Land Possession Situation in Chiêm Hóa (as Seen from the Cadastres of 1805)

Abstract

Chiem Hoa is a mountainous district in the northern province of Tuyen Quang. In the past millennial history, Chiem Hoa area has been different names such as Vi Long under Dinh, Former Le, Ly (10th to 13th centuries) or Dai Man during the Chinese Ming's occupation of Vietnam (early 15th century).

On paper, the communal land remained at all time the state's property. In the mountainous areas, this kind of land was actually possessed by Quằng (the local governance). According to the data extracted from the cadastres of the fourth year of the Gia Long reign (1805), in Chiem Hoa existed only one kind of land possession: the private onwership. All land of this district was possessed and distributed to the local inhabitants by Quằng; the court's influence in this area virtually did not exist. This was perhaps the major cause which led to the development of private land in this area.