desire towards an independent country.
- The French made huge miscalculations and also they underestimated Vietnam's forces
(with military aid from China and USSR ) and determination to win the war
- The Vietnamese soldiers used techniques like camouflaging and digging up different tunnels + emphasis how Vietnam was very inspired and determined to stay united and win the war so they could gain Independence from the French
-The winning of the war led to the Geneva Conference in 1954 where Vietnam got disappointed  thinking they would get independence but instead they got out with a more complicated situation with a division of Vietnam in two parts (South and North )

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The oppression of the Montagnards, a minority mostly living in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, is one great example of the racial inequity which best describes post-war Vietnam. Montagnard local leaders were being executed in order to stress the inclusiveness of Vietminh by shifting the minorities’ attention solely towards the party.

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- The movement was gaining traction in Africa and India
- Recent Korean independence from the Japanese (1945)
- The movement was supported by the US and USSR alike, despite ideological differences
- Seeing many other countries push for independence, gave the Vietnamese more confidence in their own movement

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Also, Vietnam's need for independence rendered each soldier expandable. They were prepared to sacrifice as many people as they needed to win the war while the french were short in soldiers

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Vietnam's economy was based mainly on agriculture before French colonialism. However, the French then exploited Vietnam's resources to benefit French industrialisation. Rice cultivation was quadrupled but most of it was exported while leaving the Vietnamese peasants underpaid and little food resources

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For the independence of Vietnam, a nationalist ideology was vital in achieving national sovereignty. As a nation, Vietnam ‘s ideology was deeply nationalist and that was the major reason in attaining independence. This ideology allowed for unity amongst  people of all classes. The result was what was called by many a “people's war”. United Vietnam was fighting the french as a collective force. Where the french lacked motivation the Vietnamese overmatched them.

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Communism bringing all Vietminh together

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Communism bringing all Vietminh together

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Ho Chi Mihn’s communist ideology greatly contributed to make a strong army able to fight the French. The communist ideal made all people feel part of a unique force, thus when the objective was to achieve independence and they had to fight, everyone contributed to the war effort and that is why Vietminh were ready to sacrifice themselves whenever was needed to achieve a result: they were motivated.

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After 1960, the Vietminh pushed towards granting local autonomy to small tribes and larger minorities scattered throughout the state, while mostly requiring authorisation by the government in order to move forward with any local action

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-Although the Viet Minh had weaker numbers, the clever use of guerrilla strategies allowed them to mask this weakness, and led to them overpowering the French armies.
-General Vo Nguyen Giap was also instrumental in winning Dien Bien Phu, utilizing anti-aircraft artillery and strategically positioning his troops.
-The underestimation from the French also favored the Viet Minh and they took advantage of that. The French built a poor base in the heart of the jungle that could only be resupplied and aided via aircraft, being blind to the blatant weaknesses of the base, and the fact that they were in the middle of a valley and could be easily bombarded from the surrounding hills. Additionally they dispersed their base creating weak individual base parts, that the Viet Minh bombarded one at a time.

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Another race facing harsh criticism by the Vietnamese government while also being used by the French  as a pawn in order to create racial balance in Vietnam by forcing the Islamic religion on them were the Champa, an ethnic minority mostly living in Cambodia (600,000), with large numbers in Vietnam, too (178,000).

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Communism was also what joined Vietminh and and China as a major power: if the Chinese gave weapons and ammunition to the Vietminh, it was because both nations were communist and were fighting against a capitalist power, so they had a common target in this case. Without the support of China (supported at that time from the major communist country, the Soviet Union), which was a neighboring country, the Vietminh would not have had the artillery thanks to which they defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu.

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Recover from the first war of independence 

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Recover from the first war of independence 

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After North Vietnam became independent, the spirit of cooperation of the Vietminh also allowed them to have a more solid and stable political and administrative structure than the south, still under capitalist influence. This allowed the Vietminh to prepare the second war to invade Saigon.

When speaking about the way of administrate a country, communism has primary concepts to be put in practice, like collectivization and no private poverty: everything is done in order to leave no one behind and live at the same level. In addition Ho Chin Minh had been a general and knew how to take hard decisions.

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1st Indochina War (tactics used by the Vietminh) 

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1st Indochina War (tactics used by the Vietminh) 

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- rear base in the mountains in North Vietnam (1947) and guerrilla warfare
-plan to attack the countryside collectively and  political risings in urban areas (organised attacks helped with the formation of a more conventional military force that could participate in large -scale attacks) However the Vietnamese forces still mostly functioned as guerrilla groups (probably a better  choice since France did have a more organised military, so a direct large scale attack would probably result in Vietnam's loss)
- China provided military aid (and advice) thus turning "peasant army" to an effective and well armed force
- Die Bien Phu battle --> resulted in Vietnamese victory and thus gave Vietnam an advantage and the right to participate to the Geneva Conference
- The narrative of "The People's War" --> gave courage to the people to fight effectively because they were fighting for their future!

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Post-war Vietnamese governance mostly focused on educating the youth in order for them to be able to replace the current government with the same values and aspirations as Ho Chi Minh’s cabinet. The main goal of the Vietminh was to properly transfer the communist values to the next generation in order to preserve the regime.

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A Vietnamese revolutionary and politician, Uncle Ho was a nationalist before he was a Communist. Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the Communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at the Battle of Điện Bien Phu, ending the First Indochina War. He was a key figure in the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.

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 He  was a General, Commander in Chief of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) and Vietnamese politician. He played a major role as a commander in the First Indochina War (1946–1954) and the Vietnam War (1960–1975) in which he was involved directly in many important campaigns such as the Border Campaign in Fall–Winter (1950), the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ (1954), the Tết Offensive (1968),  the final Ho Chi Minh Campaign (1975) which led to the fall of Saigon and South Vietnam. Giáp, together with Hồ Chí Minh, was the most prominent figure of North Vietnam during the wars in the country.

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1. French
2. wealthy Vietnamese aristocrats - landowners
3.middle to lower class technicians, workers with useful qualifications
4. large lower class of farmers- about 90%

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Landowner humilated as part of the land reform program

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Landowner humilated as part of the land reform program

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 He was a Vietnamese politician served as an officer in the Nguyễn dynasty. Because of his drastic ideological of anti-communism, Diệm received support from the United States and became the first President of the Republic of Vietnam in 1955. However, as a Catholic, Diệm pursued the persecution of Buddhists which led to many religious protests notably the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức in 1963. As a result, Diem gradually lost U.S support and was assassinated, together with his brother Nhu, in a coup in 1963.

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Only about 15 percent of the school-age children were enrolled in schools. The greater majority of them only attended the first years of education learning Vietnamese, elementary math, moral education, hygiene and/or drawing, and manual labor. 1.5% attended secondary university education. The first university was established in 19l9.
Wealthier families sent their children to France to receive better education.

This meant that the level of illiteracy was extremely high, suggesting people were more susceptible to accepting populist ideologies. Combined with the independence movements' and nationalism rise, opposition was little.

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Ngo Diem’s affiliation with the Catholic Church made him prosecute and disempower Buddhist monks, while ravaging temples throughout Vietnam. Certain civil generals decided to overthrow his crippled and corrupt regime (which was backed by the US government) and ultimately execute him.  Ngo Din Diem was assassinated on November 1, 1963 with a bullet in the head.

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In the north the newly assecended communist government pursued a policy of "Socialist Transformation" in order to reconstruct society and the economy for their very foundations. They employed a land redistribution policy to shatter the wealthy land owners' power and strip them of their immense wealth. This influence rural everyday life greatly as the traditional leadership of farming communities disappeared because of persecution and the new economic policies. Over 50,000 individuals lost their lives, most of them of the aforementioned land owning group, in the party's attempt to consolidate power and weed out what the leadership of the north viewed as threats and labelled "enemies of the state". In the place of the traditional rural upper class a large group of party appointed officials rose to prominence. Despite that even until 1958 most of the economy was still controlled by a private capitalist sector. In expediating the socialist transformation the party ensured that by 1960 all but a few urban specialists and industrialists retained their relative freedom from government control with their numbers shrinking constantly.
Academics and intellectuals where treated on the basis of their political leanings. Those expressing open oposition to the party were supressed and prevented from having their work published. Writers and artists who had established themselves before 1958 found themselves "banished to the countryside supposedly to help educate a new generation of vietnamese rural intellectualls.
A new social hierarchy rose in the place of France's colonial stratification policies and traditional vietnamese social structure. The new ruling class was constituted by high ranking party officials while and intermediate position between the party and the citizenry was occupied by a professional class which possesed skills the party valued. Lastly there were industrial and agricultural workers whose lives hardly changed during the early years of communist in comparison to the era of french rule.
In terms of religion state atheism became the predominant faith in, a stark contrast to the previously overwhelmingky spiritual and religious population.
The north was a largely underdeveloped nation as it possesed a very small industrial base and virtually non-existent infrastructure as the french had only concerned themselves with rice exports and the cultivation other crops such as rubber and to that end had only developed a few ports to secure the colony's export based economy. On the other hand local farming communities rarely produced any surplass instead sustaining only themselves and their communities.

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In the south society was largely similar to pre independence colonial society. It was dependent on the peasant economy and power reverted from the french to the vietnamese upper class. Ngo Diem's governement was more concerened with its immidiate survival and consolidation instead of great social change. Once again in stark contrast to the north little effort was made for cultural changes and the land redistribution policies were only partly sucessful never being implemented in full.

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The 1945 famine was a tragic event that was a result of these causes:
-WW1: France was occupied by the Nazis and created war economy--> less rice, more cotton and jute, to produce more clothing and resources for war and profit5.  Simultaneously Japan was still kinda in administration so many crops were exported to japan.
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This will be a tough one, ngl