Anglo-Vietnamese conflict

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Anglo-Vietnamese conflict
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
BachLongViXuaNay.jpeg
Environment of the Gulf of Tonkin
DateMay 1808
Location
Gulf of Tonkin
Result Vietnamese naval victory. British navy retreated to Macao.
Belligerents

 British Empire

Nguyen Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
O'Bryen Drury Gia Long
Philippe Vannier

The Anglo-Vietnamese conflict was a short skirmish between the British Royal Navy and the Vietnamese Royal navy in 1808.

Background[]

Nguyen Anh, the founder and the ruling emperor of the Kingdom of Vietnam, had signed an alliance treaty with King Louis XVI of France in 1787 while was in Europe seeking support for his struggle against the Taysons. Although France failed to aid Nguyen Anh, thousands of French advisors, officers, and mercenary soldiers continued to help the Nguyen loyalists battle against the Taysons, achieved the final victory in July 1802 as Nguyen Anh became the first monarch of unified Vietnam.[1]

On 4 December 1803, British envoy from Guangzhou arrived Da Nang and met Gia Long's two mandarins. One of them was Philippe Vannier, who had built for Gia Long a powerful navy. Roberts tried to convince Gia Long to abandon his pro-French attitude and open his kingdom to British trade, but failed.[2]

Conflict and aftermath[]

In April 1808, the British dispatched Admiral William O'Bryen Drury and several vessels to the South China Sea. Fearing that Napoleon would use the Franco-Vietnamese tie and help the Nguyen navy that could disrupt the British trade in Southeast Asia, Britain decided to attack Vietnam. Arriving in the Gulf of Tonkin, Drury planned to plot up the Red River, seize Hanoi and force Gia Long to conciliate. British assault however was halted by the Vietnamese navy, several ships were destroyed or damaged. Drury was forced to turn back to Macao.[3]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Crawfurd 1828, p. 508.
  2. ^ Lamb 1970, p. 175.
  3. ^ Lamb 1970, pp. 189–195.

References[]

  • Crawfurd, John (1828). Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Courts of Siam and Cochin China: Exhibiting a View of the Actual State of Those Kingdoms. H. Colburn.
  • Lamb, Alastair (1970). The Mandarin Road to Old Hué: Narratives of Anglo-Vietnamese Diplomacy from the 17th Century to the Eve of the French Conquest. Archon Books. ISBN 978-0-20801-036-0.