In the late nineteenth century, Vietnam fell into the hands of the French who colonized to fuel their industrialization and improve their economy, becoming part of French Indochina which included Laos and Cambodia. Instead of accepting French rule, the Vietnamese resisted. Under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, the Viet Minh was established and rebelled against the French. French rule impacted Vietnam greatly, and the effects of their control can still be seen to this day.
Profit was the driving factor that led to France’s rule over Vietnam; using the mistreatment of their Catholic missionaries as an excuse, France took control of Vietnam in 1862. Jules Ferry, who was twice the prime minister of France once stated that their “major industries... lack more and more outlets… great markets ... becoming more and more difficult of access,” and that Europeans “must say openly that indeed the higher races have a right over the lower races .... European nations acquit themselves with generosity, with grandeur, and with
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As a result, the Vietnamese revolted against the French and eventually succeeded under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Viet Minh, which was the main coalition that led the revolt. French rule made many changes to the lives of the Vietnamese and some negative long-term impacts of their rule is still seen in Vietnam, especially in economics and politics. In order to solve the economic issues created by imperialism, the Vietnamese government needs to prevent further excessive extraction of resources and increase the amount of exports while decreasing the amount of imports. As for politics, although Vietnam has a Communist government, the government should still give the people basic rights such as freedom of