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Episode Description
Christopher Goscha joins host Adam Camac to discuss key events, figures, and influences from the history of Vietnam. Chris has been a professor in the Department of History at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) since 2005. Chris is the author of several books, including Vietnam: A New History and The Road to Dien Bien Phu: A History of the First War for Vietnam.
1:18 – The guest’s interest in Vietnam, why he has been so interested in Vietnam and its history, how he initially became interested in Vietnam
3:18 – Origins of the term Vietnam, when we start to see the concept of Vietnam develop, where the notion of a place called Vietnam traces its roots back to
5:20 – Key physical features and places to know that have been significant as the modern country of Vietnam has come into being
8:22 – Religion in Vietnam and how religion has taken form there over the centuries, Confucianism in Vietnam
11:06 – Chinese influence in Vietnam over the centuries, imperial domination of Vietnam
by the Chinese, how that influenced the eventual country of Vietnam
13:48 – Japanese influence in Vietnam
15:25 – The Nguyen dynasty, who they were, how they influenced what was to come, why they were so significant
18:07 – What brought about French colonization of Vietnam, Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina as the northern, central, and southern parts of Vietnam, how the notion of having three separate regions of Vietnam influenced how the French colonized Vietnam, the French conquering all of Vietnam and later forming the Indochinese Union with Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos
21:29 – How World War II influenced Vietnam, Japanese rule and occupation of Vietnam during World War II, how World War II helped lead to the establishment of the modern country of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam declaring its independence coming out of World War II, the creation of the Viet Minh by Ho Chi Minh and the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) in 1941
28:14 – First Indochina War of 1946-1954, what brought about the war, how the French reentered the picture, the significance of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and the end of the First Indochina War
35:13 – The Geneva Conference of 1954, Vietnam being divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam, how the First Indochina War led to the Vietnam War, American intervention in Vietnam beginning in 1950, the importance of Vietnam to American decisionmakers
41:00 – Overview of the Vietnam War, key figures, groups, sides, and events of the Vietnam War, the essential things to know about the Vietnam War, Ho Chi Minh, Ngo Dinh Diem, the assassinations of Ngo Dinh Diem and John F. Kennedy
45:39 – Key events of the Vietnam War between 1964 and 1975, Lyndon Johnson and the escalation of the Vietnam War, the significance of the Tet Offensive, Richard Nixon’s strategy to end the Vietnam War, Paris Peace Accords of 1973
52:03 – How the end of the Vietnam War and North Vietnam (the Vietnamese communists) conquering South Vietnam affected the people of Vietnam, how the conclusion and aftermath of the war affected the Vietnamese people, the Vietnamese death toll during the Vietnam War, the American death toll during the Vietnam War, the onset of wars between Vietnam and Cambodia and China in the years after the Vietnam War, the effects of the war on the Vietnamese economy
54:56 – Vietnam’s economic and political systems today, reforms in Vietnam’s economy, communism in Vietnam today, Vietnam’s role and place in the modern world
58:19 – Vietnam’s tricky position in the current geopolitical struggle between the United States and China
1:00:54 – More information about the guest’s work
Author’s Books
Vietnam: A New History by Christopher Goscha
The Road to Dien Bien Phu: A History of the First War for Vietnam by Christopher Goscha
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