Peasant’s lives in the Red River Dealta, 1939-1945

Abstract

After France imposed colonial rule in Vietnam, the colonial administration largely preserved Nguyễn dynasty taxation forms, but with far more exploitative methods. Especially after Japan entered Indochina, French dominance was no longer exclusive. France and Japan jointly imposed further exploitative measures, including compulsory rice procurement and policies forcing the replacement of rice and crops with fiber and oil plants. These policies plunged the Vietnamese population in general, and peasants in the Red River Delta in particular, into extreme misery, culminating in
the devastating famine of late 1944 and early 1945. This article examines two main aspects: (1) the exploitative policies of the Franco–Japanese administration; and (2) the living conditions of Red River Delta peasants under their rule in domains such as food, clothing, and shelter.