Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
French Indochina (French: Indochine française; Khmer: សហភាព​ឥណ្ឌូចិន, Vietnamese: Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, frequently abbreviated to Đông Pháp) was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin (North), Annam (Central), and Cochinchina (South), as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887.
Former Emperor Bao Dai made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Viet Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'. The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Friendship Pass (Chinese:友谊关,formerly 镇南关, Vietnamese: Hữu Nghị Quan, formerly and most commonly known as Ải Nam Quan (both the present Vietnamese and Chinese names mean Friendship Pass) is a pass near the border between the China’s Guangxi and Vietnam’s Lang Son Province. This is one of the busiest border trading points of Vietnam.<br/><br/> During the Ming dynasty the pass was known as Zhennanguan (鎮南關 - South Suppressing Pass). In 1953, its name was changed to Munanguan (睦南关 - South Watching Pass). In 1965, it became known as Youyiguan (友誼关 - Friendship Pass) as communist China and communist North Vietnam had closer political, military and economic ties.
Friendship Pass (Chinese:友谊关,formerly 镇南关, Vietnamese: Hữu Nghị Quan, formerly and most commonly known as Ải Nam Quan (both the present Vietnamese and Chinese names mean Friendship Pass) is a pass near the border between the China’s Guangxi and Vietnam’s Lang Son Province. This is one of the busiest border trading points of Vietnam.<br/><br/> During the Ming dynasty the pass was known as Zhennanguan (鎮南關 - South Suppressing Pass). In 1953, its name was changed to Munanguan (睦南关 - South Watching Pass). In 1965, it became known as Youyiguan (友誼关 - Friendship Pass) as communist China and communist North Vietnam had closer political, military and economic ties.
Friendship Pass (Chinese:友谊关,formerly 镇南关, Vietnamese: Hữu Nghị Quan, formerly and most commonly known as Ải Nam Quan (both the present Vietnamese and Chinese names mean Friendship Pass) is a pass near the border between the China’s Guangxi and Vietnam’s Lang Son Province. This is one of the busiest border trading points of Vietnam.<br/><br/> During the Ming dynasty the pass was known as Zhennanguan (鎮南關 - South Suppressing Pass). In 1953, its name was changed to Munanguan (睦南关 - South Watching Pass). In 1965, it became known as Youyiguan (友誼关 - Friendship Pass) as communist China and communist North Vietnam had closer political, military and economic ties.
Friendship Pass (Chinese:友谊关,formerly 镇南关, Vietnamese: Hữu Nghị Quan, formerly and most commonly known as Ải Nam Quan (both the present Vietnamese and Chinese names mean Friendship Pass) is a pass near the border between the China’s Guangxi and Vietnam’s Lang Son Province. This is one of the busiest border trading points of Vietnam.<br/><br/> During the Ming dynasty the pass was known as Zhennanguan (鎮南關 - South Suppressing Pass). In 1953, its name was changed to Munanguan (睦南关 - South Watching Pass). In 1965, it became known as Youyiguan (友誼关 - Friendship Pass) as communist China and communist North Vietnam had closer political, military and economic ties.
Friendship Pass (Chinese:友谊关,formerly 镇南关, Vietnamese: Hữu Nghị Quan, formerly and most commonly known as Ải Nam Quan (both the present Vietnamese and Chinese names mean Friendship Pass) is a pass near the border between the China’s Guangxi and Vietnam’s Lang Son Province. This is one of the busiest border trading points of Vietnam.<br/><br/> During the Ming dynasty the pass was known as Zhennanguan (鎮南關 - South Suppressing Pass). In 1953, its name was changed to Munanguan (睦南关 - South Watching Pass). In 1965, it became known as Youyiguan (友誼关 - Friendship Pass) as communist China and communist North Vietnam had closer political, military and economic ties.
