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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION PHAN THI THU WATERWAY TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN TONKIN FROM THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY TO THE EARLY 30S OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Major: History of Vietnam Code: 9.22.90.13 SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL THESIS HANOI - 2020 THE THESIS IS COMPLETED AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION SUPERVISORS: Professor, Ph.D NGUYEN NGOC CO Reviewer 1: Assoc.Professor, Ph.D Nguyen Van Nhat Reviewer 2: Assoc.Professor, Ph.D Vu Van Quan Reviewer 1: Assoc.Professor, Ph.D Phan Ngoc Huyen The thesis is defended at Institutional Thesis Evaluation Committee at Hanoi University of Education at … a.m, … , 2020 The thesis is available at National Library, Hanoi and Hanoi National University of Education Library INTRODUCTION Rationale for topic selection Theoretical meaning of transport in general, waterway navigation in particular plays an important role in economic development Transport is a special material manufacturing industry, although it does not directly create products but it increases product value Therefore, researching the business activities of the transport sector in Tonkin will help to clarify the economic picture in Tonkin Tonkin was considered as a region which had many kinds of mineral resources, famous trade villages, and had important economic and political significance The stretching coastline, with Hai Phong and Quang Yen (now Quang Ninh) ports, was very potential However, it was not until the late nineteenth century when the French expeditions opened a trade route linking Yunnan (China) to Hai Phong seaport that the transport service actually became active At the end of the nineteenth century, in order to support the plundering of human and mineral resources and the transport of letters in Vietnam, France encouraged waterway transport The French shipping companies, operating under the form of capitalist production with strong competition with the Chinese capitalists and other rivals, gradually appeared in the Tonkin On the surface of the Tonkin’s rivers and sea, more and more steam ships running on coal fuel and large-scale harbors with modern machines appeared In the period from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century, waterway transport considered the correlation with the forms of road transport, air transport was more advantageous and more active Because of the natural conditions of rivers, the sea surface in Tonkin was favorable for development; boats at that time were capable of carrying much larger volumes of goods than road transport and were less expensive than air transport In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, politics was a reason why the French colonists attached great importance to the waterway transport activities of Tonkin, because Tonkin occupied an important position in strengthening the Vietnam-China border region, with its hands to penetrate potential Chinese markets Moreover, at this stage, China was being divided by the Western powers The French colonialists had a share in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and they wanted to connect those concessions with their colonial territory in Indochina Waterway transport business in Tonkin in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Chinese bourgeoisie had the advantage of an experienced capital but the French bourgeoisie with the support of the French government quickly dominated the market Vietnamese shipping companies, which were born late, faced fierce competition from Chinese and French transport companies However, with effort and strategy, the Vietnamese companies had also confirmed their name This issue needs to be clarified and studied seriously and intensively in scientific aspect The waterway transport business brought an important change to the face of economic development in Tonkin at the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century Waterway transport played a big role in transporting the quantity of goods and passengers when the road transport industry had not developed, but no scientists had a monograph on this issue, especially in Tonkin Therefore, it was necessary to have a serious and in-depth study on issues surrounding the waterway transport business of companies, especially companies operating in Tonkin area Examining the above subject is an opportunity for the author of the thesis to continue collecting and preserving valuable historical documents for historical research For the above reasons, the author decided to choose the topic "Waterway transport companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century" as the thesis topic Research purposes and mission 2.1 Research purposes Through researching and clarifying waterway transport companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century, the thesis gives a specific view on business reality in Northern Vietnam and enlivens Vietnam's economic picture from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century Concurrently, the thesis contributes to assess the operational capacity and competitiveness of each group of Vietnamese, Chinese and French transport companies Thereby, the thesis points out the challenges faced by Vietnamese companies, the wisdom of Chinese companies and the advantages of French transport companies 2.2 Research mission - To learn about the conditions for the establishment and operation of shipping companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century - To learn about the establishment and operation of shipping companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century - To make some objective comments and assessments on waterway transport companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century Since then, to mention the effects on the socio-economic situation of Tonkin Research subject and scope - The research subject: The typical waterway transport companies in Tonkin include groups of Vietnamese companies, Chinese companies, French companies and some companies from other countries transiting in Tonkin ports - The research scope: + In term of content: Researching the establishment and operation of typical waterway transport companies in Tonkin by groups of Vietnamese, French and Chinese Tonkin was a market for many French, Vietnamese, Chinese transport groups and some transit-operating groups in Hai Phong port such as British, Japanese and German ships, etc, but the number of transit-operating groups was more limited and their influence was not much so the author focuses on studying three main groups of waterway transport companies operating in Tonkin, namely French, Vietnamese and Chinese On that basis, the thesis gives a number of assessments and comments on the operational objectives, operational organization, capacity and performance of the above companies + In term of space: The limited research space of the topic is the companies that had regular business activities of transporting or transiting ports in Tokin However, to ensure the logic of the problem, the thesis has expanded the space to other places to compare and further clarify the main research space of the thesis + In term of time: The topic is limited in time from the end of the nineteenth century Specifically, since 1886, when the French Marty and Abbadie companiy first appeared in Hai Phong The arrival of the new French business method has modernized transport and business activities The emergence of French, Chinese and Vietnamese company groups created a lively activity in the waterway transport business dominated by Chinese capitalists The author chose the milestone to end in the early 30s of the twentieth century, after the world economic crisis of 1929 - 1933 and the development of railway and automobile transportation systems leading to the bankruptcy of many French, Chinese and Vietnamese transport service companies Resources and research methods 4.1 Resources - Documents archived include original documents about legal conditions, inspection reports, activities of water transport companies of the French colonial government in Indochina Documents of some shipping companies and individuals on terms of incorporation, financial reports, financial statements, reports to the French authorities of the shipping firms in Tonkin Daily newspapers published in the early twentieth century such as: Ha Thanh ngo bao, Thuc nghiep dan bao (newspaper of ship businessman Nguyen Huu Thu), Khai hoa nhat bao (newspaper of boat businessman Bach Thai Buoi), stored at National Storage Center I and Vietnam National Library - References, reference books on Vietnamese history, Vietnamese economic history - The monographs refer to the issue of waterway transportation in Indochina in general and waterway transport services in Tonkin in particular - Articles in the journals of “Nghien cuu lich su”, “Nghien cuu Dong Nam A” 4.2 Research Methods The thesis has studied based on the viewpoint of dialectical materialism and Marxist historical materialism with diverse, comprehensive and developed perspectives The author has mainly used historical methods, logical methods and comparison methods By using the above methods, the author has posed the problem of water transport companies in Tonkin in the general context of Vietnam's economy from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century, to see the development of the economy in general and the waterway transport service in particular Although the thesis studies waterway transport companies in a specific area of Tonkin, it is therefore not completely isolated from the general context of Vietnam's economic situation Therefore, the comparative method is also set out by the thesis to have a comparison with the Central and Southern regions In addition, the author has used some other methods such as: collectibles, statistics, synthesis to ensure the accuracy and science of the thesis The method of analyzing events, comparing the system of tables and charts on the operation process of water transport companies is used to draw some comments on the impacts of econimic, cultural – social caused by