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The Nguyễn Dynasty (Vietnamese: Nhà Nguyễn; Sino-Vietnamese: Nguyễn triều) was the last ruling family of Vietnam. Their rule began in 1802 when Emperor Gia Long ascended the throne after defeating the Tay Son Dynasty and ended in 1945 when Bảo Đại abdicated the throne and transferred power to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, ruling for a total of 143 years. During the reign of Emperor Gia Long, the nation officially became known as Việt Nam, but from the reign of emperor Minh Mạng on, the nation was renamed Đại Nam. Their rule was marked by the increasing influence of French colonialism; the nation was eventually partitioned into three, Cochinchina became a French colony while Annam and Tonkin became protectorates which were independent in name only.

History

 * For more background information, see Nguyen Lords and Trinh Lords

The Nguyen family had been one of the major families in Vietnamese history, dating back to the days of the Hero - Emperor Le Loi. Due to a civil war and the weakness of the later Le Dynasty, the Nguyen and the Trinh (another of the major families) joined together in opposition to the Mac. Nguyen Kim, the leader of this alliance, was assassinated in 1545 by a servant of the Mac. Kim's son-in-law Trinh Kiem, took over the alliance because Kim's sons were too young. In 1558, Nguyen Hoang (Viet: Nguyễn Hoàng), the eldest son of Nguyen Kim was given lordship over the southern, newly conquered provinces of Vietnam. He ruled from the city of Huế for the rest of his life and established the dominion of the Nguyen Lords in the southern part of the country. While the Nguyen Lords, like the Trinh, paid tribute to the Le Emperor, the reality was they ruled, not the king. Nguyen Hoang and his successors continually expanded their territory by making Kampuchea a protectorate, and by invading Laos, Champa and many small countries in the area. The Nguyen lords styled themselves as lord (Chúa in Vietnamese).

It was Nguyen Phuc Nguyen (Viet: Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên or Lord Sãi), Nguyen Hoang's son, who started the Nguyen Phuc family name. 200 years later, Nguyen Phuc Khoat (Viet: Nguyễn Phúc Khoát) was the first ruler of the line who styled himself King (Vương in Vietnamese), as the Trịnh Lords began to do so in the North.

Nguyen Anh (Viet: Nguyễn Phúc Ánh) finally united Vietnam for the first time in 300 years. He started a dynasty and styled himself Emperor (Viet: Hoàng Đế) Gia Long. After Gia Long, other rulers of the dynasty would soon run into problems with Catholic missionaries and, subsequently, the involvement of Europeans in Indochina.

Emperors Minh Mang (Viet: Minh Mạng), Thieu Tri (Viet: Thiệu Trị), Tu Duc (Viet: Tự Đức) and Hiep Hoa (Viet: Hiệp Hoà), were opposed to French involvement in the country and tried to reduce the growing Catholic community in Vietnam at that time. Their persecution of missionaries was the primary pretext for the French to invade and occupy Indochina. Much like what had occurred in Qing China, there were also numerous incidents involving other nations (European) during the 19th century.

The last Nguyen Emperor to rule with complete independence was Tu Duc. After his death there was a succession crisis which allowed the French to take direct control of the country and eventually gain complete control of the monarchy. All emperors since Dong Khanh (Viet: Đồng Khánh) were chosen by the French and had only a symbolic position.

The nominal reign of the Nguyen Dynasty firmly came to an end in 1945, when the Communists or Viet Minh (Viet: Việt Minh) under Ho Chi Minh staged a revolt, after the Japanese surrender. After receiving a "request" for his resignation, the last emperor, Bao Dai (Viet: Bảo Đại), abdicated the throne and handed power over to the government of President Ho Chi Minh; in return, Emperor Bao Dai was then named "Supreme Counselor" to the new government. Bao Dai left shortly afterward since he did not agree with the policies of the Viet Minh and went into exile in Hong Kong.

In 1948, the French persuaded Bao Dai to return as "Chief of State" (Viet: Quốc Trưởng) of the "State of Vietnam" (Viet: Quốc Gia Việt Nam) set up by France in areas over which it had regained control, while a bloody war with the Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh continued. Bao Dai spent much of his time during that conflict enjoying a good life either at his luxurious home in Dalat (in the Vietnamese Highlands) or in Paris, France. This came to end with the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu (Viet: Điện Biên Phủ) in 1954.



After Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam, the South Vietnamese prime minister Ngo Dinh Diem (Viet: Ngô Đình Diệm), in a referendum claimed by many as to have been manipulated, overthrew Bao Dai in 1956. Diem then assumed the position of President of the Republic of Vietnam (Việt Nam Cộng Hòa), once more ending Bao Dai's involvement in Vietnamese affairs — this time permanently.

Bao Dai went into exile in France, where he died in 1997 and was buried in Cimetière de Passy. Crown Prince Bao Long (Viet:Bảo Long) succeeded on the death of his father Emperor Bao Dai as Head of the Imperial House of Vietnam, July 31, 1997.

Nguyen Dynasty Emperors of Vietnam
The following list is the Emperors' era names, which have meaning in Vietnamese. For example, the first ruler's era name, Gia Long, is the combination of the old names for Saigon (Gia Định) and Hanoi (Thăng Long) to show the new unity of the country; the fourth, Tự Đức, means "Inheritance of Virtues"; the ninth, Đồng Khánh, means "Collective Celebration".


 * 1) Following the death of Emperor Tu Duc, and according to his will, this Emperor ascended to the throne on 19 July 1883. However, he was dethroned and imprisoned three days later, after being accused of deleting one paragraph from Tu Duc's will. He had no time to announce his dynastic title (era name); hence his was named after his residential palace as Duc Duc (Viet: Dục Đức) (育德宮).
 * 2) Crown Prince Bao Long (Viet: Bảo Long) succeeded on the death of his father, Emperor Bao Dai, as Head of the Imperial House of Vietnam on 31 July 1997.

Lineage
Note: Years in the table are their reigning years.