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Lê Văn Duyệt
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Lê Văn Duyệt
Lê Văn Duyệt (1763 or 1764 – 30 July 1832) was a Vietnamese general who helped Nguyễn Ánh—the future Emperor Gia Long—put down the Tây Sơn wars, unify Vietnam and establish the Nguyễn dynasty. After the Nguyễn came to power in 1802, Duyệt became a high-ranking mandarin, serving under the first two Nguyễn emperors Gia Long and Minh Mạng.
Born into a family of peasants in what is today's Đồng Tháp, Duyệt joined Prince Nguyễn Ánh in fighting the Tây Sơn peasant rebellion. Because of Duyệt's military ability, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Nguyễn army and became a marshal when the hostilities ended. After the foundation of the Nguyễn dynasty, Duyệt served as a high-ranking mandarin and, later, viceroy of the southern part of Vietnam, ruling from Gia Định (modern-day Saigon).
His governance greatly stabilized and helped develop the southern Vietnam, turning it into a wealthy and peaceful region. In addition, Duyệt opposed Emperor Minh Mạng's ascension and defended Christian missionaries and converts from the emperor's isolationist and Confucian policies. These attitudes brought Duyệt into conflict with Minh Mạng and led to the posthumous desecration of Duyệt's tomb, which provoked his adopted son Lê Văn Khôi to revolt against the court the following year in 1833. Later, Emperors Thiệu Trị and Tự Đức, son and grandson of Minh Mạng, rehabilitated the general's honor and restored his tomb.
Lê Văn Duyệt was born in either 1763 or 1764 in Định Tường (present day Đồng Tháp), a quaint part of the Mekong Delta, in southern Vietnam. His parents were peasants whose ancestors came from Quảng Ngãi in central Vietnam during the southwards expansion of the Nguyễn Lords. Duyệt was born in a poor family, and he tended buffaloes during his childhood. Attracted by the possibilities of the "New South", the family then moved to Gia Định.
In 1780, Duyệt became a eunuch of the 18-year-old Prince Nguyễn Ánh, the nephew of the slain Nguyễn Lord and the most senior member of the family who survived the revolt by the three Tây Sơn brothers, who seized power in southern Vietnam from the Nguyễn in 1777. As a result, Nguyễn Ánh and a few loyalists fled into the dense jungles of the Mekong Delta in the far south. Later, Nguyễn Ánh made Duyệt a Cai Cơ ("Commander") of his bodyguards. From 1777 onwards, the military balance between the Tây Sơn and the Nguyễn fluctuated, as the forces came in conflict with each other frequently.
In 1782, the Tây Sơn attacked Gia Định again and forced Nguyễn Ánh to flee to the island of Phú Quốc under Duyệt's escort. It was one of many times when Gia Định changed hands. In 1787, Duyệt began organizing and commanding his own unit, and individually recruiting his own men. In 1788, the balance shifted in favor of the Nguyễn following the involvement of Pigneau de Behaine, a French Catholic priest who supported Nguyễn Ánh and helped recruit French military officers, partly motivated by the hope of securing future privileges for Catholicism. In 1788, the Nguyễn recaptured Gia Định and never relinquished it again. From then on, Nguyễn Ánh transformed the city into a fortress and his powerbase and began consolidating his hold on surrounding areas, before attacking the Tây Sơn with a view to eliminate them.
In 1789, Nguyễn Ánh made Duyệt a general. From this point on, Duyệt accompanied his lord on military campaigns against the Tây Sơn. Continuous warfare then ensued, mostly centred near Nha Trang and Qui Nhơn on the south central coast, where the Nguyễn besieged the Tây Sơn's strongholds.
In 1801, Duyệt engineered a naval victory in Thị Nại, which was a turning point of the war and heralded the complete collapse of the Tây Sơn. In the same year, a close colleague, Tong Viet Phuc was killed in battle by the Tây Sơn, this reportedly provoked Duyệt into a state of extreme anger, during which he killed enemy soldiers indiscriminately, prompting a rebuke from Nguyễn Ánh. Shortly thereafter, Nguyễn Ánh exploited the absence of most of the Tây Sơn's army, which was attempting to recapture Quy Nhon, to lead his army in an attack on Phú Xuân, the capital of the Tây Sơn. However, the Nguyễn encountered heavy resistance from Tây Sơn forces around the Tu Dung sea gate, the entrance into the citadel of Phú Xuân. Seeing that the Nguyễn forces could not breach the defense by frontal attacks, Nguyễn Ánh ordered Duyet to lead a naval division to attack the Tây Sơn defense complex from the rear. Lê Văn Duyệt and his deputy Le Chat then defeated the Tây Sơn army and forced their commander, Prince Consort Nguyen Van Tri, to flee. This paved a way for the Nguyễn to assault the citadel of Phú Xuân.