shipping companies’ operating process, thereby solving the research tasks that the thesis has set Contributions of the topic Firstly, the thesis contributes to clarify the process of establishment and operation of the shipping companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century Secondly, the topic contributes to clarify Vietnam's economic picture, the major changes in business methods of waterway transport, waterway transport means from the end of the nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century, through which the influence of waterway transport companies on the economy and society of Tonkin can be seen Thirdly, the thesis clarifies the reality of competition among groups of waterway transport companies of the French, Chinese and Vietnamese Since then, we can clearly see the patriotism of some ethnic bourgeois such as Bach Thai Buoi, Nguyen Huu Thu, who dare to speak out for the benefits of the Vietnamese bourgeois and had the sense of national economic development Thereby, we have a right assessment of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the above period At the same time, the topic shows the operational capacity and purpose of each company There were companies operating purely for economic purposes, others working for military and political purposes Fourthly, the thesis draws assessments and comments on the process of establishment and operation of waterway transport companies in Tonkin Fifthly, the dissertation serves as a reference for research, teaching and learning topics related to the history of Modern Vietnam The layout of the topic In addition to the introduction, conclusion, references, the main content of the topic consists of chapters: Chapter 1: Overview of research and resources related to the thesis topic Chapter 2: Conditions for the establishment and operation of waterway transport companies in Tonkin Chapter 3: Activities of waterway transport companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to 1914 Chapter 4: Activities of waterway transport companies in Tonkin from 1914 to the early 30s of the twentieth century Chapter 5: comments about waterway transport companies in Tonkin CHAPTER OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH AND RESOURCES RELATED TO THE THESIS 1.1 Studies on transportation in Indochina and Vietnam The issue of waterway transport in Indochina and Vietnam has been studied by many researchers: The book "Works of Indochina public transport works" by Chief Engineer A.A Pouyanne - General Inspector of Indochina Public Works wrote by engineer Nguyen Trong Giai translated into Vietnamese in 1994; The book "Vietnamese History 1919 - 1929" by Ho Song written in 1972; The book "Vietnamese history from the origins to the middle of the twentieth century" (Translator: Nguyen Nghi) by Le Thanh Khoi published in 2016; Author Nguyen Khac Dam wrote the book "Exploiting tactics of French capital in Vietnam" in 1957; The book "Understanding the Vietnamese bourgeoisie during the French colonial period" by Nguyen Cong Binh was published in 1959; The author Chau Hai wrote in his book "Chinese community groups in Vietnam" in 1992; The book "Some issues on Vietnam's economic history", written by Le Quoc Su, was published in 1998; The book "History of Vietnam Transport" was compiled in 1999 by groups of authors Phan Van Lien, Truong Giang and Nguyen Dinh Thuan; The book "Vietnam under the French domination" by Nguyen The Anh was published in 1970; The research paper "The development of transport service industry in the 20s of the twentieth century" by Ta Thi Thuy published in the Journal of Historical Research No in 2007; Continuing research on Vietnam's economy in modern times, author Ta Thi Thuy published a study on "Commercial economy in Vietnam in the early years of the twentieth century" in Journal of Historical Research No 6, 2013; The research paper "The position of the Chinese in Vietnamese commerce during the French colonial period" by Tran Khanh analyzed the relationship between the Chinese and French capital in the early French colonial period 1.2 The research works mentioning the problem of waterway transport in Tonkin during the French colonial period The book "Tonkin today" translated by Tran Van Quang in 1924 of the author Henri Cucherousset mentioned the situation of Tonkin in the early years of the twentieth century, assessing the capacity of seaports in Tonkin; The book "Geography of Northern Provinces" by Do Dinh Nghiem, Ngo Vi Lien and Pham Van Thu in 1930 refers to the natural, socioeconomic conditions of each province in Tonkin The book describes the process and instructions for moving to localities by river and road as the basis for promoting economic and tourism exchanges The book "Dai Nam Facing France and China" by Yoshiharu Tsuboi (Translator: Nguyen Dinh Dau) in 2011; Pierre Gourou's book "The farmer of Tonkin" (translator: Nguyen Khac Dam) of Pierre Gourou published in 2015; The book "The power of the resident and the issue of migration to Cochinchina" by Dao Trinh Nhat in 1924; The book "Tax regime of the French colonialist in Tonkin from 1897 to 1945" by Ho Tuan Dung written in 2003; Understanding about Hai Phong port, author Martinez Julia T published the study "Chinese rice trade and shipping from the North Vietnamese Port of Hai Phong" in 2007; Journal article: "The formation of the urban port in northern Vietnam in the early colonial period - Hai Phong history (1802 - 1888)" by Vu Duong Luan was published in 2009; The research paper "The national spirit in business of Vietnamese enterprises under the French colonial period: The case of Bach Thai Buoi" by Pham Xanh in 1998; Contributing to the problem research process, the author of the thesis also invested seriously in the article "Experience of transport business of Vietnamese companies in Tonkin in the early years of the twentieth century ”, published in the Asia-Pacific Economic Journal No 450 - August 2015; In addition, a number of articles mentioned transportation issues in different aspects such as: “The Tonkin Industry and Trade Association, colleagues and Friends of the magazine with the protection of the interests of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie ", By Pham Xanh - Nguyen Diu Huong's author, Journal of Historical Studies, No 381 (January 2008), pp.10-19; "Career revival activities of Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the early twentieth century", author Tran Viet Nghia published in the Journal of Historical Research, No 7-2008; "A brief introduction about the transit of goods in transit between Hong Kong and Yunnan via the Red River from 1889 to 1899 (via the report of the Indochina Department of Tariffs and Monopolies)" by Le Trung Dung published in the Journal Historical Research, No 7, 2009; "Trade relations at the Vietnam - China border from the end of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century" of Chuong Thau published in the Journal of Historical Research No in 2000; The doctoral thesis of "History of Northern Vietnam Internal Trade in the 1919 - 1939 period" by Vu Thi Minh Huong was defended in 2002 at the Institute of History; The thesis "Vietnamese bourgeois in Tonkin in the first three decades of the twentieth century" by Tran Thanh Huong was protected at Hanoi National University of Education in 2012; The thesis "L'industrialization de la ville de Haiphong de la fin du xixe siècle jusqu'à l'année 1929 (Industry of Hai Phong city from the end of the 19th century to 1929)" by Tran Van Kien defensed in 2017 at Aix-Marseille University The above studies have covered various fields related to the topic However, there has not been any in-depth and complete research work on the operation of waterway transportation firms in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century 1.3 The archives related to the subject Contemporary daily newspaper: "Khai hoa nhat bao" was first issueed on July 15 th, 1921 and suspended on September 10th, 1927 "Ha Thanh ngo bao" from 1927 to 1952 is suspended "Thuc nghiep dan bao" was published in the years 1920 - 1935 "Trung hoa nhat bao" was published in 1924 and ceased in 1945 The French-language files at the National Storage Center I: The File of Nha registration, properties, stamps of Indochina has documents related to the topic, The File of Van Nam Dong Duong Railway Company has records, The File of Financial Department of Indochina has 15 records, The File of Fleet of Indochina has 12 records, The File of Hanoi Doctrine has records, The File of the Governor of Tonkin has 171 records, The File of General Governor of Indochina has 16 files, The File of Indochina General Public Inspector has file, etc Some records have been digitized or readable on computers, but some are still in the form of paper documents written centuries ago so it is inevitable that decay, termites, fuzzy letters, and handwriting are difficult to translate The author of the thesis must have had an academic exchange process with the French History Professor, Mr Henri Eckert - Deputy Director, a specialized instructor in the history of the University of Antilles - University of Teacher Training and educating Martinique to get the most accurate Vietnamese translation of these French documents In summary, the published works mentioned above are valuable references for the author when researching the topic The author of the thesis hopes that his research results will fully and systematically illustrate the picture of waterway transport economic activities in Tonkin in the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century systematically assesses its role in economic development in Tonkin and the level of influence and economic exchange brought about by waterway transport activities 1.4 The dissertation issues inherited and focused on solving 1.4.1 The dissertation issues inherited Firstly, the research works have focused on clarifying the role of transport, providing an overview approach for the thesis topic From there, it is possible to compare and evaluate the performance of the waterway transport companies in Tonkin compared to other regions Secondly, analyzing the natural, socio-economic conditions of Tonkin which directly or indirectly impacted on waterway transport