colony · Mainland Southeast Asia

French Cochinchina

1862 CE – 1949 CE · capital Saigon

The southern third of Vietnam, ruled directly by France as a colony from the 1860s, with Saigon as its capital and rice and rubber as its wealth.

Origins

France attacked Da Nang in 1858 and captured Saigon in 1859. By the Treaty of Saigon in 1862 Emperor Tu Duc of the Nguyen dynasty ceded three eastern provinces, and in 1867 Admiral de La Grandiere seized the three western ones, completing the colony of Cochinchina.

Rule and society

Unlike the protectorates of Annam and Tonkin, Cochinchina was a full colony under French law, with an elected colonial council and a deputy in the French parliament. Canals and drainage opened the Mekong delta to rice exports, and rubber plantations spread in the east. Saigon and Cholon grew into a major port with large Chinese communities. Religious movements such as Cao Dai and Hoa Hao arose.

Decline and legacy

After the Second World War France set up the Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina in 1946. In 1949 Cochinchina was merged into the State of Vietnam under Bao Dai, ending its separate status.

Lineage

Nguyen dynasty 1802 CE – 1945 CEFrench CochinchinaState of Vietnam 1949 CE – 1955 CE

Connections (3)

More states of Mainland Southeast Asia →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). French Cochinchina. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-cochinchina
MLA
“French Cochinchina.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-cochinchina. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “French Cochinchina.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-cochinchina.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘French Cochinchina’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-cochinchina (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