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Lê Văn Duyệt
Lê Văn Duyệt (1763 or 1764 – 30 July 1832) was a Vietnamese general who helped Nguyễn Ánh—the future Emperor Gia Long—put down the Tây Sơn wars, unify Vietnam and establish the Nguyễn dynasty. After the Nguyễn came to power in 1802, Duyệt became a high-ranking mandarin, serving under the first two Nguyễn emperors Gia Long and Minh Mạng.
Born into a family of peasants in what is today's Đồng Tháp, Duyệt joined Prince Nguyễn Ánh in fighting the Tây Sơn peasant rebellion. Because of Duyệt's military ability, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Nguyễn army and became a marshal when the hostilities ended. After the foundation of the Nguyễn dynasty, Duyệt served as a high-ranking mandarin and, later, viceroy of the southern part of Vietnam, ruling from Gia Định (modern-day Saigon).
His governance greatly stabilized and helped develop the southern Vietnam, turning it into a wealthy and peaceful region. In addition, Duyệt opposed Emperor Minh Mạng's ascension and defended Christian missionaries and converts from the emperor's isolationist and Confucian policies. These attitudes brought Duyệt into conflict with Minh Mạng and led to the posthumous desecration of Duyệt's tomb, which provoked his adopted son Lê Văn Khôi to revolt against the court the following year in 1833. Later, Emperors Thiệu Trị and Tự Đức, son and grandson of Minh Mạng, rehabilitated the general's honor and restored his tomb.
Lê Văn Duyệt was born in either 1763 or 1764 in Định Tường (present day Đồng Tháp), a quaint part of the Mekong Delta, in southern Vietnam. His parents were peasants whose ancestors came from Quảng Ngãi in central Vietnam during the southwards expansion of the Nguyễn Lords. Duyệt was born in a poor family, and he tended buffaloes during his childhood. Attracted by the possibilities of the "New South", the family then moved to Gia Định.
In 1780, Duyệt became a eunuch of the 18-year-old Prince Nguyễn Ánh, the nephew of the slain Nguyễn Lord and the most senior member of the family who survived the revolt by the three Tây Sơn brothers, who seized power in southern Vietnam from the Nguyễn in 1777. As a result, Nguyễn Ánh and a few loyalists fled into the dense jungles of the Mekong Delta in the far south. Later, Nguyễn Ánh made Duyệt a Cai Cơ ("Commander") of his bodyguards. From 1777 onwards, the military balance between the Tây Sơn and the Nguyễn fluctuated, as the forces came in conflict with each other frequently.
In 1782, the Tây Sơn attacked Gia Định again and forced Nguyễn Ánh to flee to the island of Phú Quốc under Duyệt's escort. It was one of many times when Gia Định changed hands. In 1787, Duyệt began organizing and commanding his own unit, and individually recruiting his own men. In 1788, the balance shifted in favor of the Nguyễn following the involvement of Pigneau de Behaine, a French Catholic priest who supported Nguyễn Ánh and helped recruit French military officers, partly motivated by the hope of securing future privileges for Catholicism. In 1788, the Nguyễn recaptured Gia Định and never relinquished it again. From then on, Nguyễn Ánh transformed the city into a fortress and his powerbase and began consolidating his hold on surrounding areas, before attacking the Tây Sơn with a view to eliminate them.
In 1789, Nguyễn Ánh made Duyệt a general. From this point on, Duyệt accompanied his lord on military campaigns against the Tây Sơn. Continuous warfare then ensued, mostly centred near Nha Trang and Qui Nhơn on the south central coast, where the Nguyễn besieged the Tây Sơn's strongholds.
In 1801, Duyệt engineered a naval victory in Thị Nại, which was a turning point of the war and heralded the complete collapse of the Tây Sơn. In the same year, a close colleague, Tong Viet Phuc was killed in battle by the Tây Sơn, this reportedly provoked Duyệt into a state of extreme anger, during which he killed enemy soldiers indiscriminately, prompting a rebuke from Nguyễn Ánh. Shortly thereafter, Nguyễn Ánh exploited the absence of most of the Tây Sơn's army, which was attempting to recapture Quy Nhon, to lead his army in an attack on Phú Xuân, the capital of the Tây Sơn. However, the Nguyễn encountered heavy resistance from Tây Sơn forces around the Tu Dung sea gate, the entrance into the citadel of Phú Xuân. Seeing that the Nguyễn forces could not breach the defense by frontal attacks, Nguyễn Ánh ordered Duyet to lead a naval division to attack the Tây Sơn defense complex from the rear. Lê Văn Duyệt and his deputy Le Chat then defeated the Tây Sơn army and forced their commander, Prince Consort Nguyen Van Tri, to flee. This paved a way for the Nguyễn to assault the citadel of Phú Xuân.
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