activities The above conditions determined the type of transport, the direction of transport, the mode of transport business and the competitive environment of water transport companies in Tonkin Third, reflecting the activities of a number of transport companies in Tonkin and important routes Transport infrastructure, the number of ships and boats moving on the big rivers have been mentioned Especially, the seaport systems invested and developed in: Hai Phong, Hon Gay and Nam Dinh Fourthly, analyzing transport activities of a number of companies / traders of French, Chinese and Vietnamese groups from the end of the nineteenth century to the first 30 years of the twentieth century Fifthly, clarifying the impact of transport activities on the Indochina economy, analyzing the changes of the socio-economy of Tonkin associated with the development of transport activities Sixthly, aggregated data on the activities of a number of transport companies: routes, operations, human resource, volume of transportation, etc were mentioned by some works Although the above figures are incomplete and still scattered, they are an important basis for the thesis to research deeply In summary, by researching the relevant documents, the author realized that up to now, there has not been a topic focusing on in-depth research on water transport companies in Tonkin since the end of the nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century This is considered to be the most prosperous period for waterway transport companies operating in Tonkin Besides the issues studied, some contents related to shipping companies in Tonkin from the end of the nineteenth century to the first 30 years of the twentieth century have not been resolved as follows: Firstly, works related to transport companies often reflect some fields such as commerce, finance, agriculture and industry Some research authors have placed transport services as a complementary industry and only reflected the activity of economic sectors rather than generating profits for themselves Secondly, studies directly related to transport often reflect a number of transport directions developed and colonized by the colonial government after World War I: roads and railways Water transport focused mainly on Hai Phong port (sea) but the field of river transport had not been concerned, has not been considered the connection between the river and the sea Therefore, it is not possible to fully and comprehensively evaluate the waterway transport industry in this period Thirdly, the works mentioning transport companies have been pointed throungh, not generalized and clarified the process of birth, operation and competitiveness of the above companies Compared with other fields, the transport service industry was the only field where Vietnamese bourgeois has initially built up a position to compete with foreign capitalists Fourthly, the assessments of the above works from the perspective of an economic entity associated with Vietnamese, Chinese and French people, so they have not evaluated in the perspective of a new production and business method that the subject was involved Therefore, the study of the thesis topic has contributed to further clarifying new research perspectives of history during this period 1.4.2 The dissertation issues focused on solving Firstly, exploring the conditions for the establishment and operation of shipping companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century Thereby clarifying the nature of French colonialism in Vietnam and assessing the advantages and disadvantages for waterway transport services Secondly, reflecting the process of establishment and operation of waterway transport companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century, which is mainly represented by three groups of companies: Vietnamese, French and Chinese Thirdly, making some objective comments on the shipping companies in Tonkin from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century From that, it points out the effects of waterway transport activities of these companies on the socio-economic situation of Tonkin in this period CHAPTER CONDITIONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF WATERWAY TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN TONKIN 2.1 Natural condition Vietnam locating in the tropical monsoon region and the high rainfall has many rivers and streams which densely arrange throughout the country The sea in hot water zone without frozen is very convenient for boats The system of rivers in Tonkin is divided into two systems: the Red River system and the Thai Binh river system, flowing in the Northwest - Southeast direction, which is quite convenient for means of goods transporting with the cheap cost The French government had invested in many expeditions on Tonkin rivers with the expectation of exporting goods to Yunnan (China) via the river in Tonkin Hanoi became the center of domestic goods circulation Sea freight is concentrated in Hai Phong port which was built early by France and considered the center for the trade activities of Tonkin and international cargo transshipment to Hong Kong, Singapore or to France However, during the flood or shallow season with the large amount of alluvium and alluvial sand in the Tonkin rivers made the transport length shorter Toward the upstream, people could not interfere too deeply due to the risk of changing in flow Tonkin often faced many storms and tropical depressions causing floods and rising water levels The rains caused dike breaks on rivers, creating turbulence at sea, strongly affecting economic activities and waterway transportation 2.2 Socio-economic conditions In the period of exchanging and trading activities became more and more exciting, transportation was considered as a continuation of production and circulation, promoting production and business activities The waterway transport activities were created relatively early because of their effectiveness and low demand for construction of the infrastructure Many new 11 The Vietnamese bourgeois was born lately, faced with many difficulties, responding to the movement "Duy Tan drumming, Industry flag raising", in the ship transport business, Vietnamese bourgeois was quite active in Tonkin The most famous was Bach Thai Buoi with the establishment of a transportation company; successive bourgeois Nguyen Huu Thu In 1909 Bach Thai Buoi established a transport company, run the route Hanoi - Nam Dinh, headquartered in Nam Dinh, operating quite often in the first two years, despite of Chinese competition In 1910, the routes: Hanoi - Hai Phong, Hanoi - Nam Dinh, Hanoi - Tuyen Quang, Hanoi - Cho Bo, were opened The year 1914 marked a turning point of Bach Thai Buoi Because the French government was focusing its efforts on the First World War in its nation, the business of Bach Thai Buoi was easier Realizing that this was an opportunity for career development, on August 1, 2014, Mr Bach opened another office in Hanoi Also in 1914, Mr Bach began to head in Hai Phong, although, before that, Bach Thai Buoi had had transport routes to Hai Phong, Hanoi Before 1914, Bach Thai Buoi could not stand in the transport market in Hai Phong port due to the maximum monopoly of French capitalist companies Bach Thai Buoi's ships, when operating river routes, considered their direct competitor to be a Chinese ships Battles for passengers led to accidents that was quite common Bach Thai Buoi and Chinese merchants did not directly resolve disputes in the accident because they did not want to involve the government in handling big cases It could be seen that both Vietnamese and Chinese identified difficulties if they had to compete with the French when they were favored by the government and the legal system in Tonkin still had many unfair problems with indigenous people if compared to the French The French were not subject to sanctions under the law in Tonkin because the government stipulated that they were only punished by France A number of occasional accidents occurred due to natural disasters, usually during the high and dry seasons Bach Thai Buoi recognized the relationship between economy and politics, participating in Tonkin Chamber of Commerce was the way for Bach Thai Buoi to have more prestige and greater advantages in the market Bach Thai Buoi was very successful when receiving orders for transporting wine (exclusive French goods) to the French government That showed the agility of Bach Thai Company The personnel on board were quite complete and professional, on the ships, there must be a ship owner, a helper, a merchant, a machine supervisor and a sailor (mtre d’équipage - a crew) Bach Thai Buoi boldly hired many Chinese and French to work for his company At least 50% employees working on board were foreigners Bach Thai Buoi often acquired the facilities of the old companies, and also reserved the business rights of these companies Therefore, Bach Thai Buoi proved to be quite positive when acquiring rival companies not only for facilities but also for the great benefits from the privileges that only French companies have All orders and interests of the colonial government assigned to the French company were reserved and transferred to Bach Thai Buoi This approach had helped Bach Thai Buoi build reputation for the company's activities in the future In short, the Vietnamese transportation company was lately established, but it operated vigorously, competed strongly with Chinese and French companies The growth of even one individual, Bach Thai Buoi, inspired Vietnamese businessmen to confidently and bravely involve in many economic and political fields in Indochina 3.2 Chinese shipping companies Chinese shipping companies were born early and considered to be a business that gave Chinese people significant profits and benefits Like other places, the Chinese went wherever they lived, they also set up shopping centers and considered that place as "second home country" - the second hometown Their businesses were built up very orderly, solitarily, with activities to support and help each other Even when the Nguyen government surrendered completely to the French colonialists in 1884, the transport business market in Tonkin was still 12 in Chinese hands