The Nationalist-Communist Resistance

Abstract

The Viet Minh, which led the successful anticolonial movement, came from a tradition of anticolonial activism which was continuous throughout the period of French rule. Although it did not gain a forceful cohesiveness until after 1930, the anticolonial movement ceaselessly carried on the Vietnamese tradition of nationalistic action against foreign domination. The early resistance of the peasants took the form of revolts against high taxes and lack of food and non-participation in French governing institutions at the village level. The most long-lasting violent resistance to French takeover was on the part of a peasant insurrection movement in the northern part of Vietnam which was led by De Tham. This movement actually held out until 1916, nineteen years after the scholar-gentry’s resistance to the imposition of colonialism had been destroyed.¹