This is one of the very few scholarly Western-language studies of the Vietnamese reaction to the French colonial conquest of Vietnam during the nineteenth century. Utilizing Vietnamese primary sources to examine the reaction of scholars and the Vietnamese court to the French conquests, Mark McLeod goes beyond studies that only analyze the conflict from primarily French sources. McLeod studies the renaissance of historical writing that followed the political independence in Vietnam and presents the Vietnamese view of the 19th century colonization.

The research for this book was carried out during 1983-1988 in Paris, France. During those years, I received generous support from the Fullbright-Hays Foundation; the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation; the Franco-American Commission for Educational Exchange; the Social Science Research Council; and the Alliance Française de New York. I thank them for their aid. This support does not, of course, imply any responsibility on their parts for the finished product or any of the views expressed within.

All scholars are indebted to their former professors. D. R. SarDesai was always patient, professional, helpful, and inspirational. I also would like to thank also Professors Philip Huang, Edward Berenson, Robert Wohl, and E. Bradford Burns.

I want to express my gratitude to the many Vietnamese who patiently worked long hours in teaching me their language: the staff at the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Section, especially Do Huu Hien and Nguyen Quy Vi; Hoai-Lien Levan; Nguyen Kim Duy; and Tran Thi Nguyet Hien.

I wish also to express my appreciation to Father Anthony Brzoska, Dean of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount University, for approving the subsidization of one of the later drafts of this work during my service there in 1989-1990. Margaret Edwards of L. M. U. was a marvelous copy editor and word processor.

I acknowledge the invaluable assistance provided me by my editors at Praeger, particularly Dan Eades and Alda Trabucchi.

Finally, I thank my parents for their unflagging support throughout the entire project.