The Nguyen Dynasty made efforts to build Chau Doc as a military and administrative center, and the most important traffic location and military transshipment on the Southwestern border line. All of the above affirmed the important role and strategic significance of the land of Chau Doc in the cause of protecting the Southwestern border of the country.
AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 35 – 41 THE GEOPOLITICS - MILITARY FACTORS OF CHAU DOC WITHIN THE DEFENSE STRATEGY ON THE SOUTHWESTERN BORDER OF THE NGUYEN DYNASTY PERIOD 1802 – 1867 Duong The Hien1 An Giang University, VNU - HCM Information: Received: 24/07/2019 Accepted: 24/07/2019 Published: 11/2019 Keywords: Nguyen Dynasty, Chau Doc, geopolitics, military, Southwestern border ABSTRACT After the Nguyen Dynasty was established (1802), the issue of protecting the Southwestern border became the focus of this dynasty's defensive policy under the invading conspiracy of Chenla and Siam With a geopolitical and military position, connecting many important defensive positions of Southern Vietnam, Chau Doc was quickly chosen by the Nguyen Dynasty to become the center of defense in the strategy to protect the Southwestern border The Nguyen Dynasty made efforts to build Chau Doc as a military and administrative center, and the most important traffic location and military transshipment on the Southwestern border line All of the above affirmed the important role and strategic significance of the land of Chau Doc in the cause of protecting the Southwestern border of the country the Vietnamese people living on the An Giang border In that system, Chau Doc emerged as a special location in geopolitical – military perspective within the defense strategy in the Southwestern border of the Nguyen Dynasty INTRODUCTION Chau Doc has been merged officially on Dai Viet since 1757 when the monarch of Chenla (ancient Cambodia) was Outey II (1739 - 1777) (the other name is Ang Ton or Nak Ong Ton) consecrated Tam Phong Long area to Nguyen Lords This is the first land of An Giang province that holds a very important position in the defensive strategy King Gia Long said “Chau Doc, Ha Tien confines is no less important than Bac Thanh” (National History of Nguyen Dynasty [NHOND], 2007a), and in 1833, King Minh Mang continued to identify: “An Giang province (including Chau Doc) was very important land” and noted that: “Soldiers must build strongholds to protect the border” (NHOND, 2007b) All of the above had set urgent requirements for the national defense of On more difficult and complex land, the Nguyen Dynasty has shown a positive point with defense policy accurately and firmly The Nguyen Dynasty had continuously developed the military buildings, stationed since the Nguyen Lords and the civil war with Tay Son Army in the land of An Giang to underpin defense strategy, with the great role of Chau Doc Tan Cuong(1) area In the Southwestern border defense policy, in order to stand against the conspiracy invasive of Chenla (Cambodia) and Siam (Thailand), the Nguyen Dynasty had created a defensive line 35 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 35 – 41 stretching from Tay Ninh to Ha Tien In that line of defense, Chau Doc was the most important defensive center with an ability to determine victory or defeat in the Patriotic war of Vietnamese people against foreign invaders during the period 1802 – 1867 Chau Doc, Tan Chau, Hung Ngu, Thong Binh (NHOND, 2007d) and Tay Ninh (Duong The Hien, 2014) Therein, the An Giang - Ha Tien region was specially focused to establish a defensive system with five military centers: Tan Chau, Chau Doc, That Son, Ha Tien and Rach Gia These centers have a close relationship with each other The strongholds immediately in front of the border are backed largely from a stronghold system behind CONTENTS 2.1 Chau Doc - gateway to connect many political and military factors in the Southwestern border From the defensive center in Chau Doc, crossing Vinh An canal, it would connect and closely link with the stronghold system along the Tien river including: Tan Chau (National History of Nguyen Dynasty [NHOND], 2006), Hung Ngu, Tien An, Nhan Hoi (NHOND, 2006), Vinh Thanh, An Lac (NHOND, 2007a), Thu Chien Sai(2) (NHOND, 2007b), Sa Dec (NHOND, 2006) These centres were arranged as defensive forces to keep security and support each other if there were wars On the other hand, they were also able to support other provinces quickly such as Vinh Long, Dinh Tuong and Gia Dinh Chau Doc was a special strategic location in the context of the Nguyen Dynasty This