The Chinese sent a petition to the French consulate in Tonkin to request the freedom of import and export of rice, free of charge for river transport activities At the same time, in order to legitimize commercial activities in Tonkin when strictly controlled by the French, Chinese merchants the British flag and used to drive British ships The relationship between the Chinese to Tonkin and the Chinese in Hong Kong was maintained during the period when Hong Kong became the British motor, so it was not difficult to find European staff to drive the ships In order for the first French transport company Marty and Abbadie to set foot in Hai Phong in 1886 to be able to business here, the following year, in 1887, the French colonial government issued a policy of heavy taxation into Chinese goods that enter Vietnam The presence of Chinese bourgeois in the fields of economy - politics had shown a certain concession of the French government as well as the strength of Chinese companies in Tonkin Evidence was that the rice trader and owner Guan-Sing were listed in the Tonkin Chamber of Commerce and Hai Phong City Council Another special feature was that although the French government had established its rule in Tonkin, it had always been wary of Chinese power and did not want to be overly aggressive with Chinese businessmen The French government found itself unable to manage and comprehend the entire Tonkin transport market, especially in areas near the Chinese border and almost helpless due to the close association of Chinese businessmen Many waterway transport companies were established in China and then water routes were built in Tonkin to trade in ancient times Therefore, Vietnamese people often called those Chinese tourists “Tau” because they often used trains to come here and used ships to transport goods to Vietnam In order to avoid declaring revenue, paying high taxes, and being controlled by the French government, information about China's water transport activities operating in Indochina was restricted, but only the main company in China They used small boats along the river to buy rice from farmers by lending money at the beginning of the season and demanding when the rice harvest was due Usually hot loans at the beginning of the county had very high interest rates, usually 30 to 40% Most of the harvested product was sent to the borrower to pay interest, not loans Poor farmers had been forced into huge debt systems, relying on and selling agricultural products to Chinese traders with no other choice The rice was then transferred from the collecting agents to the ports of Hai Phong or Nam Dinh (where there are large mills) on the rivers or roads before being loaded onto ships transported by sea to Hong Kong or Singapore Some small traders use junks and boats to buy rice in smaller seaports in Quang Yen or on Ky Cung and Red rivers, or through its tributary, Lo River Chinese traders often found the ways to avoid paying taxes or increasing the volume of shipping on ships The Chinese ships were very primitive and of poor quality On the river route connecting Hanoi with Lao Cai, there were often small Chinese boats operating Lao Cai at this time was a cargo rotation port Goods from Tonkin sold to China or from China to Tonkin must be dismantled and changed means of transportation in Lao Cai Goods from the Tonkin plain were transported on large boats to cross the river to Lao Cai Here, they can be transferred to the rafts upstream to Mang Hao, or by road, on the mule, following the canyons to Mong Tu or Kai-hou-fou Some of the Chinese ships were linked in the form of small traders, even personal, easy to change transportation purposes, and even engage in illegal activities such as smuggling goods human trafficking and trafficking (women and children) in border areas The number of Chinese shipping companies was small comparing to European companies China Hong Kong - Bangkok Shipping Company, founded in 1906, carried rice from Hai Phong In the early stages, Chinese merchants had to depend on European ships to 13 transport rice to Hong Kong In 1907, a new increase in shipping prices was imposed on rice products (levied on rice transportation taxes), causing a wave of protest among Chinese merchants To combat these conditions, Chinese businessmen boycotted shipping of rice in Hai Phong port and focused on hiring a rival company to compete with other French companies The boycott movement took place twice in 1907 and 1909, but it also caused great losses to Chinese rice exporters During the trips, Chinese boats were also frequently involved in accidents and overloaded, fined by the French government as well as had been requested by the Governor of Tonkin to strictly supervise to avoid tax losses Different from Vietnamese companies (available for Chinese, French in name of representatives), Chinese businessmen always chose Chinese representatives to easily handle arising problems related to legal status, legal conditions for the operation of ships The closeddoor way of doing business had helped Chinese companies keep business secrets, limited outside influences but also revealed limitations and created distance for indigenous people That explained why Chinese merchants, despite their many years of business in Tonkin, could not create a strong attachment to the Vietnamese The main opponent of French capital when investing in the transport industry was the Chinese bourgeoisie With taxes and local government systems, the French colonialists sought to pave the way for French companies to invest in Indochina In contrast, the Chinese bourgeois tried to cement trade with transport, strengthened solidarity against the local government and strangled competitors: French capital in Indochina and Vietnamese bourgeoisie 3.3 French shipping companies The goal of the French colonialists was to try to seize all economic sectors of Vietnam and to increase the dependence of this already weak economy on the economy of the country, from which the position of France was strengthened in the context of the anti-French uprising started sporadically in some places Vietnam was too far away for the French people, the hot climate was not suitable for the French, so French capital in Vietnam invested into business quite cautiously In order to increase the attractiveness of the Vietnamese colonial market, the French government accepted subsidizing money for companies doing business in Vietnam, especially those that could serve the government's work such as waterway transport 3.3.1 Marty and Abbadie Company Founded in France in 1867 by Marty and Abbadie, in 1886 the company was present in Hai Phong Marty and Abbadie had a contract specifying benefit shares in which Marty held the highest number of shares, so it could be referred to as Marty company for short The head office was in Hai Phong and had regular service on Hanoi - Hai Phong - Nam Dinh route Later, the company also held the exclusive right of Hai Phong - Huong Cang (Hong Kong) After 1914, due to the influence of the First World War, this company gradually went bankrupt and ships and repair workshops were bought by Bach Thai Buoi The year 1886 was marked as a prosperous business year for the Marty company, with the establishment of offices throughout the branches of Tonkin River Marty Company named some of its ships Vietnamese names, often associated with places where the ship operated such as Lao Kay (Lao Cai), Hai Phong armored ship, or Day long boat (Day river), Bao Ha boat, Cho Bo, Bac Hat, Hung Yen ships, so on On August 3, 1907 Marty and Abbadie Company changed its name to A.R Marty to operate the parcel transport service between Hai Phong and Guangzhou Loan The shipyard employed both Chinese and Vietnamese, under the supervision of experienced European engineers Marty's workshop could all the mechanical work and special care of shipbuilding equipped with all the necessary tools and operated by steam engines Later when Marty went bankrupt, Bach 14 Thai Buoi put a lot of effort to buy back with that factory The company accepted both military and prisoner’s delivery, letters transport to the state when needed Marty company was considered a company with many quality ships, large tonnage, serving many types of passengers The company could build 300- to 500-ton armored ships at its workshop in Hai Phong Marty company also faced many difficulties such as: accidents and less subsidies than Roque but it was responsible for clearing the flow of rivers which were the route for the ships to travel more safely forward the request of the Indochina General Governor Marty company sometimes had tricks in business In 1895, Marty signed a contract to transport timber but left it to another shipping company to get the difference but that was discovered Marty made the most of France's financial support for its losses Marty made a report summarizing the company's losses from 1902 to 1907 on the Hai Phong - Hong Kong route by ship to the Indochina General Governor to ask for an increase in benefits Marty company was weakening due to the increasing number of German ships in Tonkin waters, the business often sufferd losses, the government lost trust, the shipyard was competed by Porchet workshop, Marty company came to an end of bankruptcy in 1915 The bankruptcy of Marty Company had become an opportunity for Vietnamese entrepreneurs to seize opportunities and rise up 3.3.2 Deschwanden Company Deschwanden Company was a river and sea transport company in Tonkin The company was officially opened in Tonkin on October 27, 1907 and was known as "Société des Messageries fluviales du Tonkin." The head office was located in Hai Phong The company's ships were well equipped Mr Deschwanden was the head, representing the company The main route was from Hai Phong to Hanoi Deschwanden company was famous for transporting rice and especially transporting workers to other French colonial islands - a form of labor export during the French colonial period The company went bankrupt in 1917 because it was no longer subsidized by the state due to the severe consequences of the war 3.3.3 Roque company Roque Company, also known as the firm of Indochina barge and tug, was headed by Mr Roque According to Trung Hoa daily newspaper No 74 issued on