A joint French–Spanish expedition landed at Tourane (Đà Nẵng), opening the campaign that would pressure the Nguyễn court and set the stage for unequal treaties in Vietnam.
French troops captured Saigon, giving France a strategic base in southern Vietnam and accelerating the shift from punitive expedition to territorial conquest.
The Treaty of Saigon (1862) forced the Nguyễn dynasty to cede Saigon and three southern provinces (forming the core of colonial Cochinchina), open ports to trade, allow missionary activity, and pay an indemnity—France’s first durable foothold in Vietnam.
A follow-up agreement at Huế reaffirmed key provisions of the 1862 settlement, reinforcing French leverage over Vietnamese foreign relations and commerce.
King Norodom signed a treaty establishing a French protectorate over Cambodia, expanding French influence beyond Vietnam and laying groundwork for a wider Indochinese colonial union.
French forces occupied the remaining three western provinces in southern Vietnam (including Vĩnh Long, Hà Tiên, and Châu Đốc/An Giang), completing France’s takeover of Cochinchina.
During an unauthorized intervention in Tonkin, Francis Garnier seized the Hanoi citadel—an early, escalatory move that highlighted France’s growing interest in northern Vietnam and the Red River route.
The Treaty of Saigon (1874) granted France major commercial and diplomatic advantages and had Vietnam recognize France’s sovereignty over Cochinchina, deepening dependency and paving the way toward protectorate rule.
Henri Rivière’s unsanctioned capture of Hanoi further destabilized Tonkin and intensified confrontation among French forces, the Nguyễn court, and Chinese-linked resistance networks.
France’s victory at the Battle of Thuận An exposed Huế to attack, allowing France to dictate terms that recognized French protectorate authority in Vietnam’s center and north.
The Treaty of Huế (1883) (Harmand Treaty) compelled the Nguyễn court to accept French protectorate control over Annam and Tonkin. It was widely seen (even in France) as excessively harsh and was later replaced.
France and Qing China reached the Tianjin (Tientsin) Accord, a key diplomatic step in the Sino-French conflict over Vietnam that preceded formal treaty settlement and undercut China’s traditional suzerainty claims.
The Treaty of Huế (1884) replaced the Harmand Treaty with revised terms while entrenching French protectorates over Annam and Tonkin, consolidating France’s legal-political framework for rule in Vietnam.
The Treaty of Tianjin (1885) formally ended the Sino-French War and required China to recognize the French protectorate over Annam and Tonkin, cementing France’s diplomatic victory over competing Qing influence in Vietnam.
A French decree organized French Indochina by uniting Cochinchina (colony) with Annam, Tonkin, and Cambodia (protectorates) under a Governor-General—an administrative consolidation central to France’s colonial state-building in mainland Southeast Asia.
Treaties and establishment of French Indochina (1862–1887)
