- Time Capsule
- Important Faces
- Tet Offensive
3000 to 1000 B.C
Groups of nomadic tribes from southern China migrate into the Red River Delta region and merge with Indonesian peoples already living there.
About 250 B.C.
Legend says that the kingdom of Au Lac rules Vietnam
207 B.C.
A Chinese general establishes the independent kingdom of Nam-Viet, which consists of northern Vietnam and parts of southern China
111 B.C.
China's Han dynasty conquers Nam-Viet, renames it Giao Chi, and makes it the southern most
province of the Chinese Empire
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A.D. 679
Chinese change the name of the country to Annam.
939
The Vietnamese win independence from China and set up an independent state under the of the Ngo
dynasty
1200
Chu-nom, a transcription of Vietnamese words in simplified Chinese characters, comes into use.
1225 to 1400
Vietnam uled by the Tran dynasty, during whose reign two invasions by China's Mongol rulers are
turned back
1427
Le Loi expels Chinese armies from Vietnam, ending a 20-year period of foreign occupation.
Le Loi found the Le dynasty, which conquers Champa and extends Vietnam's territory far to the
south.
1527 to 1593
Vietnam ruled by the Mac family
1535
Portuguese traders visit Vietnam
1600
French traders and missionaries begin to establish posts in Vietnam
1620 to 1672
Nguyen and Trinh families battle for control of Vietnam, finally agreeing to divide the country
into northern and southern kingdoms
1772 to 1786
Tay Son peasant rebels defeat Nguyen and Trinh armies and unite Vietnam under their rule
1800
Nguyen Du composes Vietnam's national poem, Kim Van Kieu
1802
Nguyen Anh defeats Tay Son rulers and unites country under rule of the Nguyen dynasty
1820
Nguyen rulers begin persecution of Catholic missionaries and their converts
1847
The French launch first major attack against the Vietnamese, firing on the port of Da Nang
1858 to 1883
The French gain control of Vietnam and divide the country into three separate colonial provinces
1900
Phan Boi Chau and other nationalist leaders begin to form a strong resistance movement against
French colonial rulers
1910 to 1939
Two radical Vietnamese religious sects, Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, are founded
1940 to 1945
Japan takes control of Vietnam from France during World War II. Millions of
Vietnamese dired during wartime famine
1941
Ho Chi Minh forms the Vietminh, an alliance of nationalist groups led by the Communist party
1945
The Vietminh establish the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the northern part of the country
after Allies defeat Japan. The French regain conrol of southern Vietnam
1946
French troops invade northern Vietnam, beginning an eight-year struggle with Vietnam forces
1949
Emperor Bao Dai becomes the head government of French-controlled Vietnam
1954
The Vietminh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu. The Geneve Conference temporarily divides
Vietnam into two nations until national elections can be held. North Vietnam is ruled by Ho
Chi Minh's Vietminh, and South Vietnam is governed by a Western-oriented government under Bao
Dai
1955
Ngo Dinh Diem ousts Bao Dai as leader of South Vietnam
1957
National Liberation Front's Communist guerrillas begin attacks against Soth Vietnamese forces
after Diem cancels elections for a united Vietnamese government. The United States sends
military assistance to South Vietnam
1963
Diem is overwthrown in a military coup
1964
Hostiles between North Vietnamese and U.S. warships in Gulf of Tonkin leads to increased in
U.S. involvement in the Vietnamese conflict
1968
National Liberation Front troops launch massive assault on South Vietnamese and U.S. forces
during the Tet New Year's period
1969
Peace negotiations to end Vietnamese conflict begin in Paris
1973
U.S. ends participation in the Vietnam conflict after signing peace accord with North Vietnam.
Warfare between the North and South continues.
1975
South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam on April 30. The united nation is organized under
the name of the Social Republic of Vietnam. The boat-people exodus begins
1978
Vietnam invades and occupies Cambodia
1979
Vietnam fights a border war with China
1986
Conservative leaders of Vietnam's ruling politburo resign, opening the way for moderate social
and economic reforms
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