May 31, 1924, the notice was published, Roque company, also known as "anonymous French East", specialized in leasing barges and tows of boats The General Department was located in Hai Phong This company transported opium into Indochina when opium was not yet considered illegal Rice wine was also considered a monopoly of the colonial government 3.4 Transport companies of other countries transiting in Tonkin: German ships increasingly appearing in Tonkin waters seriously threatened the development of French companies The China Navigation company of Butterfield and Swere (British’s) transiting in Hai Phong was also a rival of German ships but they were not very keen on the shipping market here CHAPTER ACTIVITIES OF WATERWAY TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN TONKIN FROM 1914 TO THE EARLY 30S OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY World War I caused many difficulties for colonial countries but also created opportunities for the colonial age to mature During the war (1914-1918), the colonial government did not pay much attention to the French companies that created gaps in the Indochinese economy, to 15 strengthen its position in the field of water transport - a field that was considered a market for French and Chinese people After 1919, French capital increased its investment in Indochina The strong investment wave of French companies to Tonkin during 1924 - 1929 increased the number of transport service companies However, the world economic crisis and the policy of putting pressure on colonial countries made transportation companies more difficult after that The waterway transport company gradually gave way to road and rail 4.1 Vietnamese waterway transport companies 4.1.1 Company of Bach Thai Buoi After buying Marty shipyard, in April 1916, Bach Thai Buoi officially announced the establishment of "Giang Hai boat rotation of Bach Thai company", referred to as Bach Thai company Its head office was relocated from Nam Dinh to Hai Phong Satellite offices were built in places: Nam Dinh, Hanoi, Tuyen Quang, Viet Tri and Ben Thuy In addition to the fixed routes, he also opened seasonal transport routes This shew that he was very active in business On September 7, 1919, Bach Thai Buoi's company made a big splash when launching Binh Chuan ship completely designed and constructed by Vietnamese at Cua Cam (Hai Phong) It also thanked to this first large ship of Vietnam that Bach Thai Buoi was called the "King of Vietnamese ships" The business solution of Bach Thai Buoi Company was mainly to buy old ships of the French bourgeois or hire their ships to reduce costs, so sometimes it was risky The difficulty was the wisdom when bought old ships of Bach Thai Buoi were often renovated and extended by efficient and creative workers to carry more Before opening a new route, he always advertised on the mass media with memorable poems Bach Thai Buoi founded a newspaper named “Khai hoa nhat bao” (daily newspaper of Civilization) to fully exploit the strengths of communication and advertising The front page of the newspaper always had a sales section of waterway transport business and the following two pages were devoted to advertising In those two advertising pages, there was always a billboard of Bach Thai company and it was also placed next to the ad of the Sauvage river transport company - the French shipping company competing with Bach Thai Buoi company Advertising was often in easy-to-understand Nom poetry, the recording schedule of the lunar calendar which was suitable for the intellectual level of our country was also to encourage the patriotism and love of the ethnic language It was important that the bulletin board section was in both French and Chinese It proved that there were quite a lot of Chinese and French people choosing to move by Bach Thai Buoi’s ships Moreover, writing such notice shew the professionalism and competitiveness of Bach Thai Buoi On cruise ships, it was indispensable to record incident One of the useful jobs of the employees on the Bach Thai Buoi ship was to help people in the journey, many times there were records of intentional collision of rival ships, accidents due to natural disasters, due to carelessness or inexperience of train drivers Some of the faults that Bach Thai Buoi companies made were: tax evasion, overloading, lawsuits The difficulty in doing business was also caused by signs of pre-crisis of the world economy from 1929 to 1933 and the compression by many tricks of the French colonialists, leading to the company becoming more and more unprofitable In 1928 Bach Thai declared bankruptcy and sold the company to his rival, Sauvage Bach Thai Buoi asked Sauvage to get some skilled employees back from the company for a long time so that they would not be unemployed Some of Mr Bach's ships transferred to Sauvage: Hong Bang, Thieu Tri, Kien Phuc, Lac Long, etc 4.1.2 Nguyen Huu Thu's company Before 1914, Nguyen Huu Thu had started the business of tractor transport After 1914, Nguyen Huu Thu had a shipping business, but until 1925 he officially established a waterway transport company in Hai Phong The company had more than 10 passenger ships on the river 16 and the northern coast, with routes running from Hai Phong to Nam Hai, Bac Hai (PaKhoi), Hong Kong He published “Thuc nghiep dan bao” newspaper in the years 1920 - 1935 This was a daily economic, commercial, industrial and agricultural newspaper, considered the voice of the bourgeoisie, the landlords in Tonkin The newspaper fostered entrepreneurial spirit and also advertised his shipping companies' activities He had been a member of the Hai Phong Chamber of Commerce since 1910 After only a few years of waterway transport business, his company had occupied the majority of Hai Phong - Hong Kong, Hai Phong - Nam Dinh waterway routes In the company's transport fleet, there were two vessels Bao Thach and Dong Loi of 615 tons To exploit the rivers, Nguyen Huu Thu Company used a tugboat instead of self-propelled ships It was a scientific progress in the early twentieth century (at the end of the century people used pushing method instead of pulling method) However, his company was not very developed due to continuous accidents In the newspaper L'Éveil de l'Indochine published on May 20, 1934, it was reported that Mr Nguyen Huu Thu sold the company to the Chinese The newspaper stated the reason why the bourgeois had to sell his company because there was no takeover However, we all understood that the fate of the waterway transport business of Nguyen Huu Thu company was no different from that of Bach Thai Buoi The compression, the risks on the way of transport led two Vietnamese bourgeois to sell their company to the opponent 4.2 Chinese shipping companies The world entered the First World War, France was busier with the situation in the country, so the waterway transport business in Tonkin Vietnam was neglected by the government This was also an opportunity for Chinese bourgeoisie to revive their ancient status in the Tonkin river transport market From 1914 onwards, Chinese boats often engaged in aggressive acts such as intentionally crashing and hitting ships of Vietnamese bourgeois, particularly Bach Thai Buoi, expressing their will to passengers compete with no mercy with ships of Bach Thai Buoi running on the same route The intentional accidents listed above were almost entirely clear that they were mostly caused by Chinese bosses' ships However, both sides were businesspeople, moreover the government was French sponsoring French shipping companies, so the lawsuits were less visible after the collision, mostly judged by mouth, arranged between the two sides From the beginning, they still wanted to target popular customers, not luxurious French Therefore, passengers accepting to go on a crowded ship and the owner of the ship often carrying more than the prescribed number were still common in Chinese boats They had loyal and quite stable customer bases who were Chinese living in Tonkin 4.3 French shipping companies 4.3.1 Roque company (Sacric company) The staff in Mr Roque's office were some Vietnamese This was the same thing that he was not satisfied, but he could not find a Frenchman to hire in suitable jobs In 1915, the person in charge of delivering and receiving the letter complained about the service quality of the company to the Northern Governor The company had not yet paid attention to its most important mission, which was to deliver mail, not to transport passengers or civil goods The Governor said he would probably apply the punishment according to the written contract or not pay the pension as a warning During its operation, in 1921, Roque's company had an extraordinary board meeting demanding that all of its shares be sold, with more than 80,000 shares This unexplainable fluctuation quickly ended with the Roque company changing its name to Sacric This spectacular conversion was because Sacric had an "inner hand", someone working in Dong Duong bank wanted to trade more water transport segment, so it allowed to increase capital for Sacric 17 company so that Sacric could buy Roque Roque became a stake of Sacric Sacric's full name was the Unknown Indochina Transportation and Towing Company (Société de Chalandage et Remorquage de indochine - SACRIC) established on April 6, 1921 in Hai Phong The main route Hai Phong - Phu Lang Thuong had stops of Dong Trieu and Pha Lai The company was sponsored by the French Finance and Colonial Association Sacric company provided some administrative services on the river and sea of Tonkin, with the support of France On April 17, 1931, Sacric Company was also in charge of transporting 500 legionnaires to Tonkin In 1931, instead of renewing the contract with Sacric company, Indochina General Governor turned to bidding to get more benefits Indochina General Governor required to recount Indochina budgets spending on companies to be evaluated as the financial director said it was useless to pay a subsidy to the shipping company because the current road traffic had grown Since 1932, from the point of view of the financial director, waterway transport in this country was no longer useful for the military, the post office and passengers People 's choice of transportation was moving towards