CHANGES
IN THE NEWLY ACQUIRED
FRENCH INDOCHINA.Change will evantually take place after a period of colonization. Changes throughout French Indochina have certainly brought the region to a whole new era, a whole new way of life. We will now explore various tourists hotspots in the French Indochina region which have been affected, one way or another, by this change.
SOCIAL-
NOTRE-DAME BASILICA.
Vietnam, being colonized by the French during the colonial period, has benefited in one way or another by adapting some of the buildings from the French colony!
One of them is the famous Notre-Dame Basilica, which is located the downtown of Saigon, Vietnam. It is a huge red-bricked cathedral, which was established by French colonists. The cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880, and has two bell towers, reaching up to a height of 58 meters!
This Roman Catholic Church constituted a community and served as religious purposes, such as church services for French colonialists.
The earliest established religions in Vietnam were Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. Other more minor religions included Islam, Hinduism, Cao Dai, Hao Hao and Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholicism is currently being greatly strengthened due to the increasing amount of influence the French colony is having on Vietnam. The French encourages the spread of the religion as they think that it has helped to balance Buddhism, it being a major traditional religion, and also supported Western culture.
With all these magnificent French architectures in sight, who wouldn’t want to come and visit Ho Chinh Minh! So hurry go book your tickets to visit Vietnam now!
POLITICAL-
RÉSIDENCE SUPÉRIEURE
Why it’s worth visiting?
This mansion lets you have a feel of how the French governors lived during the colonial rule. When the territory of French Indochina including Laos was under French protection, it was administered directly by a résident supérieur in Vientiane. The latter had direct authority over the provincial résidents, who were on an equal footing with the Lao chao khoueng (provincial governors). The résident supérieur also acted as the representative of the French state to the king of Louangphrabang and supervised the administration of the kingdom through provincial commissioners. The affairs of the kingdom were conducted by a four-member council headed by the viceroy. The résident supérieur also coordinated the activities of the public services of the Indochinese Federation, which operated in both the north and the south, and employed French, Vietnamese, and Lao civil servants.
After the building of the Résidence supérieure, the nearby headquarters of the Service des travaux publics (1907) was built. The staff of which subsequently set to work on a Plan d'alignement to straighten the existing roads in the capital and make them run perpendicular or parallel to the Mekong River. As part of this plan a new main road called l'avenue de France was opened up.
ECONOMIC-
RAILWAY SYSTEM IN CAMBODIA.
Previously, Cambodia’s economy was self-sufficient and consisted of mainly rubber and corn plantations.
Then while under colonial rule, the Resident General there took good care of Cambodia and invested a lot on improving the transportation system in Cambodia with roads and railways. The line that connected Phnom Penh to the Thai border through Battambang was one of their greatest feats. Battambang, already known for its rubber and corn plantations, later became one of Indochina’s rice bowls for the latter. A simple but efficient transportation network was created and greatly decreased traveling time and cost.
After colonization, change was evident. Indochina now had a great demand for rubber, for its cheap cost and being waterproof and corn for being tasty. Being a source of both of natural resources, Cambodia’s economy was booming. Transportation had been greatly improved and since Cambodia’s main sources of income, rubber and corn plantations were so easily accessible, economy’s efficiency was increased tremendously thanks to the railroads. Other than visible networks that are now present, commercial ones that arose during Cambodia’s colonial days remained. China merchants and bankers in Cambodia developed commercial networks that extended throughout Indochina to China as well. These networks further increased Cambodia’s market, demand and subsequently economy.
During your tour to French Indochina, you will take a train and spot the differences it brought here.