The reverse shows a herd of camels surrounded by Arabesques with a warning in French and Arabic that counterfeiters will be punished by forced labour for life.<br/><br/> Djibouti is a tiny country on the east coast of Africa bordered by Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is located opposite the gulf from Aden in Yemen, and together they form the gateway to the Red Sea. As such, Djibouti was for centuries a major trading port.<br/><br/> The less than one million population is composed mostly of two ethnicities: Somalis and Afars. Although Arabic and French are the country's official languages, Somali and Afar are widely spoken. Some 96% of the people are Sunni Muslim. Both males and females are traditionally circumcized in Djibouti.<br/><br/> In the 19th century, Djibouti was known as French Somaliland as it was acquired by France from Somali sultans. In 1958, on the eve of neighboring Somalia's independence in 1960, a referendum was held in Djibouti to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France. Djibouti finally achieved independence on 27 June 1977.<br/><br/> Since independence, Djibouti has remained close to France, though it is also a member of the Arab League and the African Union.
The obverse shows an Indian Ocean dhow surrounded by Arabesques with 'Fifty Francs' in Arabic and French. To the left the name 'Djibouti' is printed in Arabic and Ethiopian scripts for the Somali Issa and Ethiopian Afar inhabitants.<br/><br/> Djibouti is a tiny country on the east coast of Africa bordered by Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is located opposite the gulf from Aden in Yemen, and together they form the gateway to the Red Sea. As such, Djibouti was for centuries a major trading port.<br/><br/> The less than one million population is composed mostly of two ethnicities: Somalis and Afars. Although Arabic and French are the country's official languages, Somali and Afar are widely spoken. Some 96% of the people are Sunni Muslim. Both males and females are traditionally circumcized in Djibouti.<br/><br/> In the 19th century, Djibouti was known as French Somaliland as it was acquired by France from Somali sultans. In 1958, on the eve of neighboring Somalia's independence in 1960, a referendum was held in Djibouti to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France. Djibouti finally achieved independence on 27 June 1977.<br/><br/> Since independence, Djibouti has remained close to France, though it is also a member of the Arab League and the African Union.
The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War, Anti-French War, Franco-Vietnamese War, Franco-Vietminh War, Indochina War, Dirty War in France, and Anti-French Resistance War in contemporary Vietnam) was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps, led by France and supported by Emperor Bảo Đại's Vietnamese National Army against the Việt Minh, led by Hồ Chí Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp. Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in Northern Vietnam, although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Laos and Cambodia. The war ended in French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
Emperor Duy Tân (Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh San, 14 August 1899 – 25 December 1945), was a child Emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty and reigned for nine years between 1907 and 1916. His name was Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh San and was son of the Thành Thái Emperor. Because of his opposition to French rule and his erratic, depraved actions (which some speculate were feigned to shield his opposition from the French) Thành Thái was declared insane and exiled to Vũng Tàu in 1907.<br/><br/> The French decided to pass the throne to his son Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh San, who was only seven years old, because they thought someone so young would be easily influenced and controlled, and could be raised to be pro-French. This proved to be a big mistake on the part of the French. Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh San was enthroned with the reign name of Duy Tân, meaning 'friend of reform' and in time would prove unwilling to live up to this name. As he became older he noticed that, even though he was treated as the Emperor, it was the colonial authorities who were actually obeyed.<br/><br/> As he became a teenager, Emperor Duy Tân came under the influence of the mandarin Trần Cao Vân, who was very much opposed to the colonial administration. Emperor Duy Tân began to plan a secret rebellion with Trần Cao Vân and others to overthrow the French. In 1916, while France was preoccupied with fighting World War I, Emperor Duy Tân was smuggled out of the Forbidden City with Trần Cao Vân to call upon the people to rise up against the French.<br/><br/> However, the secret was revealed and France immediately sent troops, and after only a few days they were betrayed and captured by the French authorities. Because of his age and in order to avoid a worse situation, Emperor Duy Tân was deposed and exiled instead of being killed. Trần Cao Vân and the rest of the revolutionaries were all beheaded.
