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VNU. JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, s o c ., SCI.. HUMAN.. N03E, 2004

THE BEGINNING OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETW EEN AMERICA AND VIETNAM: HISTORICAL LESSON S

A m erica is a pow erful n ation w h ose p o ten tia ls and in ter n a tio n a l in flu en ce are so great th a t every country, in its policy m aking process, h a s to ta k e A m erica and its rela tio n sh ip w ith A m erica a s a factor into con sid eration. U n d er th e current rapid and h ig h ly in te n siv e b u t ex trem ely complex internationalization and globalization, there e x ists an id ea th a t th ere is a dan ger o f id en tify in g G lobalization w ith A m ericanization . T h is poses a serio u s problem to u s - sch olars in E a st A sia , a region w ith d ifferen t cu ltu ra l tra d itio n s from o th ers - to th in k over and exch an ge id ea s to find o u t th e b e st so lu tio n s th a t can both cope w ith th e com m on trend and bring into play th e a d v a n ta g e s o f the trad itional cu ltu ral v a lu es. L ooking back ovei' th e first co n tacts b etw een A m erica and V ietn am is not on ly m ean in gfu l to h isto ria n s but also u sefu l to th e cu rrent as w ell a s th e future kn ow led ge. In th is article, an a ttem p t is m ade to look objectively at th e n a tu re of th e first con tacts b etw een V ietn a m and A m erica so as to draw som e h isto rica l lesso n s.

H opefully, w h a t w ill be d iscu ssed below w ill, more or less, a s s is t our th o u g h ts in the current com p lex ch a n g in g world.

1. The First Contacts between Vietnam and America

According to th e e x ta n t d ocu m en ts in Am erica, in J u ly 1787, T h o m a s Jefferson , then rep resen ta tiv e o f th e U n ited S ta te s of A m erica in F rance w rote a letter to h is

n Prof.Dr.Sc., Vietnam National University. Hanoi.

V u M in h Giang**’

n ative country, in w hich h e exp ressed a sp ecial concern about th e inform ation given by P ierre Poivre about agriculture in th e S ou th o f V ietn a m . He ask ed a son of N gu yen A nh (w ho la ter b ecam e K ing Gia Long), Prince C anh , w h o w a s in France th en to g et h im som e V ietn a m ese rice seed s [6]. T h is can b e regarded as the ea rliest in form ation about th e concern about V ietn a m o f th e A m ericans.

In 1801 T h o m a s J efferso n w a s elected th e third p resid en t of th e U n ited S ta tes of A m erica. It h a s rem ain ed a w onder w hy a year after J efferso n w as in power, a com m ercial sh ip n am ed

Frame

captained by J erem ia h B rigg w a s s e n t to V ietn am to collect in form ation and stu d y sugar and coffee su p p ly in g so u rces for th e Am erican m arket.

T h

e Frame

lan d ed Da N a n g port on May 2 1 8t 1803. H ere C aptain B rigg m et tw o w a rsh ip s of th e N g u y e n d y n a sty ’s navy conducted by th e French. T hey advised B rigg to go to H u e to have a formal in terv iew w ith K ing G ia Long. H ow ever, th e A m erican c a p ta in th en w a s arranged to m eet w ith th e rep re se n ta tiv e of the N g u y en d y n a sty , a few clergym en , and French n a v y ’s officers w ho w ere under K ing Gia Long. A fter ob tain in g som e in form ation , th e

Fram e

left V ietn am for M anila on J u n e 10th 1803. It w as th e first American ship to arrive in V ietnam (4, p.3].

T h is ev en t is m en tio n ed in th e V ietn am ese historical d o cu m en ts. [1, V .3, p p l3 4 t 193].

It w as not u n til 16 y e a r s la ter th a t the second A m erican sh ip arrived in V ietnam .

14

The beginning of the relationship between America and Vietnam: historical lessons 15

It w a s the

F ranklin

conducted by C aptain J oh n W hite. T he S h ip arrived in V ung Tau

port on J a n u a ry F* 1819. J. W hite had a m eetin g w ith local officials and th ey prom ised to issu e him p erm its to en ter S aigon . Y et th e ca p tain w a ited w ith ou t rep lies. A local official said th a t foreign sh ip s n eed ed p erm ission from th e d y n a sty to en ter Saigon. T hus, J. W hite m ade a d ecision to go to H ue to h ave a direct form al talk w ith th e K ing. U n fo rtu n a tely , K ing Gia Long w a s th en on holiday in the n orthern part o f V ietn am (Bac Ha) so J.

