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Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta (Vietnamese: Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit. 'Nine Dragon River Delta' or simply Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, 'Mekong River Delta'), also known as the South-western Region (Vietnamese: Tây Nam Bộ) or the Western Region (Vietnamese: Miền Tây), is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of south-western Vietnam, of an area of over 40,500 km2 (15,600 sq mi). The size of the area covered by water depends on the season. Its wet coastal geography makes it an important source of agriculture and aquaculture for the country.
The delta has been occupied as early as the 4th century BC. As a product of Khmer, Vietnamese, Chinese, and French settlement in the region, the delta and its waterways have numerous names, including the Khmer term Bassac to refer to the lower basin and the largest river branch flowing through it. After the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was split into two with South Vietnam inheriting the southern half of Vietnam becoming the State of Vietnam and eventually the Republic of Vietnam, also known as South Vietnam, with their own administrative states (see Category:Provinces of South Vietnam). After 1975, the Mekong Delta ceased being a part of the Republic of Vietnam, succeeded by the current Vietnamese nation. The region comprises 4 provinces: Đồng Tháp, An Giang, Vĩnh Long, and Cà Mau, along with the province-level municipality of Cần Thơ.
The Mekong Delta has been dubbed a "biological treasure trove". Over 1,000 animal species were recorded between 1997 and 2007 and new species of plants, fish, lizards, and mammals have been discovered in previously unexplored areas, including the Laotian rock rat, thought to be extinct. The low-lying coastal geography of the region makes it vulnerable to climate change caused sea level rise, alongside related issues such as coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion.
The Mekong Delta was likely inhabited long since prehistory with the civilizations of Funan and Chenla maintaining a presence in the Mekong Delta for centuries. Archaeological discoveries at Óc Eo and other Funanese sites show that the area was an important part of the Funan civilization, bustling with trading ports and canals as early as in the first century AD and extensive human settlement in the region may have gone as far back as the 4th century BC. While there is no clear consensus on the ethnic makeup of those living in the region during the Funan, archaeologists suggest that they may have had connections to Austroasiatic people. Khmer inscriptions appear during the Chenla period.
Angkor Borei is a site in the Mekong Delta that existed between 400 BC-500 AD. This site had extensive maritime trade networks throughout Southeast Asia and with India, and is believed to have possibly been the ancient capital to the civilization of Funan.
In the early 15th century, Champa began mounting several incursions in the Mekong Delta. The declining Kingdom of Cambodia asked the Chinese Ming Empire for intervention in 1408 and 1414. Despite that, in 1421 Indravarman VI of Champa seized and annexed the eastern part of the Mekong Delta, including the marketplace town of Biên Hòa. He installed a statue of Tribhuvanākrānta (Visnu) there to mark the southern most extent of Champa. In 1757, Vietnamese lords had acquired control of Cà Mau. By the 1860s, French colonists had established control over the Mekong Delta and established the colony of French Cochinchina.
The Vietnamese acquisition of the Mekong Delta can be divided into two phases:
In 1621, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên arranged a contract marriage between his daughter Nguyễn Phúc Ngọc Vạn and Cambodian king Chey Chettha II in exchange to the establishment of a Vietnamese trade port in town of Prei Nokor (now Ho Chi Minh City) and tax exemptions for Vietnamese settlers moving into the area. Vice versa, the Nguyễn will help Cambodia politically and militarily to counter against Ayutthaya Kingdom (Siamese) pressures. Earliest Vietnamese settlements in the Mekong Delta appeared and centered around Đồng Nai and Mỗi Xoài (today Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu).
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Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta (Vietnamese: Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit. 'Nine Dragon River Delta' or simply Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, 'Mekong River Delta'), also known as the South-western Region (Vietnamese: Tây Nam Bộ) or the Western Region (Vietnamese: Miền Tây), is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of south-western Vietnam, of an area of over 40,500 km2 (15,600 sq mi). The size of the area covered by water depends on the season. Its wet coastal geography makes it an important source of agriculture and aquaculture for the country.
The delta has been occupied as early as the 4th century BC. As a product of Khmer, Vietnamese, Chinese, and French settlement in the region, the delta and its waterways have numerous names, including the Khmer term Bassac to refer to the lower basin and the largest river branch flowing through it. After the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was split into two with South Vietnam inheriting the southern half of Vietnam becoming the State of Vietnam and eventually the Republic of Vietnam, also known as South Vietnam, with their own administrative states (see Category:Provinces of South Vietnam). After 1975, the Mekong Delta ceased being a part of the Republic of Vietnam, succeeded by the current Vietnamese nation. The region comprises 4 provinces: Đồng Tháp, An Giang, Vĩnh Long, and Cà Mau, along with the province-level municipality of Cần Thơ.
The Mekong Delta has been dubbed a "biological treasure trove". Over 1,000 animal species were recorded between 1997 and 2007 and new species of plants, fish, lizards, and mammals have been discovered in previously unexplored areas, including the Laotian rock rat, thought to be extinct. The low-lying coastal geography of the region makes it vulnerable to climate change caused sea level rise, alongside related issues such as coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion.
The Mekong Delta was likely inhabited long since prehistory with the civilizations of Funan and Chenla maintaining a presence in the Mekong Delta for centuries. Archaeological discoveries at Óc Eo and other Funanese sites show that the area was an important part of the Funan civilization, bustling with trading ports and canals as early as in the first century AD and extensive human settlement in the region may have gone as far back as the 4th century BC. While there is no clear consensus on the ethnic makeup of those living in the region during the Funan, archaeologists suggest that they may have had connections to Austroasiatic people. Khmer inscriptions appear during the Chenla period.
Angkor Borei is a site in the Mekong Delta that existed between 400 BC-500 AD. This site had extensive maritime trade networks throughout Southeast Asia and with India, and is believed to have possibly been the ancient capital to the civilization of Funan.
In the early 15th century, Champa began mounting several incursions in the Mekong Delta. The declining Kingdom of Cambodia asked the Chinese Ming Empire for intervention in 1408 and 1414. Despite that, in 1421 Indravarman VI of Champa seized and annexed the eastern part of the Mekong Delta, including the marketplace town of Biên Hòa. He installed a statue of Tribhuvanākrānta (Visnu) there to mark the southern most extent of Champa. In 1757, Vietnamese lords had acquired control of Cà Mau. By the 1860s, French colonists had established control over the Mekong Delta and established the colony of French Cochinchina.
The Vietnamese acquisition of the Mekong Delta can be divided into two phases:
In 1621, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên arranged a contract marriage between his daughter Nguyễn Phúc Ngọc Vạn and Cambodian king Chey Chettha II in exchange to the establishment of a Vietnamese trade port in town of Prei Nokor (now Ho Chi Minh City) and tax exemptions for Vietnamese settlers moving into the area. Vice versa, the Nguyễn will help Cambodia politically and militarily to counter against Ayutthaya Kingdom (Siamese) pressures. Earliest Vietnamese settlements in the Mekong Delta appeared and centered around Đồng Nai and Mỗi Xoài (today Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu).