With the French colonization of Indochina, it was inevitable that interracial unions, or the metissage, would occur between the French and the Indochinese. This was seen as a 'threat to white prestige' and 'moral decay' of Europeans. The rejection of 'mixed bloods' or metis portrays theories of both racial hierarchy and European superiority (Stoler, 517).
This post aims to explore the questions of how the history of colonization affected the perception of the modern Indo-European metis and their exclusion in society, based mainly off Stoler's Politics of Exclusion in Colonial Southeast Asia. The metissage in Indochina changed political, legal, and social institutions, as well as marginalized the metis as an inferior social group and a threat to the prestige of Europeans (Stoler, 515).
History of French Indochina
The colonization of Cochin-China, Annam, Tonkin, Cambodia, Kwangchowan, and Laos at the hands of the French made up what is referred to as French Indochina. Today, this region is divided into the nations of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Around 40,000 Europeans were living in Indochina during the colonial period. Many of their settlers and soldiers chose to have children with Vietnamese women. This resulted in the birth of thousands of French-Indochinese children with mixed ethnicities, who were viewed as inferior to the French and as a 'contamination' to French blood ("METIS"). These children were usually born out of wedlock with an unknown father, and would therefore have no legal right to obtain French citizenship.
The metis rejection and the racial hierarchy present in Indochinese society was evidence of French anxiety over national identity after the assimilation of around 100,000 Algerian Jews as well as a decreasing birth rate in the 1870s (Stoler, 518). This led to a national feeling of 'extreme nationalism'. The question of who is truly French began to arise among the French citizens and discourses regarding the metissage caused tension. Although all metis were European to some degree, there was debate surrounding the decision to grant them citizenship as they were not 'pure-blood' Europeans (Stoler, 521).
Some European welfare societies would forcefully separate children from their mothers and place them in orphanages to avoid having any metis living in their societies. Others were abandoned by their parents, and taken in by European feminists that worked to protect mixed ethnicity children, reprimanding European men for irresponsibly having children that were being categorized into a new lower class of citizens (Stoler, 525).
The minority of metis born into families with legal unions between their parents were more privileged, as they had more rights as French citizens. During the Indochina war, xenophobic Vietnamese nationalists viewed the metis as group that was illicitly collaborating with the colonizers. They were targeted in raids, killings, and kidnappings during the conflict ("METIS"). The French colonizers, on the other hand found it hard to accept them as being real French citizens, leaving them in a double bind where they are not accepted by either group.
An example of some implications of being marginalized as a metis, in some form of a 'gray area' between European and Indochinese, is seen in the case of Nguyen van Thinh (Vietnamese name) dit Lucien (French name) in Haiphong 1898. After striking a German navy mechanic with a whip, the boy (born to a French father and his Vietnamese concubine) was sentenced to six months in prison. He was not granted a pardon, although his father made efforts to make an appeal, for several reasons. Firstly, his name being first Vietnamese and secondly French caused courts to question his cultural identity and French citizenship rights. His father attested to the fact that the boy was rasied in a French patriotic household, however the tribunal did not see that the boy had strong French inclinations and that 'his morality was alwasy detestable'. After rejecting the appeal, the court then sentenced both the father and his son as 'guilty of transgressing the boundaries of race, culture, sex, and patrie" (Stoler, 524). Although the boy could be both Nguyen and Lucien, and have both cultural sensibilities, the court saw that his father should have either raised him in a completely 'proper' French upbringing, or abandoned him altogether.
Other Effects of French Colonialism
French colonial rule affected many aspects of Indochinese culture and society still portrayed in Vietnam today:
1- Religion: Catholicism was introduced to Vietnam by the French. Almost seven percent of the population is Catholic, celebrating Easter and Christmas and going to Church. Although Vietnam is an atheist nation, the government does not restrict citizens from practicing their religions.
2- Architecture: French-inspired cathedrals and buildings still stand in Vietnam. Some citizens still choose to build their homes in the style of French architecture.