is the heartland of the defensive system on the southwest border of the Nguyen Dynasty King Minh Mang had enacted to remind Nguyen Van Thoai when he decided that defense at here “Chau Doc was crucial, and that you (Nguyen Van Thoai) must be very skillful in all cases, reassure and console local people Firstly, you must recruit traders, build villages, make men and households increasingly, the farmland was further exploited Secondly, the border issues must be carefully planned.” (Son Nam, 2004, p 83) As an important border area, Chau Doc became a political and defensive center linked closely with other centers by both the waterways and roads This was a geopolitical military factor that was not everywhere else in southern Vietnam On the Hau river route, Chau Doc connected closely with the stronghold system including: Binh Di, Binh Thien (NHOND, 2007a), Da Phuc (Cabinet of Nguyen Dynasty [COND], 1993a), Tran Di, Tran Giang, Mi Thanh, Dong Xuyen, Thuan Tan, Nang Gu, Can Thang, Chau Giang, (NHOND, 2006) Con Muon, Tai Suat, An Chau, Cuong Thang, Cuong Thanh, Cuong Uy (COND, 1993b) With north-south and east-west waterway systems across Southern Vietnam, the Nguyen army could to all of the important defensive center from its Chau Doc headquarters Internal waterway elements made the connectivity and command role of Chau Doc all the more obvious Chau Doc was the only and shortest place from which to communicate, support defenses and attack in two dimensions with the base defense in the Southwestern border area On the Vinh Te canal route, the Nguyen Dynasty had set an important defensive system stretching from Chau Doc to Ha Tien including: Vinh Nguon, Vinh Te (NHOND, 2007c), Vinh Gia (COND, 1993b), Vinh Dieu, Nhon Hoi (NHOND, 2006), Tien An, Giang Nong (COND, 1993a) During the Nguyen Dynasty, the defense policy in the Southwestern border area was set up with a stronghold system from Ha Tien to That Son, In addition, Thoai Ha canal is also a waterway route to support Chau Doc actively for communications, operationsof troops and 36 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 35 – 41 internal political stability Thoai Ha canal (1818) and Vinh Te canal (1819-1824) were built and created a defensive strategic quadrangle that included: Chau Doc – Ha Tien – Rach Gia – Dong Xuyen, and the majestic That Son mountains, where “strike hard, defend easily” formed a defensive system in which “mountains and rivers were integratedd” very solidly All of above created a defensive shield in the Southwest border of the country in which Chau Doc was a command center for the defensive system not only in the ancient An Giang province but also in the Southwest border 3.56km long, 2.3m high, 6m wide, a 12m footway It required 4,400 people, working for seven months (NHOND, 2007c; Le Thanh Khoi, 2000; United Nations, 1996) This project was both a traffic route and a high levee to enable travel in the flood season Besides, it also served effectively for people’s lives and served as a defensive work of the Nguyen Dynasty After “Tan lo kieu luong” was built, the Nguyen Dynasty continuously mobilized human resources to build some other traffic routes, both dykes and roads, by the army and the people It had connected Chau Doc with other constructions to strengthen national defense and economic development Dai Nam nhat thong chi noted that besides this levee there were also other levees: In contrast to the North, to expand the border of Vietnam in the Nguyen Dynasty, from Chau Doc to Chenla along the Mekong river lines, the Nguyen Army established a defensive system by a group of strongholds including Tran Tay(3) (NHOND, 2007a), Thi Dam, Vinh Bich, Tam Bon, Ba Nam, Thiet Thang (NHOND, 2007d) as outposts to prevent enemies from outside the borders A road was the old levee started from the big road to the road which was built by Nguyen Van Thoai in the past with a mile(4) and one hundred thirty two meters of length, five point eight meters of height, its surface was four meters of width, its foot was twelve meters of width Another levee was mentioned: A road from Vinh Te road to Sam Mount, two miles and one hundred thirty seven meters of length, six point five meters of height, its surface was four meters of width, its foot was twelve meters of width Finally, a side road from the old levee to Vinh Te fort, ten miles and one hundred and eight meters of length, three meters of height, its surface was four meters of width, its foot was six meters of width at Tay Xuyen district, it was built in the Minh Mang time On the road route, although An Giang