W h ite’s plan w a s not su ccessfu l. The ca p ta in decided to lea v e for M anila w ith th e hope to find an in terp reter then retu rn ed to V ietn am .

A fter th e arrival of th e

Franklin,

there w ere th ree m ore A m erican sh ip s (the

M armion, the Aurora

an d th e

Beverly)

to call a t V ung Tau and Da N a n g ports, yet n on e of them m an aged to a ch iev e th eir trad e aim s. T h ese sh ip s on e a fter an oth er left for M anila and m et J. W hite there.

A fter an in terp reter w a s found, L. W hite ask ed C aptain John B row n to togeth er ste e r th e

M arm ion

back to V ietn am . The tw o A m erican sh ip s arrived in V ung Tau

port on September 25th 1819. This time J.

W hite w a s given p erm its to en ter Saigon.

A fter co llectin g so m e goods, m ost o f w hich w ere su g a r and raw silk , th e tw o sh ip s left S aig o n port on J a n u a ry 3 0 th 1820. J. W hite arrived in S alem on A u g u st 3 0 th 1820, a fter a tw en ty -m o n th voyage.

J. W hite w rote a book en title d

A Voyage to Cochin China

p ublished in B oston in 1823. T he book had a great in flu en ce on th e a ttitu d e s o f A m ericans, p articu larly th o se o f th e A m erican b u sin e ssm en tow ards V ietn am . A part from th e vivid and d etailed d escrip tio n s w hich are of d ocu m en tal v a lu e ab ou t various a sp e cts o f life, w hich h elp ed read ers have

part o f th e p ictu re o f V ietn am and its people in ea rly 19,h cen tu ry, J. W hite provided som e co m m en ts th at discouraged A m ericans w ho had in ten tio n s to seek for b u sin e ss o p p o rtu n ities in th is distant, land.

J. W hite appraised:

“D uring the tim e I was in this country

,

all th a t I learnt about it were villainy a n d turpitude. They completely lacked honesty so they often tried to play tricks on us a n d were experts on fin d in g tricks to hide their responsibilities. They can easily get all these w ith our open attitude a n d serious way o f doing business. A ll serious business affairs were, in the end, trifling things.

There was not any insurance to every affair\ except for docum entary contracts, which were hardly ever had. They dared to use any tricks to sw indle businessm en who get them annoyed for money. Apart from these, the authorities greediness, shiftiness, cruelty

,

a n d anti-com m ercial character should drive this la n d to be the least attractive place, even for the most adventurous b u sin essm en

...” [3].

A fterw ards, a French w ho read the book su g g e ste d th a t J. W hite judged the local people w ith th e view o f a Rigid P u ritan and n ev er ask ed h im se lf how he had b eh aved to them .

2. Diplomatic Efforts to Set up Trade Relation

It is lik e ly th a t in th e ea rly d ays the concern o f th e A m erican s about V ietn am w a s grea ter th a n th a t o f N g u yen d ynasty about them . U n d er th e Gia Long regim e (1802*1820), th e d y n a sty had m any rela tio n s w ith th e W est, esp ecia lly with F rance so th e p resen ce o f th e Am erican sh ip s had not draw n a tten tio n so far.

M oreover, th e lack o f local cu sto m s m ade th e A m erican s su sp e ct o f th e local people and a u th o ritie s.

VN IỈ. Journal t)f Science, Soc., Sri., Human.. N ịt3E. 2004

16 Vu Minh Giang

A lth ou gh B rigg an d J. W h ite’s m issio n in in v e s tig a tin g th e p o s sib ilitie s o f e sta b lish in g tra d e r e la tio n s w ith V ietn a m m ig h t be co n sid ered a fa ilu r e, th e u s re p r e se n ta tiv e a g en cy in B a ta v ia had a

different view. In 1826, the American

E nvoy J o h n S h illa b e r s e n t a le tte r to th e n a tiv e co u n try to recom m en d g rea ter ex p a n sio n o f th e a c tiv itie s o f tra d e s h ip s in A tla n tic co u n tries, w hich in clu d ed C ochin C hina (th e S o u th o f V ietn a m ). J. W h ite s e n t a n u m b er o f le tte r s p e rsu a d in g th e by th en A m erican P r e sid e n t to d e le g a te h im pow ers in n e g o tia tin g tra d e a g r e e m e n ts.

