The land of Trấn Biên – Biên Hòa (Đồng Nai) from the 17th century to the first half of the 19th century.

Abstract

The article aims to restore the landscape of the Vietnamese, the Chinese, and other communities who worked hard together to reclaim and settle the land, establishing villages in Dong Nai from the 17th century to the first half of the 19th century. In the year of Mậu Dần (1698), Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu established Gia Dinh administrative division, officially incorporating Dong Nai into the southern territory (Dang Trong) of Vietnam under the name Tran Bien. From the late of the 17th century through the 18th century, Tran Bien was viewed as an crucial land that witnessed many events in the process of establishing and defending the sovereignty of the Nguyen Lords in southern Vietnam. In the early 19th century, the Nguyen Dynasty paid more attention to Dong Nai, considering it a land of revival. By the reign of Emperor Minh Mang (1820-1841), Bien Hoa province was established as one of the 30 provinces of Dai Nam.