The constitution of the empire was the start of a golden age for art and literature. The emperors emphasized the singularity of Vietnamese culture in an attempt to restrain Chinese influence. In the 16th century the imperial dynasty crumbled down. It was the start of a long period of disorganization and disintegration. At the end of the 18th century a prominent member of the Nguyen family succeeded in conquering the south and then the rest of the country with support of the French. He proclaimed himself emperor and was the founder of the Nguyen dynasty reigning the country from 1802 until 1945. To emphasize the unification of north and south he chose Hu‚ in central Vietnam as the capital city of the country and called himself Gia Long. The name is a contamination of Gia Dinh (Saigon) and Thanh Long (Hanoi). The emperor ordered the construction of the Citadel and the Imperial City in Hue. In gratitude for their support the emperor gave the French various trading benefits. He also allowed them missionary activities.
The successors of emperor Gia Long were less sympathetic towards the catholic mission and the French influence on politics. They ordered the persecution and execution of catholics, Vietnamese as well as French. For the French government the persecution of its citizens was a reason for military action. In 1859 French troops conquered Saigon. In later years the rest of the south fell into the hands of the French and was incorporated as a French colony by the name of Cochin. Later the French brought Annam in the centre and Tonkin in the north of Vietnam under their influence as "protectorates". In this way the French tried to secure their interests in the region and to restrict the growing influence of the British. The activities of the French led to the rise of various nationalist movements in the interbellum. One man, Ho Chi Minh, played a predominant role in the establishment of the nationalist movement.
In 1941, after a period of thirty years abroad, Ho Chi Minh established a liberation front called Viet Minh. This front was a coalition of nationalist groups led by the communists. The Viet Minh fought a guerilla war against the Japanese who occupied the country during the Second World War with the consent of the French colonial government. Early in september 1945 they proclaimed an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh as their president and prime minister. The establishment of an independent Vietnam was not without troubles. The French did not want to release their control over the south and soon a war broke out. This led to a truce in 1954 with a temporary division of the country in a northern and a southern part.
The nationalist government in the south was supported by the Americans who tried to stop a communist expansion by all means. This led to a new war in the region in 1964. Under pressure of the international anti war movement a peace treaty was signed in 1973. However it would last until 1975 before the last Americans left Saigon and war was over. Because of the recent wars the country has suffered much damage. Thanks to recent reforms the country is up on its feet again and its economic development is in progress. The whole country benefits of this progress despite the differences between the north and the south in the past.
The country has various ethnic groups. Most of its inhabitants belong to the Viet who are the descendants of intermingling Chinese, Siamese and Malayan groups in the north of the country at the start of the christian era. In the course of centuries they migrated from the north to the south. The Vietnamese have always been strongly influenced by the culture of their Chinese northern neighbours without giving up their independence. Many of them live in the rice producing areas in the river deltas of the Mekong river and the Red river and in the central coastal area. The Montagnards live in the hills and mountains of central and north Vietnam. Together they are the largest minority in the country. They are closely related to ethnic groups in China and in Thailand. Because of their isolation in the highlands they were able to withdraw from the Vietnamese culture developing in the lowlands. In general the Montagnards have a low standard of living. Although christianity is introduced to the Montagnards the reverence of ancestors and animism still survive. Their religion is different from the Viet who combined old animist and Chinese concepts into the triple belief of confucianism, buddhism and taoism. There are big differences between the Montagnards. Every tribe has its own dresscode, ornamentation, language and religion.