Outline of Vietnam
Vietnam was under Chinese control for a thousand years before becoming a nation-state in the 10th century. Successive dynasties flourished along with geographic and political expansion deeper into Southeast Asia, until it was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Efforts to resist the French eventually led to their expulsion from the country in the mid-20th century, leaving a nation divided politically into two countries. Bitter fighting between the two sides continued during the Vietnam War, ending with a communist victory in 1975.
Economic history of Vietnam
In the South (usually referred to as Đàng Trong), foreign trade started to emerge in the early 17th century, with Portuguese traders being first foreign businesspeople coming first to Hoi An port town near Đà Nẵng, almost the same period when the Dutch occupied Java islands of today's Indonesia in 1594. It was said that Jean de la Croix was the first Portuguese to have established a cannon molding mill–perhaps a lucrative business operation–in Thuận Hóa town, near Hue in the central region in 1614. The French arrived in Hội An port city in 1686. More importantly, French ship Machault embarked on Hội An in 1749 and presented a letter proposing first formal diplomatic relationship with Lord Nguyên, which received his warm regard.