Conclusion
The French colonial rule caused for the creation of a marginalized group, the metis, to be subjected to inequality and injustice at the hands of Europeans who believed themselves to be superior, and Indochinese who viewed them as traitors. The French drew out money from Indochinese citizens and resources from these colonized regions to benefit themselves. The colonization also had effects that are still present in Vietnamese culture such as religion and architecture.
Today, Vietnam is steadily recovering from the years of civil unrest and war to grow into the rich country it has the potential to become.
Works Cited
This post aims to explore the questions of how the history of colonization affected the perception of the modern Indo-European metis and their exclusion in society, based mainly off Stoler's Politics of Exclusion in Colonial Southeast Asia. The metissage in Indochina changed political, legal, and social institutions, as well as marginalized the metis as an inferior social group and a threat to the prestige of Europeans (Stoler, 515).
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| ("The Formation of French Indochina") |
History of French Indochina
The colonization of Cochin-China, Annam, Tonkin, Cambodia, Kwangchowan, and Laos at the hands of the French made up what is referred to as French Indochina. Today, this region is divided into the nations of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
French Indochina was established in 1887 as a 'colony of economic interests'. By implementing high taxes on local consumption of basic goods such as salt, alcohol and rice, the French colonial government was able to accumulate bounty. This led to a great decrease in the local population's wealth, which incentivized the French to exploit the land's natural resources next.
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| ("French Indochina") |
Vietnam then became an important source of zinc, coal, and cash crops such as rice and coffee, while Cambodia was rich with pepper and rubber (Szczepanksi). The French used these resources to benefit their government's budget, gain riches from its colonies through the export of cigarettes and textiles, as well as establish some of the most famous French companies still widespread today, such as the Michelin Tire Company.
In 1941, the Japanese Empire invaded French Indochina and it was handed over to them by the Nazi-allied French government. While some Japanese military began to instill nationalism in citizens and encourage independence movements, the Japanese government still intended to use Indochina as a source for coal, rice, rubber, and tin (Szczepanksi). Soon, it became apparent that the Japanese intended to selfishly exploit them just as the French had done. This resulted in the establishment of the 'Viet Minh' - the League for the Independence of Vietnam.
The Viet Minh fought against the Japanese as nationalist in a communist independence movement. After the Second World War, the people of Indochina expected independence. This essentially sparked the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War.
In 1954, the Ho Chi Minh Vietnamese were able to defeat the French, leading them to give up their rights to the previously French Indochina colony. Here, the Americans worried that the Ho Chi Minh planned to add Vietnam to the communists bloc, so they entered the war (Szczepanksi). Two more decades of war eventually resulted in the victory of North Vietnam, which made Vietnam an independent communist country. This also allowed for the independence of Laos and Cambodia.
For more information on the "First Indochina War"
The Metis
Around 40,000 Europeans were living in Indochina during the colonial period. Many of their settlers and soldiers chose to have children with Vietnamese women. This resulted in the birth of thousands of French-Indochinese children with mixed ethnicities, who were viewed as inferior to the French and as a 'contamination' to French blood ("METIS"). These children were usually born out of wedlock with an unknown father, and would therefore have no legal right to obtain French citizenship.
The metis rejection and the racial hierarchy present in Indochinese society was evidence of French anxiety over national identity after the assimilation of around 100,000 Algerian Jews as well as a decreasing birth rate in the 1870s (Stoler, 518). This led to a national feeling of 'extreme nationalism'. The question of who is truly French began to arise among the French citizens and discourses regarding the metissage caused tension. Although all metis were European to some degree, there was debate surrounding the decision to grant them citizenship as they were not 'pure-blood' Europeans (Stoler, 521).
Some European welfare societies would forcefully separate children from their mothers and place them in orphanages to avoid having any metis living in their societies. Others were abandoned by their parents, and taken in by European feminists that worked to protect mixed ethnicity children, reprimanding European men for irresponsibly having children that were being categorized into a new lower class of citizens (Stoler, 525).