the type of automobile transport because it was more convenient and roads were starting to be expanded more Therefore, the financial director of Indochina bank proposed to transfer subsidy budget to car transport In 1930 the financial director negotiated with the post office to say that after December 31, 1932 there was no need to renew the contract with Sacric 4.3.2 Chargeurs Réunis Company Established in 1872 in France, the company started operating in Vietnam from 1885 to 1950 The company specialized in large vessels sailing to the sea The company's insignia was shaped like a dolphin, but people still called it the "Five-Star Firm" because the stars representing the five continents were drew on the banner and around the chimney This was the company that Uncle Ho applied to work as a kitchen assistant on the ship Amiral Latouche Tréville of Chargeurs Réunis company with the name Van Ba 4.3.3 Messageries Maritimes Company In 1862, the first time the company had a ship docked in Saigon On the insignia of the ship was a single-headed horse's figure, so people often called it "Horse-Head Firm" The company officially operated in Tonkin area from 1919 to 1934 4.3.4 Indochina Fleet Indochina Fleet was the name of a civil service of Indochina General Governor It was completely different from the French navy The Indochina Fleet's departure to Tonkin in 1901 was due to General Governor Paul Doumer's ambition to develop shipping trade in Indochina, operating until 1922, it stopped commercial voyages with only the administrative transportation In 1917, the Indochina Fleet chartered two Japanese ships, one of "white" Russian in 1918 (not red because France did not recognize the Lenin government) and Britain to run the voyage to Hai Phong - Saigon – Bangkok and to the colonial islands of France The purchase or hire of foreign ships made the Indochina Fleet lack initiative in the voyages On this occasion, the Indochina General Governor, Albert Sarraut said that Indochina was fully capable of building large ships General Governor wanted to build a shipbuilding industry in Indochina to overcome the shortage of ships in the war This was the reason why the French government agreed to invest money for the Indochina Fleet to undertake the construction of three ships: Albert Sarraut was built in Saigon (named after the Indochina General Governor, Albert Sarraut) and later leased to Bach Thai Buoi, Van Vollenhoven was built in Hai Phong (named after the Indochina General Governor in 1914 during the war he was assigned to Africa and died in the war there) later leased to Nguyen Huu Thu, the third ship named Les fils de Paul Doumer translated as "son of Paul Doumer" was also built in Hai Phong later also leased but no detailed report 18 4.3.5 Sauvage Company Sauvage's company initially had a wine carrier After Marty went bankrupt, the company took over a part of Marty In 1918 Sauvage Company acquired the right to exploit the river routes previously owned by Marty company from the Northern Governor, officially established the company led by Mr Fortuné Sauvage and sponsored by colonial government, its head office was in Hai Phong Later Sauvage became one of the famous French in the shipping business and river transport of Indochina This was a company competing with Bach Thai Buoi People used to call Sauvage's ship a letter ship because they mainly sent letters to the state, or called “West Deaf” because Sauvage's owner was deaf Sauvage also operated seasonal festival trips, associating with Sacric because the ships of these two companies run at the same time, to support each other and to prevent any problems on the road without disrupting the holiday journey of passengers Information was posted consecutively in Ha Thanh ngo bao 4.3.6 Lapicque company Lapicque acquired a part of the Marty company Lapicque had studied the waterways of southern China and the Gulf of Tonkin Lapicque often dealed in Hong Kong with the Song Hoi ship Then, in 1921, Lapicque leased the ship to the Indochina Fleet Lapicque company was famous for the transportation of workers, bringing people to work in the colonies or markets of France 4.4 Transport companies of other countries transiting in Tonkin Other waterway transport companies to Tonkin during the period of 1914 to the early 30s were all docked in Hai Phong for a short time to rest and refuel Because the exchange of goods was more difficult because the French intentionally imposed high taxes on other countries' products to reduce competition with the French merchants in Tonkin Therefore, information about the operation of these foreign ships was not stored Particularly information about the German ships was updated by the French government Especially from 1914 to 1917, the French government was very nervous about German ships docking in Hai Phong Germany was a rival of France in World War I France doubted that German was aiding Vietnam, so they carefully inspected the luggage of passengers on German ship The colonial minister's directive was that they did not sell coal to German ships and to German pro-companies In 1924, trading activities of shipping companies of other countries in Tonkin became exciting again; especially with the appearance of British ships 19 CHAPTER COMMENTS ABOUT WATERWAY TRANSPORT COMPANIES IN TONKIN Tonkin was a place with great potential for water transport companies to exploit From a point of view of development, the formation of the transport system in Tonkin under French colonial period changed the economic face of Tonkin Closer connections between businesses, vibrant competitive activities and capitalist production infused a new spirit into the previously closed socio-economy As a result, the transport industry had been able to contribute to the development of many other industries related to transport needs, opened up business opportunities for newly emerging Vietnamese capitalists For the first time, Vietnamese had been able to travel on modern ships, witnessed large-scale ocean-going ships, used professional transport services and were acquainted with the company-style operation In 1888, the French built HaiPhong port to become one of the famous seaports, invested in yards, warehouses, ship repair workshops made waterway transport a bright spot compared to other transport sectors The proof was that water transport could grow into professional trading companies that survived during the early years of the twentieth century For the first time in Indochina in general, in Vietnam in particular, a vacuum transportation posture which was waterway railway - road transport was formed These were the three very basic axes of transport in Indochina during this period For Vietnamese companies, there was a big change in themselves For the first time in the history of the Vietnamese shipping business, there had been a leap forward from small scale to large scale of professional capital 5.1 Operation target The initial goal of all these companies was profit, the Frenchmen were also politically targeted In addition to economic goals, Vietnamese companies wanted to show patriotism, hoped to build an economy of the nation, limited dependence on foreign companies Because holding the transport industry was the key to develope the economic market, it was an opportunity to create a strong influence in business of other fields 5.2 Operating organization The waterway transport companies were born and thrived after the French colonialists conducted colonial exploitation in Indochina To be able to maintain and develop, transport companies must have good facilities and large financial resources, build a team of captains, engineers, canoes, qualified staff who had experience in managing the company, be able to develop the brand and promote the activities Chinese companies: To avoid being influenced by the French government and the French capitalist squeeze, Chinese transport companies often organized on a small scale and did not have a large headquarters in Tonkin They tended to link into transport groups and associations Like many places, skilled Chinese businessmen had closely linked transport with business and commerce to create a closed business network, limit competition and dependence on the outside After the Chinese waterway transport activities were no longer a strong position in Tonkin compared to the French transport, Chinese businessmen continued to maintain a small scale of their business activities, even shifted form from transporting people to transporting goods at a short distance around the Red River region, connecting with the Yunnan region (China) The Chinese published the Overseas Chinese daily newspaper to encourage and advocate for the Chinese community in Vietnam Chinese businessmen had many tricks, did not leave information to avoid taxes The common feature of the Chinese shipping companies was that they were all set up in China then operated ships to Tonkin, or there were shipping 20 routes between Tonkin and China It would be easier for Chinese companies to declare revenue, pay taxes, and avoid being controlled by the French authorities and so on Therefore, information about their revenues and activities was still unknown for researchers French companies: Companies operated in a relatively common stock-style: Marty, Roque were all holders of a large number of shares and decision-making power within the company, behind them there were powerful economy – politics forces of colonial government French companies were maintained by governmental patronage, whose operations depended heavily on the government's supply of public goods, transport and services Manpower in the company was mainly French, the Vietnamese only assumed the position of service, support and the number was not much France was extremely interested in the application of science and technology in shipbuilding to show the strength of the nation, the French ships were equipped modernly with a team of well-trained and certificated captains and engineers However, after France put all its efforts into the First World War, the support activities for these companies were gone, a series of large and modern French ships were sold, many businesses went bankrupt The over-reliance on the government had made the company's operating