The River Mekong is the world's 12th-longest river. From its Himalayan source on the Tibetan plateau, it flows some 4,350 km (2,703 miles) through China's Yunnan province, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, finally draining in the South China Sea. The recent construction of hydroelectric dams on the river and its tributaries has reduced the water flow dramatically during the dry season in Southeast Asia.
Twelve royal barges were dispatched to the mouth of the Chao Phraya River to receive the French delegation and lead them upriver to the capital in Ayutthaya.<br/><br/> The Siamese, or Thais, moved from their ancestral home in southern China into mainland Southeast Asia around the 10th century CE. Prior to this, Indianized kingdoms such as the Mon, Khmer and Malay kingdoms ruled the region. The Thais established their own states starting with Sukhothai, Chiang Saen, Chiang Mai and Lanna Kingdom, before the founding of the Ayutthaya kingdom. These states fought each other and were under constant threat from the Khmers, Burma and Vietnam.<br/><br/> Much later, the European colonial powers threatened in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but Thailand survived as the only Southeast Asian state to avoid colonial rule. After the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand endured 60 years of almost permanent military rule before the establishment of a democratic elected-government system.
Presumably drawn in the 17th century when the Siamese capital was located in Ayutthaya, the lower illustration represents the king's barge while the upper galley was an escort for the French embassy.<br/><br/> The Siamese, or Thais, moved from their ancestral home in southern China into mainland Southeast Asia around the 10th century CE. Prior to this, Indianized kingdoms such as the Mon, Khmer and Malay kingdoms ruled the region. The Thais established their own states starting with Sukhothai, Chiang Saen, Chiang Mai and Lanna Kingdom, before the founding of the Ayutthaya kingdom. These states fought each other and were under constant threat from the Khmers, Burma and Vietnam.<br/><br/> Much later, the European colonial powers threatened in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but Thailand survived as the only Southeast Asian state to avoid colonial rule. After the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand endured 60 years of almost permanent military rule before the establishment of a democratic elected-government system.
Pondicherry, or Puducherry, is a former French colony in India, also called The French Riviera of the East (La Côte d'Azur de l'Est) for its rich French culture and architecture. The use of French language can be still seen in Pondicherry to this day. The city still has a large number of Tamil and a small number of non-Tamil residents with French passports who are descendants of those who chose to remain French when the then ruling French Establishment presented the people of Pondicherry with an option to either remain French or become Indians at the time of Pondicherry's transfer to India in 1954.
Conquered by France in 1859, Saigon was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings in the city reflect this, so much so that Saigon was called the 'Pearl of the Far East' or the 'Paris in the Orient'. In 1929, Saigon had a population of 123,890, which included 12,100 French.
After the military defeat of France by Germany in 1870, Ferry formed the idea of acquiring a great colonial empire, principally for the sake of economic exploitation. In a speech before the Chamber of Deputies on 28 July 1885, he declared that 'the superior races have a right because they have a duty: it is their duty to civilize the inferior races'. Ferry directed the negotiations which led to the establishment of a French protectorate in Tunis (1881), prepared the treaty of 17 December 1885 for the occupation of Madagascar; directed the exploration of the Congo and of the Niger region; and above all, he organized the conquest of Annam and Tonkin in what became French Indochina.<br/><br/> The last endeavor led to a war with the Manchu Empire, whose Qing Dynasty had a claim of suzerainty over the two provinces. The excitement caused in Paris by the sudden retreat of the French troops from Lang Son during this war led to the Tonkin Affair: his violent denunciation by Clemenceau and other radicals, and his downfall on 30 March 1885. Although the treaty of peace with the Manchu Empire (9 June 1885), in which the Qing Dynasty ceded suzerainty of Annam and Tonkin to France, was the work of his ministry, he would never again serve as premier.