Nguyễn Ánh - Gia Long: A view after two hundred years.

Abstract

Two hundred years after the death of the first emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty (1820-2020), the analysis of the differences from Lord Nguyễn Ánh to Emperor Gia Long in two “confusion – clarity” periods shows that during the time of trying to take back his ancestors’ kingdom, Nguyễn Ánh did all things regardless of any tricks; meanwhile, when being an emperor, Gia Long tried to correct what he did in the past, determined to maintain independence and autonomy, as well as creating basic orientation for eliminating all threats from France in particular and the West in general, which handed down through many successive kings to build a country with a vast, united and powerful territory both tangible and intangible, at the same time, reaching out to the sea, by formally establishing the national sovereignty on Paracel and Spratly Islands since 1816, creating a solid international legal basis for the country to deal with all international disputes which have been happening.