capacity weak, inertial, unable to change its purpose of operation without receiving sponsorship Although they still had some issues that did not satisfy the French government in the colony, in terms of comparison with the group of Vietnamese and Chinese companies, their operational capacity was still the top French companies often undertook international transport routes, long routes across the continent requiring large capital, modern transport technology and great power Vietnamese companies: Although being born later, they had shown their agility in business activities Most of the facilities for the operation of Vietnamese transport companies were bought from France after the above companies sold their ships and repair workshops The Vietnamese staff was highly respected by Bach Thai Buoi The number of workers working for him amounted to thousands While many protests and strikes took place in many places, the companies of Bach Thai Buoi did not take on such things because of the respect and hospitality of the company's leaders While renting a French ship, Bach Thai Buoi was willing to hire former employees of the opponent to use skilled workers and acquaintances without losing training time In order to feel secure about the staff of the company, Mr Bach Thai Buoi intended to open an industrial school right in the factory in Hai Phong to teach young people who were interested in machine learning and had a career mind This would be a human resource to replace the position of those who went before they reached the age of retirement His foresight was rare among Vietnamese business people of that time The purchase of the repair and shipbuilding workshop of the Marty Company in 1915 proved that Bach Thai Buoi paid attention to equipping long-term logistics facilities for ships From here, Bach Thai Buoi was the first official Vietnamese to make a breakthrough - entering the manufacturing industry: self-repairing ships and culminating in self- building Binh Chuan ship Since then, it was necessary to have a different assessment method from the previous one, saying that during the colonial period, Vietnamese people had no mechanical engineering industry Through this study, this view was not necessarily true, although Bach Thai Buoi repair and shipbuilding workshop was only spontaneous mechanical engineering 5.3 Competing capability Transport activities of companies from the late nineteenth century to the early 30s of the twentieth century took place very lively send competed fiercely French companies sponsored by the French government, with the advantage of science and technology sought to defeat the 21 companies of many other countries Meanwhile, the Chinese company taking advantage of capital and business experience had a foothold in most commercial ports and cities in Tonkin to compete strongly with France and to limit the influence of the government Born later, the Vietnamese companies were forced to find a way to beat the market share of Chinese traders in the transport sector, considered it a major competitor in this field Activities of acquiring each other by the technique of "big fish eat small fish" to exist were common Company mergers, company acquisitions, or ship purchases were fierce In 1909, the transport market became more and more exciting when the Vietnamese company, Thai Thai Buoi, began to participate in the market by buying used ships or chartering French and Chinese ships to reduce costs In the general context of competition for waterway transport business, Vietnamese bourgeois still emerged and was assessed on par with French and Chinese bourgeoisie In the context that the bourgeoisie of the Vietnamese nation always had to depend closely on the French, under the strict control of the French, the waterway transport company of Bach Thai Buoi and Nguyen Huu Thu dared to compete with French and Chinese people, shew the Vietnamese national spirit For the first time, the Vietnamese bourgeois made a strong impression by participating in the playground of waterway transport competition, turned the French - Chinese competition into Vietnamese - Chinese - French competition The competition between Bach Thai Buoi and the Chinese was the most obvious manifestation of the sense that the Vietnamese national bourgeois had matured before the oppression of the Chinese bourgeoisie The movement to boycott the Chinese diaspora (mainly Chinese bourgeoisie) that broke out in 1919 attracted many Vietnamese to join The campaign received strong support from the French bourgeoisie, on the one hand to compete with the Chinese bourgeoisie, on the other hand to create political divisions between Vietnam and China, but basically it still came from conflict of economic interests between companies Initially, Chinese companies were favored by the French government because they did not want to touch the interests of the Manchu government At the same time, the French authorities thought that the invasion of Vietnam was a stepping stone to China That was why the French still held certain Chinese business and trade interests, focused on building the Northern railway and prioritized the development of river transport industry very early This was the first and only time French government had opened and loosened business owners, Vietnamese, French and Chinese, in waterway transport business However, the power of French companies was still at the head because they were sponsored by the government in terms of sovereignty and theocracy Despite of the ups and downs of companies, the power of French companies was the strongest with the most monopoly Transport companies in China were not based in Tonkin to avoid French government control Like many places, Chinese businessmen with business skills had closely linked transport with their trade, thereby creating a closed business network, limiting competition and sub-business on the outside Thanks to the large number of small boats on the river, the Chinese bourgeoisie gripped the waterway transport industry in Tonkin, especially the river Business capital of Chinese businessmen was relatively large, they tended to link into transport groups and associations The greatest strength of the French transport companies was the government France was extremely interested in the application of science and technology in shipbuilding to demonstrate the power of the nation Although they still had some issues that did not satisfy the French government in the colony, in terms of comparison with the group of Vietnamese and Chinese companies, their operational capacity was still the top: taking long routes, specialization, trusted by the bank, good logistics, etc The Vietnamese companies, although born later, shew agility and wisdom in business activities While the French was enduring the struggles of World War I 1914 - 1918, 22 Vietnamese bourgeois considered this a good opportunity to participate in the businesses that the French bourgeois had once taken advantage of They hired French workers to enlist their experience without taking time for training The company had a large number of employees but the strike had never happened 5.4 The influence of waterway transport companies on the economy, society - culture of Tonkin 5.4.1 The influence on the economy The development of transportation industry had facilitated other industries to develop quickly The French government had invested a large amount of capital in waterway transport infrastructure such as digging irrigation canals, expanding roads, and dredging riverbeds and estuaries Goods were quickly traded along with the cultivated land area, creating favorable conditions for goods exchange Agricultural products and seafood from the plains were moved to the mountains, and forest products were transported to the plains Rice, pepper and rubber products were moved from Tonkin to the North, while coal, cement and iron and steel were moved from Tonkin to the South Many new transport companies had been born and fierce competition had reduced product costs, market links and promoted cohesion and interdependence between industries and businesses Since then, processing industries associated with agricultural products have been established such as: rice milling and tea processing factories, etc The company-style business organization method which was commonly used in capitalism had been used effectively by some Vietnamese, initially breaking up small, fragmented and selfsufficient forms of business previously The movement of labor from agriculture to handicrafts and industry was evident through the emergence of hundreds of capitalist craft sites, employing thousands of scattered workers in urban, central and urban areas economic mind Trading activities with foreign countries have developed strongly River and sea transport activities contributed to shaping Tonkin's economy in the early period of the French colonial period The most important economic and political triangle of Tonkin, Hanoi - Hai Phong - Nam Dinh, was connected to create a strong development area, attracting many business and commercial activities both domestic and abroad French colonialists used their water transport companies as a moving tool to suppress national liberation movements, putting pressure on the economic sectors of the Vietnamese and Chinese In order to show their strength, the French colonialists invested heavily in building big ships In general, those things have a positive impact on Vietnam's shipbuilding industry When French companies withdrew and inherited French facilities, the Vietnamese company boldly invested in and built large ships Binh Chuan ship appeared to strongly encourage the selfreliance - self-reliance of Vietnamese people 5.4.2 The influence on culture - society Commodity production increased, cities became concentrated and became major trading centers The densely populated areas tend to move to convenient places on waterway transportation with the experience of passing down from ancient times "nhat can thi, nhi can giang" The bourgeoisie employed many workers in water transport companies, for example, Bach Thai Buoi hired thousands of workers At the beginning of the twentieth century, the potential of Vietnamese bourgeois was limited After World War I, the Vietnamese bourgeoisie