province is newly reclaimed in this period, road traffic remains difficult but to defense of the country and people was very important, so the Nguyen Dynasty tried to establish roads to connect the defensive centers in the Southwest border Chau Doc Tan Cuong region, with the advantage of flat land, became the home of many roads From Chau Doc to the boundary line of Vinh Long had a road more than 105.2 km, long; a road to Ha Tien that started from Giang Phuc station more than – 98 km;, a road to Tran Tay from Vinh Te canal more than 19.6 km (NHOND, 2007c; Le Thanh Khoi, 2000; United Nations, 1996); and a road to That Son by “Tan lo kieu luong” road (NHOND, 2006, Vol 5, p 224-225; Le Thanh Khoi, 2000; United Nations, 1996) When Thoai Ngoc Hau returned to defend An Giang, he built “Tan lo kieu luong” road to connect Chau Doc with the strongholds of That Son and Ha Tien “Tan lo kieu luong” road was The road system from Chau Doc was an important proof that showed the role and significant strategy of Chau Doc in the cause of national defense and renovation and 37 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 35 – 41 establishment of villages in the Nguyen Dynasty erea continuous defensive system involving waterways and roads in the Southern region The road traffic system that came from Chau Doc to the South West region, not only served effectively for renovation and establishment of villages, but also the important marching route of the Nguyen Army to control the That Son border region, in addition to transport of food and agricultural products to and from Chau Doc (Duong The Hien, 2014, p 144-162) All strongholds and barracks were continuously built, from Chau Doc to Ha Tien by the Nguyen Dynasty, with the combination of infantry and sailor They were very mobile and skilled in combat The Chau Doc region was not only favorable for defense against invaders but also the important place to ensure the command and support of each element of the Southwest defensive system of the Nguyen Lords and the Nguyen Dynasty It could be said that these military and economic constructions have great significance in protecting and developing the An Giang border area during the Nguyen Dynasty In the Nguyen Dynasty, Chau Doc region was highly appreciated by Nguyen Dynasty when it came to building the command post of both An Giang and Ha Tien: Because Chau Doc had a great influence on the defense policy of the Nguyen Dynasty, therefore, establishing a system of both security and border defense was an important part of national defense in the Southwest border in general and An Giang in particular In terms of shape, although My Duc (Chau Doc) was narrow but it could control the Phu Cu, Kim Du (Ha Tien) It looked like the lap or the throat of the mountains and the sea It was really the important land defensively As the Tien river, and Hau river of An Giang province originated from Phnom Penh, he left of the Hau river was inhabited by Kinh people, the land was flat, and had convenient transportation When the country was first founded, the King set up a fort here (Chau Doc old fort) Nowadays (in 1850), it was Dong Phu fort This land was the important place to control Chenla Long Son was located on the Tien Giang River, and King Tu Duc agree that it was not as important as Dong Phu 2.2 Chau Doc – a national defensive center on the Southwest border in the Nguyen Dynasty In the Nguyen Dynasty, when it came to the strategic location of the An Giang region, military experts were always highly appreciative of the role of Chau Doc It met the requirements to become a center for political, military and economic factors in many periods Chau Doc was considered a complex border region, exploit later, but the strategic location “to lean mountain, to view river”, “before three rivers, after seven mountains”, barricading of both waterways and roads from Chenla came down Vietnam From the Nguyen Lords to the Nguyen Dynasty, this was the place where they concentrated many important strongholds and barracks in a strategic role in the Southwest defensive system from Chau Doc to That Sơn, and Ha Tien All these strongholds created a (NHOND, 2007, Vol 7, p.178) In the defensive strategy of the Nguyen Dynasty in An Giang, Chau Doc was considered the hub with many forts, strongholds, and citadels, and played the role of commander in the defensive system The Nguyen Dynasty soon realized the strategic importance of Chau Doc that few other places 38 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 35 – 41 had Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi