Thiệu Trị

Biography

Emperor Thiệu Trị was much like his father, Minh Mạng, and carried on his conservative policies of isolationism and the entrenchment of Confucianism. Highly educated in the Confucian tradition, Thiệu Trị had some curiosity about the West, but like his father was very suspicious of all non-Vietnamese outsiders. At this same time, the French were in a colonial race with Great Britain in Southeast Asia and were pushing hard for stronger relations with Indochina. This, just as in the reign of Minh Mạng, also brought up Christian missionaries, mostly Spanish and French, who ignored the ban. When Trị began to imprison the missionaries, it prompted an immediate response from France. In 1843, the French government sent a military expedition to Indochina with orders to protect and defend French interests, free the illegal missionaries, if possible without causing an international incident.

Trị's determination to eliminate all Roman Catholic missionaries from his country could not be reconciled with a peaceful relationship with France. In 1845, this almost prompted a clash between Vietnam and the American warship USS Constitution which attempted to force Trị to free the missionary Dominique Lefèbvre, who had repeatedly come to Vietnam illegally multiple times. The French task force reached Tourane, modern day Da Nang, on 23 March 1847, and demanded that the safety of French nationals be assured and for Thiệu Trị to cease the persecution of missionaries.

The imperial mandarins put off delivering the emperor's reply and fighting broke out. Thiệu Trị had fortified the coast, but the French forces easily defeated the Vietnamese due to the Nguyễn dynasty's inferior equipment. All of the Vietnamese coastal forts were destroyed and three Nguyễn junks were sunk before the French squadron sailed away. Thiệu Trị called all missionaries enemy spies and demanded that all Christians should be executed on the spot. The mandarins did not put this order into effect and Emperor Thiệu Trị died shortly afterwards; no missionaries were actually ever executed during his reign.

Tri was deeply disturbed by the Tourane battle, not only because of the loss of men and material but also from a sense of impending doom unless he could find a way to manage the threat posed by the French Navy. According to the True Records of the Great South (Dai Nam Thuc Luc), he reportedly said:"The Westerners are cunning. If we abolish our laws against Christianity, the British will hear of it and demand that we abolish our laws against opium. The Westerners are wolves: there is no way to satisfy them! What can we do when everything must be according to their demands? Moreover, Christianity is a false religion and its harm to us has reached the level of foreign relations and has opened the door to war. Opium is an anesthetic, and it utterly ruins human lives. These two things are both strictly forbidden and we will publicly affirm this so that it will be known in the history written by future generations...The Westerners are not simply one country. For example, the Dutch we never see and when they send messages to us they are not from a king but from some strange authority that we cannot understand. But the French, although we have released them from prison many times, despite forbidding them to enter our country, and we thereby deserve their thanks, still they sprout more desperate schemes. Let us wait for the return of our traveling officials, and we can ask them about French intentions. If this enemy has some aggressive idea, Saigon and Hai Phong will also be places of danger, not only Da Nang.

Family +RankTitleNameYear of birth-deadNoteConsort QuýEmpress Nghi Thiên Chương The Empress Dowager Từ Dụ

The Great Empress Dowager Từ Dụ

Phạm Đăng Hưng's daughter

From palace lady before the emperor coronation, she becomes the second rank consort Thành, now there are no one be the first rank consort so she was the highest rank of the harem.

She was Emperor Tự Đức's mother.

3 years later, she becomes the first rank consort Quý, the highest rank of the harem, just under Imperial Noble Consort (the title for the official wife of the Emperor instead of The Empress)

After he son became the emperor, he promoted her the title The Empress Dowager Từ Dụ. Emperor Hàm Nghi promoted her the title The Great Empress Dowager Từ Dụ. And Thành Thái Emperor promoted her the title The Great Grand Empress Dowager Từ DụConsort LệnhThe first rank consort LệnhNguyễn Thị NhậmHer hometown is An Giang Nguyễn Văn Nhơn's daughter

From palace lady before the emperor coronation, she becomes the second rank consort Trinh, just under Consort Thành of Phạm Đăng family.

Nguyễn Hữu Linh's daughter.

From palace lady before the emperor coronation, she becomes the third rank concubine Lương, under consort Thành and Consort Trinh at the second rank, and the third rank concubine Quý who died before. After 3 years she became the first rank consort Lương just under the first rank consort Quý of Phạm Đăng familyConsort ThụcThe second rank consort ThụcNguyễn Thị XuyênHer hometown is Quảng Bình province. Nguyễn Văn Phụng's daughter and Concubine Nhu's young sister. From palace lady before the emperor coronation, she becomes the third rank concubine Đức. After 3 years she became the second rank consort Thục, she was the only one who had the title of Second rank consort now. Her son, Hồng Y, emperor Dục Đức's father, and emperor Great grand father of Thành Thái emperor.Concubine QuýThe third rank concubine QuýĐinh Thị Hạnh1808–1885She died before her husband became the emperor. Her son is the first and the oldest prince of the emperor, who was feed by The great grand empress dowager Thuận Thiên, the emperor's grand mother, Gia Long's wife. Her son was expected to become the next emperor but The emperor change d his mind at the end.Concubine ThụyThe Third rank concubine Thụy The Great consort dowager

From palace lady before the emperor coronation, she becomes the fourth rank concubine Huy, then become The third rank concubine Thụy.