Citadel of Saigon

Central Vietnam was ruled by the Nguyễn lords, who had broken away in the early 17th century from the Trịnh lords, who ruled the north. The Nguyễn continued the southward expansion that eventually reaching the Mekong Delta. The southern edge of Vietnam, being further away from the Nguyễn power base in the centre, was loosely governed. In 1771, the Tây Sơn rebellion erupted from Bình Định Province. In 1777, the last of the Nguyễn lords was deposed and killed. His nephew Nguyễn Phúc Ánh was the most senior member of the Nguyễn family to have survived the Tây Sơn victory and conquest of Saigon in 1777. a French priest who became his adviser and played a large part in his rise to power. Eventually, Nguyễn Ánh was forced into exile at Bangkok. Having seen Saigon slip from his hands on many occasions in the previous decade, Nguyễn Ánh was keen to strengthen his hold on the key southern city, turning it into his capital, and the base for his preparations for his planned conquest of the Tây Sơn and Vietnam. His enemies had regularly raided the area and confiscated the rice harvest. == Construction ==

The French officers recruited by Pigneau were used to train Nguyễn Ánh's armed forces and introduce their technological expertise to the war effort. One of Nguyễn Ánh's first actions was to ask the French officers to design and oversee the construction of a modern European-style citadel in Saigon. The citadel was designed by Theodore Lebrun and de Puymanel and 30,000 people were used to construct it in 1790. The townfolk and their mandarins were heavily taxed for the work, and the labourers were worked to the extent that it provoked a revolt. == First structure ==

) or Thành Quy (Citadel of Tortoise) in 1795. ) or Thành Quy (Citadel of Tortoise) because of this layout. The stone and earth citadel eventually had a perimeter measuring in a Vauban model. It was described as being of a Chinese style, designed in the octagonal form of a lotus flower, with eight gates The design suggested by the French maps is corroborated by the accounts of British and American visitors who travelled to Saigon seeking trade deals for their respective countries in the 1820s. British trade envoy John Crawfurd wrote that "the citadel of Saigon...is, in form, a parallelogram...I conjecture, from appearance, that the longest side of the square may be about three-quarters of a mile in length". George Finlayson, a naturalist and surgeon who travelled to southern Vietnam as a member of a trade delegation from the British East India Company, described the fortress as being "of square form, and each side is about half a mile in extent". White estimated that the height of walls was around . According to Crawfurd, the gateways were built from stone and lime, with the towers being of Chinese architecture with a double-canopied appearance. Nguyễn Ánh located his headquarters and palace inside the walls of the citadel. The palace itself was estimated by White to have covered an area of , standing at the centre of the citadel on a green, enclosed by paling. A cemetery stood at the western end of the citadel, with prominent mandarins being interred there, while the arsenal was located in the northeast section in six large buildings. Soldiers lived in huts that were built throughout the grounds of the citadel. White estimated that the fort was equipped with around 250 cannons, primarily made of brass. == Impact on the Tây Sơn and the Nguyễn ==

Following the construction of the citadel, the Tây Sơn never again attempted to recapture the city—the building gave Nguyễn Ánh a further psychological advantage over his opponents. The citadel helped to secure the southern region, which allowed Nguyễn Ánh to implement domestic programs to strengthen himself economically in preparation to fight the Tây Sơn. He used the newfound security to undertake agrarian reforms. Due to Tây Sơn naval raids on the rice crop, the area had been suffering long term rice shortages. Although the land was extremely fertile, the region was agriculturally underexploited because it had been occupied by Vietnamese people only relatively recently. Nguyễn Ánh's programs resulted in large amounts of previously idle land being cultivated. Large surpluses of grain, taxable by the state, were generated. Eventually, Nguyễn Ánh moved northwards and in 1802 he conquered all of Vietnam and became emperor, ruling under the name of Gia Long. == Lê Văn Khôi revolt ==