wrote, “Chau Doc is located 203 miles to the West of Ha Tien province, 244.5 miles in the North of Phnom Penh (the capital of Chenla), it was really the important place” (NHOND, 2006, p 216) commander was changed annually The king ordered 40 cast iron guns and and gunpowder to be placed there (NHOND, 2007a, p 946) Chau Doc fort was located opposite Tan Chau fort 32.5 miles east of the Tien river, while to the west Ha Tien fort was more than 203 miles away, and in the north Phnom Penh citadel was 240.5 miles Therefore, Chau Doc fort was a strategic defense region (NHOND, 2006, p 216) It is considered an important military base to protect the Southwest border or control Chenla or prevent the Siamese Army In the waterways, Chau Doc was accessible to all important waterways within the Southern region as well as to the East Sea (South China Sea) and the West Sea (Gulf of Thailand), possibly to Chenla, Siam, Ai Lao (Laos) On the land Chau Doc had a road that went to Vinh Long, Ha Tien, Tran Tay (Chenla) and That Son regions Thus, combining the waterways and roads, Chau Doc was well-placed to ensure transport and communication Those were very important factors in the defensive work During the Nguyen Dynasty, on the Southwestern border from Chau Đoc to Ha Tien, the command base of the governor An Ha was in Chau Doc Therefore, Chau Doc became the command center of the Chau Doc Ha Tien region In the mechanism of administrative organization and decentralization of the local administrative system, An Giang and Ha Tien were two big provinces adjacent to each other, and the Nguyen Dynasty dispatched an An - Ha Director general to govern it from his headquarters in the An Giang citadel On the other hand, in the defense strategic of the Nguyen Dynasty on the Southwestern border, Chau Doc was the most important front - line, showing the huge impact of this land on the national security and many important military bases were built An important work built in the 14th year of Gia Long (1815) was Chau Doc fort This fort was built by the proconsul Vinh Thanh Luu Phuoc Tuong, who commanded a total of about seven thousand soldiers (NHOND, 2007a, p 917941) Chau Doc fort was built in the shape of a hexagon, surrounded by trenches through the Hau river, from the front to the rear 488m long, 7m high, the walls were 24m thick, its back toward the Northwest(5), its face toward the Southeast(6), contiguous on the front to the Hau river, trenches were 80m wide and 11m deep on the rear, right and left Inside, there were military buildings and storage (NHOND, 2006, p 216) In Chau Doc, the An Giang citadel is an important place It was built with a perimeter of 1.048km, 9m high, and three doors in the front, left and right sides Bamboo was planted on the outer surface, the trenches were dug six meters deep, around the outside of the trenches dikes 2.7m deep called the Ho Ha dike Previously, it was Chau Doc fort built from the 15th year of Gia Long (1816) and the 13th year of Minh Mang (1832), when it was then capital of An Giang province (NHOND, 2006, p.192-193) In 1835, An Giang citadel was granted: a Thao Nghich cannon, a Vo Cong cannon, twenty Qua Son cannons Chau Doc fort was granted: ten Hồng Y cannons, two Phach Son cannons, ten Qua Son cannons Chau Giang fort was granted: two Hong Y cannons, six Qua Son cannons (NHOND, 2007a, p 827) In 1817, when Chau Doc fort was completed, king Gia Long dispatched 100 soldiers from four other townships, 500 soldiers from Uy Vien fort, at the same time, and selected many good commanders to protect it The soldiers were changed every three months, and the 39 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 35 – 41 Chau Giang fort was repaired on the base of ancient Chau Doc fort in the period of Nguyen Lords in Dong Xuyen district (on par with Chau Doc fort) In 1818, king Gia Long ordered the proconsul of Vinh Thanh Nguyen Van Xuan to rebuild it at the upstream area about a mile away from the old place The new fort was built on land with two facades, one facing north, the other facing south The center of the gazebo was built sharp like an octagon (NHOND, 2006, p 217) activities of organizing the Southwestern border defense of the Nguyen Dynasty in the Chau Doc area allows us to affirm the special role and strategic significance of this land in the cause of national defense not only this stage but also the next stages From 1867, when the French colonized the southwestern provinces, Chau Doc's strategic position in the defense policy of the Nguyen dynasty completely disappeared to start a new