The minority of metis born into families with legal unions between their parents were more privileged, as they had more rights as French citizens. During the Indochina war, xenophobic Vietnamese nationalists viewed the metis as group that was illicitly collaborating with the colonizers. They were targeted in raids, killings, and kidnappings during the conflict ("METIS"). The French colonizers, on the other hand found it hard to accept them as being real French citizens, leaving them in a double bind where they are not accepted by either group.
An example of some implications of being marginalized as a metis, in some form of a 'gray area' between European and Indochinese, is seen in the case of Nguyen van Thinh (Vietnamese name) dit Lucien (French name) in Haiphong 1898. After striking a German navy mechanic with a whip, the boy (born to a French father and his Vietnamese concubine) was sentenced to six months in prison. He was not granted a pardon, although his father made efforts to make an appeal, for several reasons. Firstly, his name being first Vietnamese and secondly French caused courts to question his cultural identity and French citizenship rights. His father attested to the fact that the boy was rasied in a French patriotic household, however the tribunal did not see that the boy had strong French inclinations and that 'his morality was alwasy detestable'. After rejecting the appeal, the court then sentenced both the father and his son as 'guilty of transgressing the boundaries of race, culture, sex, and patrie" (Stoler, 524). Although the boy could be both Nguyen and Lucien, and have both cultural sensibilities, the court saw that his father should have either raised him in a completely 'proper' French upbringing, or abandoned him altogether.
The case of Nguyen van Thinh dit Lucien is a case that portrays the colonial divides and racist society which the metis had to endure at the hands of both, the French colonizers as well as the colonized Indochinese.
Other Effects of French Colonialism
French colonial rule affected many aspects of Indochinese culture and society still portrayed in Vietnam today:
1- Religion: Catholicism was introduced to Vietnam by the French. Almost seven percent of the population is Catholic, celebrating Easter and Christmas and going to Church. Although Vietnam is an atheist nation, the government does not restrict citizens from practicing their religions.
 |
(Pike)
|
2- Architecture: French-inspired cathedrals and buildings still stand in Vietnam. Some citizens still choose to build their homes in the style of French architecture.
 |
(Pike)
|
3- Education: French colonial rule allowed education to be accessible to the majority of the population, as opposed to exclusively upper class citizens as was the case prior to the colonization.
 |
| (Pike) |
Conclusion
The French colonial rule caused for the creation of a marginalized group, the metis, to be subjected to inequality and injustice at the hands of Europeans who believed themselves to be superior, and Indochinese who viewed them as traitors. The French drew out money from Indochinese citizens and resources from these colonized regions to benefit themselves. The colonization also had effects that are still present in Vietnamese culture such as religion and architecture.
Today, Vietnam is steadily recovering from the years of civil unrest and war to grow into the rich country it has the potential to become.
Works Cited
“The Formation of French Indochina .” French Colonialism in Vietnam, students.lawrence.edu/lauj/french-intervention/.
“French Indochina.” Modern History, mhyr12.weebly.com/french-indochina.html.
“Metissage.” Linguee.com, www.linguee.com/french-english/translation/m%C3%A9tissage.html.
“MÉTIS.” UQAM, indochine.uqam.ca/en/historical-dictionary/886-metis.html.
Pike, Matthew. “11 Ways France Influenced Vietnamese Culture.” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 8 Dec. 2017, theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/11-ways-france-influenced-vietnamese-culture/.
Stoler, Ann Laura. “Sexual Affronts and Racial FrontiersEuropean Identities and the Cultural Politics of Exclusion in Colonial Southeast Asia.” Tensions of Empire Colonial Cultures in a Bourgeois World, 1997, pp. 198–227., doi:10.1525/california/9780520205406.003.0006.
Szczepanski, Kallie. “What Was French Indochina?” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 22 Feb. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/what-was-french-indochina-195328.
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