The citadel was not used during the rule of Gia Long and the only military action occurred after his son had ascended the throne as Minh Mạng. came to a head after the death of the latter in 1831. Tension between the pair surfaced when Gia Long made Minh Mạng the heir to the throne. Duyet had opposed the succession, favouring the enthronement of a young son of the late Prince Cảnh, the eldest of Gia Long's sons. After Gia Long's death, Minh Mạng and Duyệt clashed frequently. As the southern governor, Duyet had significant autonomy, Duyet was a supporter of Catholic missionaries, while Minh Mạng was a staunch Confucianist. and the emperor attempted to reduce the Duyet's autonomous power, which became easier with the general's death in 1831. This action prompted the Duyệt's officials—fearful of their positions and security under the central system—to launch a revolt under the leadership of his adopted son Lê Văn Khôi. On the night of May 18, 1833, Duyệt's supporters took control of the citadel, executing Nguyên and his subordinates. They then held a torch-lit ceremony at Duyệt's tomb, during which his adopted son Khôi formally rejected the imperial authority of Minh Mạng and declared his support for An Hoa, the son of Prince Cảnh. On the same evening, Khoi's men assassinated Nguyen Van Que, the newly appointed Governor-General who was overseeing the integration of the south into the central administration. All of the centrally appointed officials then were killed or fled the citadel. He further called on Catholics to congregate in the citadel under his protection. In mid-1834, the imperial forces managed to finally repel the Siamese invaders and gained the upper hand over the rebels, regaining control of the southern countryside and besieging the rebel fortress. Although Khôi himself died during the siege in November 1834, the other rebels defending the citadel of Saigon held out against imperial troops until September 1835. In all, between 500 and 2,000 citadel defenders were captured and executed, including Marchand; the rebel commanders were put to death. == Second structure ==

Following the revolt, Minh Mạng ordered that the citadel be dismantled in 1835. He then ordered that a new citadel be built in its place, which was still square-shaped, but only had four towers. The six outer towers in the original citadel were discarded. The destruction was seen as retribution for its use in the revolt. The new citadel, rebuilt in 1836, The fort was surrounded by deep moats. == French invasion and destruction ==

The process of Vietnam's colonisation began in 1858 when a Franco-Spanish force landed at Da Nang in central Vietnam and attempted to proceed to the capital Hue. After becoming tied down, they sailed to the less defended south, targeting Saigon. The southern offensive started on February 10, 1859 with a naval bombardment of Vũng Tàu. Within six days, the Europeans had levelled 12 Vietnamese fortresses and three river barriers. They then sailed along the Saigon River to the mouth of the Citadel of Saigon and opened fire with naval artillery from close range. The fort was manned by 1,000 soldiers and stored enough rice to feed 10,000 defenders for an entire year. Two hours later, de Genouilly declared the citadel as the new general headquarters of the French forces. The French seized a large arsenal. This included more than 200 cannons, 20,000 hand-held weapons such as firearms, pistols and swords, 100 tons of munitions, 80,000 tons of rice and 130,000 francs in cash. This left the 5,800-strong local self-defence militia to combat the French. These militia engaged in ambushing French patrols near the citadel, as well as evacuating local inhabitants, in order to create an open space close to their target. The local militia were supported by wealthy southern landowners, who supplied them with food and resources. The French soldiers charged with holding the citadel soon became stretched by the guerrilla attacks on the military installation. De Genouilly had decided to withdraw some of his forces back to central Vietnam. In addition, the inland position of the French forces lessened their technological advantage. As a result, the French decided to evacuate and destroy the fort. This was achieved on March 8. Captain Deroulede used 32 chests of explosives. The French withdrew to the outskirts of the city, before returning to central Vietnam. Amiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly.jpg|Rigault de Genouilly captured the citadel in a French attack in 1859. Đại bác thành Gia Định.jpg|A remaining cannon of Citadel of Saigon == Citations ==