Conflict In Vietnam Pre- 1963 - the Development of Ho Chi Minh’s Relations With France and America

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Conflict in Vietnam pre- 1963

The Development of Ho Chi Minh's relations with France and America

. Source A is a secondary source written by a historian "Louis Saurel" in 1968. I think this it shows that the Vietnamese attitude to the French ruling was one of resentment. I think this because the source talks about how the Vietnamese resisted the French occupation from the beginning. "Many Vietnamese refused to accept the French occupation of 1883. Source B is a primary source drawn by an unknown artist. I think a western person drew it because of the detail in the background. Also a French person would not have drawn Vietnamese people looking discontented. I think the picture shows that the Vietnamese did not want to be in the French army. I think this because in the picture one of the soldiers looks discontented. Both of the Vietnamese soldiers have bare feet or sandals while the French soldier has boots. I think they were treated as lower class citizens because the French thought they were better than they were. I think the sources show that the were mixed feelings among the Vietnamese about the French rule. Although many were against French rule some worked for them so can not all have been anti French.

2. A French army officer who was stationed in Vietnam before and after World War Two wrote source C in 1945. Source D was recounted by a French merchant and colonist who worked in Vietnam before and after World War Two in a BBC documentary in 1995. French people write both sources so thy are probably biased and only give the French side of the story. They both give the impression that Vietnam was part of France. Source C says, "It is our country". Source D says "An important military position". Both sources imply that France had a right to rule Vietnam. The differences between these sources are source C seems to be propaganda, part of a speech. For instance, "I would like to say a few words about what Indo- China meant to us". Source D seems to be more honest since it is saying some of the reason that France was ruling Vietnam was for France's own good. For example, "Indo China was a storehouse of raw materials".
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3. Sources A, B, C, D, and E give very different accounts of Franco - Vietnamese relations. In source A, the historian Louis Saurel gave a neutral account since he seems to be on neither side, I think this is because he is a historian and can look back at the evidence and see both sides. I think source B was drawn by a Western person because of the detail in the background since Vietnamese are is very stylized. The person may have been a Vietnamese sympathizer since they drew Vietnamese people looking discontented. If so it would ...

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