T he efforts m ad e by th e E nvoy w ere su c cessfu l a fter A n d rew J a ck so n w a s elected p re sid en t o f th e U n ite d S ta te s in

1929. A d ele g a tio n led by E dm und R oberts, w hich w a s d irectly s e n t by th e P resid en t, b ro u g h t th e tra d e a g r e e m e n t across th e In d ia n O cean to V ietn a m to sig n w ith th e N g u y e n d y n a sty . T h e w a rsh ip P eacock carried th e d e le g a tio n to V u n g Lam (a p lace in P h u Y en) a t th e b e g in n in g o f J a n u a ry 1832. R e p r e s e n ta tiv e s o f th e local a u th o r itie s w e n t up to th e sh ip and a sk ed ca refu lly a b o u t th e A m eric a n s’

in ten tio n . A fter a te n -d a y ’s w a itin g , on J a n u a ry 17th, th e d y n a sty s e n t tw o

m a n d a rin s and an e sc o r t th e r e to n e g o tia te w ith E dm und R oberts, y e t a fter m a n y d a y s o f d iscu ssio n it w a s s till im p o ssib le for both s id e s to sig n th e a g r e e m e n t. E dm und R oberts a ssu m e d th a t th e N g u y e n d y n a sty w a s fu lly resp o n sib le for th e fa ilu re.

A ccording to h im , th e d ip lo m a tic p roced u res w ere far too co m p lica ted . B esid es, se n io r o fficia ls o f th e d y n a sty did n ot h a v e clear id e a s and u s u a lly ev a d ed d irect q u e stio n s from th e A m erican partner. T he V ie tn a m e s e o fficia ls th e n w ere too h e s ita n t an d c a u tio u s and a lw a y s sh ow ed th eir su sp icio n . T h e m ajor rea so n for th e d isa g r e e m e n t o f th e N g u y e n d y n a sty w a s, at la st, th e d o cu m en ta ry problem s. T h ey sa id th a t th e w ord s in th e

proposal did not com ply w ith th e e s s e n tia l fo rm u la s o f v en era tio n tow ard s th e K ing of V ietn a m . T h ey ev en q u estio n ed th e p a rtn er an d after b ein g ex p la in ed th a t th e U S P r e sid e n t w a s th e one w ho w a s elected

by the people, they concluded that the

A m erican P r e sid e n t w a s not on th e sam e rank or h iera rch y w ith th e V ie tn a m e se K ing [2 ]...

H isto ry h a s sh o w n u s th a t th e tw o m a n d a rin s s e n t by th e N g u y en d y n a sty to n e g o tia te w ith E dm und R oberts w ere N g u y e n Tri P h u on g and Ly V an Phuc.

A fter lis te n in g to th e proposal and th e cr e d e n tia l from th e

u s

P re sid en t, th ey co n sid ered it in ap p rop riate th en , and w ith o u t s u b m ittin g to th e K ing, th ey rep lied th a t th e V ie tn a m e se K ing would not p roh ib it th e tra d in g a c tiv itie s u n le ss th e s e ob eyed th e d efined law of th e cou n try. So th e A m erican sh ip s had to an ch or a t Tra Son bay (Da N ang) and w ere n ot a llo w ed to b u ild h o u ses on land.

E d m u n d s d eleg a tio n le ft V ietn am after rec eiv in g th e n ote [1, vo lu m e 11, p. 231].

A ccording to th e le tte r o f Josep h B a sle stie r , th e A m erican E nvoy to S in g a p o re to F orsyth, th e secreta ry at th e P r e sid e n t’s office provided d ifferen t in form ation . A ccording to th e n ew s source w h ich J o sep h B a s le s tie r con sid ered r elia b le, th e reason for th e A m erican fa ilu re in sig n in g th e trad e a g ree m en t w ith V ie tn a m w a s th a t th e le tte r w a s sen t to th e K in g too late. A fter receiv in g th e le tte r, K in g M inh M an g in v ite d th e d e le g a tio n an d th e crew o f th e Peacock to H u e b u t by th e tim e th e le tte r arrived at th e port, E dm und R oberts’ sh ip had a lrea d y left.

P erh a p s J o sep h B a sle stie r th o u g h t h is a s s e s s m e n t w a s rig h t so a s soon a s he w as a p p o in ted th e Envoy to S in g a p o re, h e tried to p e rsu a d e th e P re sid e n t to co n tin u e the

V N V , Jo u rn a l o f Science, Site.. Sci . Human . N .JE . 2004

The beginning o f Che relationship between America and Vietnam: historical lessons 17

n egotiation to sig n th e trade a g re e m en t w ith V ietnam . Edm und R oberts a g a in w a s assign ed w ith th e m ission . E dm und R oberts’s d eleg a tio n arrived in Tra Son bay on M ay 15,h 1836. A gain trouble happened. Soon after arrivin g in V ietn a m , Edm und R oberts w as serio u sly ill so w h en the rep resen ta tiv e of th e N g u y en d y n a sty arrived he w a s not ab le to receiv e th em . T he N guyen d y n a sty ’s officials con sid ered it an offense. On th e o th er h an d, th e Am erican d eleg a tio n a sk ed th e p a rtn er to reply to P resid en t A ndrew J a ck so n w ith in three days b u t th e H u e d y n a sty cou ld not m anage it a s good in terp re ters w ere a w ay on business.

