Foreign Trade of Vietnam in the First Half of the 19th Century - From the Hands of Chinese Settlers to those of Ethnic Vietnamese

Abstract

The History of International Trade of Vietnam from the "Age of Commerce" in East Asian World can be divided into two stages. One is the Hung Yen/Hoi An period (17th-18th centuries), the other is the Saigon era (18th-19th centuries). The development in the first era was largely due to the European intervention to the East Asian trade together with the commercial maneuvers of Chinese and Japanese. Vietnamese seldom sailed outside during this time. In contrast, the Saigon era was invoked by in turn Chinese and Vietnamese who had completed the "southwards march (nam tien).' Both in Hoi An and Saigon, the role of Chinese was significant. The difference is, however, we hardly see the ethnic Vietnamese in Hoi An going abroad for trade, while we can find them going to the Island Southeast Asian ports in the era of Saigon rivaling with the Chinese settlers.

At the southern edge after the long journey of nam tien by land, Vietnamese regardless men or women, kings (ordering the court vessel trade) or subjects were beginning to go further south for trade by vessels, junks, and boats of their own. Saigon can be seen as the precious cradle for the rise of international traders of ethnic Vietnamese who were bravely sailing between Vietnam and Western world of Island Southeast Asia.