Editing History of Vietnam (section)

=== Nguyễn dynasty (1802–1945) ===
{{Main|Nguyễn dynasty}}
==== Unified Vietnam period (1802–1862) ====
[[File:Nguyen Dynasty, administrative divisions map (1838).svg|thumb|Vietnam around 1838]]
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 | image1 = An Nam Dai Quoc Hoa Do by Jean Louis Taberd 1838.jpg
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 | caption1 = 1838 map of Vietnam published by Jean L. Taberd
 | image2 = Meridian Gate, Hue (I).jpg
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 | caption2 = Meridian Gate of [[Imperial City of Huế]], a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]].
 | image3 = Emperor Gia Long.jpg
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 | caption3 = Emperor [[Gia Long]] (r. 1802–1820)
 | image4 = Seal of Emperor Gia Long NMVH EDAV n1.jpg
 | caption4 =Seal of Emperor [[Gia Long]]
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| image1 = Hue Vietnam Tomb-of-Emperor-Minh-Mang-02.jpg
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| caption1 = Tomb of [[Minh Mạng]]
| image2 = Emperor Khai Dinh in Hue (39543600561).jpg
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| caption2 = Tomb of [[Khải Định]]
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After defeating the Tây Sơn, [[Gia Long]] unified Vietnam under the [[Nguyễn dynasty]] in 1802.{{sfn|Druk|1884|pp=21–22}} The early Nguyễn emperors had engaged in many of the constructive activities of its predecessors, building roads, digging canals, issuing a legal code, holding examinations, sponsoring care facilities for the sick, compiling maps and history books, and exerting influence over Cambodia and Laos.

Gia Long tolerated Catholicism and employed some Europeans in his court as advisors. His successors were more conservative Confucians and resisted Westernization. [[Minh Mạng]] began centralizing his authority according to neo-Confucian principles and sought to neutralize Catholic influence.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ramsay |first=Jacob |title=Mandarins and Martyrs: The Church and the Nguyen Dynasty in Early Nineteenth-Century Vietnam |date=2008 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=9780804756518 |url=https://www.sup.org/books/asian-studies/mandarins-and-martyrs |pages=58–64 }}</ref> Minh Mạng, as well as the succeeding Nguyễn emperors [[Thiệu Trị]] and [[Tự Đức]], brutally suppressed Catholicism and pursued a 'closed-door' policy, perceiving the Westerners as a threat, following events such as the [[Lê Văn Khôi revolt]] when a French missionary, [[Joseph Marchand]], was accused of encouraging local Catholics to revolt in an attempt to install a Catholic emperor. Catholics, both Vietnamese and foreign-born, were persecuted in retaliation. There were frequent uprisings against the Nguyễns, with hundreds of such events being recorded in the annals. Trade with the West slowed during this period. The persecution of Catholics and the imposition of trade embargoes were soon used as excuses for France to invade Vietnam.

==== Relations with China ====
According to a 2018 study in the ''Journal of Conflict Resolution'' covering Vietnam-China relations from 1365 to 1841, the relations could be characterized as a "hierarchic tributary system".<ref name="HV">{{Cite journal|title=War, Rebellion, and Intervention under Hierarchy: Vietnam–China Relations, 1365 to 1841|journal=Journal of Conflict Resolution|volume=63|issue=4|pages=896–922|doi=10.1177/0022002718772345|year=2018|last1=Kang|first1=David C|last2=Nguyen|first2=Dat X|last3=Fu|first3=Ronan Tse-min|last4=Shaw|first4=Meredith|s2cid=158733115}}</ref> The study found that "the Vietnamese court explicitly recognized its unequal status in its relations with China through a number of institutions and norms. Vietnamese rulers also displayed very little military attention to their relations with China. Rather, Vietnamese leaders were clearly more concerned with quelling chronic domestic instability and managing relations with kingdoms to their south and west."<ref name="HV" />