The r esu lt of th e second n eg o tia tio n w a s the sa m e a s th e first one. T h e trad e agreem en t rem a in ed u n sig n ed .

3. T h e

C o n s titu tio n D e s tro y e r

E v e n t W hile th e A m erican E n voy to Singapore J o sep h B a sle stie r w a s fin d in g solu tion s to th e problem s o f sig n in g th e trade a g reem en t w ith th e N g u y en d y n a sty , a regretful e v e n t h ap p en ed w h ich stro n g ly affected th e rela tio n b etw een th e tw o countries. T he A m erican

C onstitution Destroyer

steered by Joh n P erciv a l stopped by Da N a n g bay to bu y food and d rin k in g w ater on M ay 14th 1845 w h e n th e y m et local guards w ho w ere tracing for a French priest. John Percival p ro m u lg a ted to attack th e gu ard s to rescu e th e p riest. T he m andarins a ssig n e d by th e d y n a sty to solve th e c a se w ere d eta in ed a s h o sta g e s [4, p.47]. According to historical docum ents, th e ev en t h ap p en ed in 1844 and th e tw o m andarins w ere d ip lom ats N g u y e n Long and Viceroy N g u y en D an g G iai [1, v o lu m e 25, p. 282]. A fter th at, th e rela tio n b etw een th e N g u y en d y n a sty and A m erica becam e in te n siv e . P re sid en t Z achary T aylor im m ed ia tely se n t B a s le s tie r a s special E nvoy to d eal w ith th e c a se and to

prom ote n eg o tia tio n for s ig n in g th e trade a g ree m e n t. B a s le s t ie r s d e leg a tio n arrived in Da N a n g on M arch 13th 1850. T he person in ch a rg ed o f re ceiv in g th e d eleg a tio n w a s Q u a n g N a m ’s provincial

mandarin. According to Baslestier s report,

th e V ie tn a m e s e m a n d a rin refu sed to receiv e th e A m erica n P r e sid e n t’s le tte r a s th e P re sid en t a llo w e d h is n avy to kill V ie tn a m e s e p eo p le rig h t in V ietn a m e se land. B a s le s tie r w a rn ed th e m an d arin th a t h is refu sa l to r ec eiv e th e le tte r w ould be an o ffen ce to th e u s P r e sid e n t, yet h e k ep t h is a ttitu d e u n ch a n g e d . T h e ta lk la sted for th ree h ou rs. B a s le s tie r w a ited for th ree m ore d a y s to s e e if h is p a rtn er w ould show a n y com m otion , b u t n o th in g h ap p en ed . T he A m erican d e le g a tio n le ft Da N a n g for T h a ila n d on M arch 16th [5]. V ie tn a m e se h isto ric a l d o cu m en ts d escrib e th e v is it by B a s le s tie r s d ele g a tio n a s a kind of e x p r e ssin g a p o lo g y for w h a t th e A m erican w a rsh ip h a d d on e fiv e y e a r s before. S in ce th is e v e n t, th e r e had b een a lm o st no official A m erica n d e le g a tio n s to V ietn a m . 4 . B u i V i e n ’s V i s i t t o A m e r ic a

In 1858, F rench n a v y o p en ed fire to a tta ck Da N a n g port, m ark in g th e b e g in n in g o f th e F ren ch co n q u est of V ietn a m by force. T h e N g u y e n d y n a sty did n ot m a n a g e to fig h t a g a in s t th e invader.

M a n y m ajor a r e a s w ere occu p ied by th e F rench. M any so lu tio n s w ere su g g e ste d to sa v e th e situ ation » o n e o f w h ich w a s to se e k a s s is ta n c e from p ow erfu l n a tio n s. The U S , w ith it s a n ti-c o lo n ia lism policy, w a s co n sid ered to be a n a tio n th a t could help V ietn a m th en . T h e N g u y e n d y n a sty sen t B ui V ien to th e u s in 1 873 to a sk for help.