role during the French colonial period Chau Doc fort and Doc Tin warehouse had a team of soldiers to keep the warehouse Each team had a captain and a deputy captain The source of soldiers holding warehouses was the men who lived in communes and villages near the citadel (COND, 1993a, p 452) *Explication: (1) Chau Doc Tan Cuong was named by king Gia Long in 1805, meaning the newly reclaimed land of the country (2) Thu Chien Sai was a fort that located on the West of Tra Thon river in Cho Moi district, An Giang province today (Son Nam, 1988, p 11) With many important military projects, Chau Doc became a defensive center on the Southwest border as part of the defense strategy of the Nguyen Dynasty (3) Tran Tay or Tran Tay Thanh is the territory of Southeastern Cambodia today From 1835 to 1841, it was ruled by the Nguyen Dynasty CONCLUSION (4) One mile was four hundred and forty five meters in the Nguyen Dynasty (Le Thanh Khoi, 2000) With an overall view of defensive posture in the Southwest border, the Nguyen Dynasty had determinedly created a solid defensive system to beat all invasions from Chenla and Siam in the border area from An Giang to Ha Tien In that defensive system, Chau Doc with its importance in both geopolitically and militarily area determined the success or failure of the whole system Chau Doc was built by the Nguyen Dynasty into a perfect command, communication and connection center The convenience of both waterways and roads turned this defensive center into an organic linking factor with other defensive systems such as Ha Tien, Dinh Tuong, Vinh Long and Gia Dinh, as well as keeping in close contact with the capital in Hue (5) Kien direction in Feng Shui (6) Ton direction in Feng Shui REFERENCES Cabinet of Nguyen Dynasty, Institute of History (1993a) Kham Dinh Dại Nam Hoi Dien Su Le, vol Hue: Thuan Hoa Publishing House Cabinet of Nguyen Dynasty, Institute of History (1993b) Kham Dinh Dại Nam Hoi Dien Su Le, vol 10 Hue: Thuan Hoa Publishing House Duong The Hien (2014) An Giang’s land area in the defensive policy of Nguyen Lord and Nguyen Dynasties period 1757 - 1867 (Unpublished Master thesis ), Ho Chi Minh City University of Pedagogy, Viet Nam The Nguyen Dynasty was right when they built Chau Doc to become the command center of the Southwest border region Studying the 40 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 35 – 41 Le Thanh Khoi (2000) Learn some units of measurement in the anceint Vietnam Proceedings of Scientific Workshop “Restore Can Chanh palace” Hue-Tokyo: Hue Monuments Conservation Centre & Waseda University Publishing House National History of Nguyen Dynasty, Institute of History (2007d) Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Vol Ha Noi: Education Publishing House National History of Nguyen Dynasty, Institute of History (2006) Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi, Vol Hue: Thuan Hoa Publishing House Sơn Nam (1988) History of An Giang An Giang: An Giang General Publishing House National History of Nguyen Dynasty, Institute of History (2007e) Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Vol Ha Noi: Education Publishing House Son Nam (2004) History of reclamation in the Southern Ho Chi Minh city: Ho Chi Minh Publishing House National History of Nguyen Dynasty, Institute of History (2007a) Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Vol Ha Noi: Education Publishing House United Nations (1996) Department of Economic and Social Affairs Statistical Office of the United Nations World Weights and Measures Handbook for Statisticians Statistical Papers Series M no 21 Revision (ST/STAT/SER.M/21/rev.1) New York: United Nations National History of Nguyen Dynasty, Institute of History (2007b) Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Vol Ha Noi: Education Publishing House National History of Nguyen Dynasty, Institute of History (2007c) Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Vol Ha Noi: Education Publishing House 41 ... factors in the defensive work During the Nguyen Dynasty, on the Southwestern border from Chau Đoc to Ha Tien, the command base of the governor An Ha was in Chau Doc Therefore, Chau Doc became the command... activities of organizing the Southwestern border defense of the Nguyen Dynasty in the Chau Doc area allows us to affirm the special role and strategic significance of this land in the cause of national... national defense not only this stage but also the next stages From 1867, when the French colonized the southwestern provinces, Chau Doc' s strategic position in the defense policy of the Nguyen dynasty