had a clear class consciousness, ready to start the "boycott of Chinese capital" (with the encouragement of French capitalism), the movement "Chan thuc nghiep" The Vietnamese bourgeois has also shown his efforts to be named in the Chamber of Commerce which is also more favorable in protecting the interests of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie The initial success of the ethnic bourgeoisie changed the perception of many Vietnamese people at that time: from taking seriously academic subjects and considering that it was a path of self-employment and starting a career, they turned to paying more attention to business and industry 23 The vibrant activities of waterway transport companies have also more or less created the cultural interference, acquisition and influence of the customs and lifestyle of regions in the country and the foreign culture to Vietnam through passengers and cargo transportation from abroad to the Tonkin area At the same time, it was the shipping ships that connected and brought many Vietnamese to Western countries to approach the ideas of bourgeois democracy and socialist democracy Since then, major thinkers and politicians who have played an important role in patriotic movements in Vietnam, such as Nguyen Truong To, Phan Chau Trinh, Luong Van Can and Nguyen Ai Quoc, have appeared Foreign documents written in many languages followed the ocean ships that come to Vietnam, creating a new intellectual class in society Thus, the establishment and operation of waterway transport companies have changed the economy, culture - society of Tonkin The economy of Tonkin was developed but uneven The development of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie in the field of waterway transport has created important premises leading to the near-modern transformation of Vietnam's economy CONCLUSION Transport is a special and important economic sector to connect production with consumption Along with the development of commodity economy, the greater the demand for trade led to the advent of the transport services industry In Tonkin, the natural conditions are relatively favorable with many large and small rivers connected by a long canal system and a coastline suitable for the developed waterway transport With the policy of colonial exploitation, the French colonialists prioritized the development of mining and transportation industries to transport goods to the country The positive signs of the economy concealed colonial exploitation of colonialism creating the basis for transportation In the underdeveloped road and rail phase in Tonkin, waterway transportation became predominant because it did not cost too much to invest in infrastructure and could take advantage of the marina system on the roads previous river Tax policies, conditions for establishment of a company and transportation have created a legal system for transportation companies to be operated strongly in Tonkin The above conditions strictly regulated the type, means and size of transport activities Since 1886, the French Marty and Abbadie companies first appeared in Hai Phong The arrival of the new French business method has modernized transport and business activities The appearance of French, Chinese and Vietnamese company groups created a dynamic atmosphere in waterway transport business that Chinese capitalists possessed As World War I broke out in 1914, the French colonial government implemented a second colonial exploitation policy, many ships were requisitioned for war purposes, road networks and railways were formed, capital investment and support for French shipping companies were decreased Taking advantage of the gap, the Vietnamese bourgeoisie rose to compete vigorously with the French and the Chinese The fierce and dramatic competition took place between French capitalist side and the capitalist business model with the support of colonial government with the business experience and the guild-style business of Chinese traders The bourgeois Vietnamese tried to intervene to create the triangle between France - Vietnam - China Considering the process of establishment and operation of the above companies, it is noticed that: The French company with financial and legal support of the colonial government has invested heavily in the shipping service, holds the monopoly of sea transport, had professional administration, followed by banking financiers, have occupied the majority of Tonkin transport 24 market share For the French government, the holding of the transportation service helped promote colonial exploitation activities, attracted the capital of French bourgeois, strengthened French influence in Indochina and Southern China The Chinese company operating under the name of a merchant was present throughout Tonkin The merchants transporting on small boats made up of secret societies, capital and experienced businessmen have found ways to survive and compete with the French and Vietnamese Despite the loss of market share, with the smart way of doing business, the Chinese still dominated in waterway transport services, especially in inland river ports adjacent to China While the market share of waterway transport in Tonkin seemed to be "saturated", the First World War broke out, the French colonial government could not support the French companies as before, Vietnamese bourgeois with the national and entrepreneurial spirits, dared to invest in transportation services, set up a Vietnamese shipping company, annexed French companies, and competed strongly with the Chinese Despite strong support from the colonial government in river transport and monopoly in sea transport, the French capital could not achieve its goal of defeating the Chinese in the field of transport and was forced to continue leaguing to protect Tonkin The Chinese grasped the mediating factors in the Tonkin economy, cut off and controlled important economic sectors when they were pinned down by the colonial government Meanwhile, Vietnamese bourgeois has accumulated more experience in the marketplace The waterway transport market in Tonkin is more difficult and harsher than Cochinchine With the growth of road and rail transport, waterway transport companies gradually lost market share, resulting in the bankruptcy or business diversion of many companies The French government has tried to maintain low levels of river transport and promoted sea transport In term of development perspective, the French colonial government's investment in transport activities has boosted the development of Vietnam's economy, connected major economic and political centers Goods were traded quickly while transit funding decreased Busy import and export activities helped the Tonkin economy get better than before It was the waterway and sea transport activities that helped shape the economy and locate economicpolitical centers in Tonkin area in the early period of the French colonial period For the first time in history, the transportation sector was separated from commercial activity and became a private sector bringing great profits The system of infrastructure for waterway transport has been formed fully and systematically: Connecting river transport with sea transport, system of locks, wharves and warehouses has been built As a result, the second colonial exploitation was expanded in size and intensity compared to the first colonial exploitation, Vietnam's economy became more deeply dependent on the main national economy The new way of doing business through the formation of companies that appeared in Indochina attracted the attention of Vietnamese people The sudden development of the transport industry and the growth of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie were considered as a rare bright spot in the Tonkin economic picture and beyond the wishes of the French colonialists The philosophies: "Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods", "Hiring the French to compete with the French" of Bach Thai Buoi, Nguyen Huu Thu are the breakthrough in business thinking The Vietnamese have built large-sized self-propelled ships (standard vessels), which declared that in Vietnam began the early mechanical industry Activities of transport companies help to connect the lowland with the highland, promoting economic and cultural exchanges between ethnic groups in Tonkin as well as with other countries in the world The oppressive exploitation of colonialism has made a profound change in Vietnam's social structure The working class of Vietnam was formed and gradually grew stronger The bourgeoisie made strong strides in political consciousness and became a 25 class after the First World War The intersection of domestic and international culture has deepened the national culture Many progressive ideas following the ocean ships were introduced, creating the basis for the movements of Vietnamese classes in the early twentieth century LIST OF AUTHOR’S PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS Phan Thi Thu (2015), "Transport business experience of Vietnamese companies in Tonkin in the early years of the 20th century", Asia-Pacific Economic Review, No 450, p.61- 63 Phan Thi Thu (2019), "About the lawsuit of chartering ship Albert Sarault of Bach Thai Buoi to the Indochina Fleet (1923): Approach from the archives", Scientific Journal of Hanoi National University of Education, No 64, August 2019, p.107-113 Phan Thi Thu (2020), “The competitiveness of waterway transport companies in Tonkin from the end of the nineteenth century to the first thirty years of the twentieth century”, Scientific journal of Hanoi University of Education, No 65, February 2020, p.128 -135 ... delivery, letters transport to the state when needed Marty company was considered a company with many quality ships, large tonnage, serving many types of passengers The company could build 300 - to... Marty and Abbadie Company Founded in France in 1867 by Marty and Abbadie, in 1886 the company was present in Hai Phong Marty and Abbadie had a contract specifying benefit shares in which Marty... early 30s of the twentieth century, through which the influence of waterway transport companies on the economy and society of Tonkin can be seen Thirdly, the thesis clarifies the reality of competition