B u i V ien fir st w e n t to th e u s co n su la te in H on g K ong and th e r e h e w a s w elcom ed by th e r e p r e se n ta tiv e o f th e u s . M ak in g u se o f th is a d v a n ta g e , B ui V ie n w e n t str a ig h t to Y okoh am a th en to A m erica. T h a n k s to m a n y fr ie n d s’ h elp , h e w a s a b le to m eet

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18 Vu Minh Giang

P re sid en t S im p so n G rant. T he P re sid en t su p p orted V ietn a m 's fig h t a g a in s t co lo n ia lism , y e t h e could n o t p rom ise a n y th in g a s B ui V ien d id not b rin g w ith him an official cre d e n tia l th e n . B ui V ien decided to re tu rn to V ietnam to ask for the cre d en tia l, b u t th en w e k n ew th e

u s

g o v ern m en t had c h a n g ed th e ir view . C lose rela tio n sh ip w ith th e F ren ch w ou ld bring more b en efits to th e

u s ,

w h ich m ea n t th a t th e y could not a s s is t V ietn a m to fig h t a g a in s t French c o lo n ia lism .

5. Historical Lessons

It can be in ferred from th e above- m en tion ed e v e n ts th a t th e rela tio n sh ip b etw een th e

u s

and V ietn a m had a p o sitiv e b eg in n in g , s ta r tin g w ith T h o m a s J effer so n ’s in te r e st in V ietn a m , th e land

th a t before th a t had b een a lm o st u n k n o w n to th e A m erican. T he

u s

g o v er n m en t th en , b ein g a ttra cted by th e trad e p o te n tia l in C ochin C hina and th ro u g h th e a c tiv itie s o f th e U S ’s em b a ssy in S in g a p o re, had a ctiv e step s in e s ta b lis h in g tra d e r ela tio n w ith V ietn am .

H ow ever, th e d iffere n c e s in cu ltu re and cu sto m s w ere a b ig b a rrier p rev e n tin g th e re la tio n sh ip w ith th e

u s

an d V ietn a m from d ev elo p in g . D e sp ite th e fact th a t th e U S had m ad e co n sid e ra b le effo rts in e s ta b lis h in g th e r e la tio n sh ip , it lacked u n d e rsta n d in g and p a tie n c e w h ich w ere o f

n ecessity in n eg o tia tin g w ith th e N guyen d ynasty. The e v e n t of th e

Destroyer Constitution

a tta ck in g th e N guyen d y n a sty ’s gu ard s and d eta in in g the governors as h o sta g es m ade th e d y n a sty ’s tru st in the Americans, which was very little, becom e ev en less.

On th e part o f th e N g u y e n d yn asty, the u n d e rsta n d in g about th e

u s

w a s alm ost n oth in g u n til th e F rench attack ed Da N an g (1858). T he K in gs often considered th e m se lv e s civ ilized p eop le and the A m erican sa v a g e on es. T h ey even did not show in te r e st in th eir proposals- The m an d arin s often th o u g h t o f th e A m ericans a s "cunning, m a ch ia v e llia n ” so their reaction w a s very c a u tio u s.

U nd er d ifficu lties b ecau se of co n tin u ou s lo sse s in fig h tin g a g a in st the French colonialism » th e N g u y e n dynasty grad u ally took on m ore practical view s, th ey ev en w a n ted to se e k a ssista n c e from the U S, but th e p o ssib ility of esta b lish in g a friend ly relation b etw een th e two co u n tries had alread y gone.

T he b ig g est h istorical le sso n w hich can be draw n from th e first co n ta cts b etw een V ietn am and th e

u s

is to g iv e first priority to m u tual u n d e r sta n d in g an d to patien tly find so lu tio n s to th e d isa g r eem e n ts and m isu n d ersta n d in g s. U n til th is day, th is h istorical lesso n still r e m a in s valid.

R E F E R E N C E S

1. Đ ợ i N a m t h ự c h à n h c h i n h b iê n , K h o a h ọ c Publishing House, 1963.

2. Edmund Roberts, E m b a ssy to the Eastern Courts o f Cochin China. New York, 1837, p.5.

3. John White, A

Voyage

to

Cochin

China, Oxford University Press, 1972, p.247

4. Robert Hopkins Miller, The United States a n d Vietnam 1787-1941> National Defense University Press, Washington DC 1990, p.3.

5.

Senate Documents 32n,i Congress.

V ol.7. Doc. 18, (Report o f Joseph Balesticr to Secretary o f State) 25 September 1851, p.37.

6.

The

Papers

from

Thomas

Jefferson,

Princeton University Press, 1958, vol. 11, p.645.

V N V . Journal o f Science. S o t.. S c i . Hitman . N lriE , 2()(N