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| 1872–73 |
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| A French merchant active in China, Jean Dupuis (1829–1912) explored the Red River region. The residents of Annam objected to French activities in Tonkin. | 1 |
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| 1873, Nov |
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| Soldier and adventurer Marie Joseph François Garnier (Francis Garnier, 1839–73) was ordered by the governor-general of Cochin China to attack Hanoi. Garnier's forces occupied it and other strategic sites of the Red River delta. After his death on the field (Dec.), the French began to press for a second treaty of Saigon the next year. | 2 |
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| 1874, March 15 |
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| The Second Treaty of Saigon compelled the Vietnamese emperor to conform his foreign policy to that of France and to recognize the French possession of Cochinchina. Freedom for the Christian religion was again promised. In return France promised protection and offered to supply gunboats and officers to help suppress piracy. France returned Hanoi, but the emperor sought to evade the stipulations of the treaty and now looked to China for possible aid against the French. Both France and China now claimed “sovereignty” over Vietnam. Franco-Vietnamese conflicts continued virtually unabated. | 3 |
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| 1878 |
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| A millenarian rebellion led by one claiming the impending return of the Maitreya (Buddha of the future) was launched by peasants against the French. | 4 |
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| 1882 |
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| After continuous trouble with Chinese troops from the north, who were urged by Tu-duc against the French, the latter seized Hanoi and established a protectorate over Annam. | 5 |
| On Tu-duc's order (1865), the Dai Nam Nhât Thông Chi, in 17 volumes, was completed. It was a comprehensive geographical gazetteer of the country. Part of the original was lost (1885) in a battle lost to the French, but it was later (1909) discovered. | 6 |
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| 1883, Aug. 25 |
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| Following the death of Henri Rivière and a small force at the hands of the anti-French Triad guerrilla forces, known as the Black Flags, Tu-duc was compelled, under the TREATY OF HUÊ, once again to recognize the French protectorate, which now extended to Tonkin and Annam itself. The French, though, still had to deal with pirates and Black Flags in Tonkin who were supported by the Chinese. The result was the Sino-French War (1884), in the course of which the French suffered a setback at Lang-son (March 28, 1885), which in turn led to the overthrow of Jules Ferry, the prime mover for expansion in France. | 7 |
| The year 1883 was marked by severe domestic strife, following the death of Emperor Tu-duc. The regents elevated and deposed three emperors in succession, and the fourth, Ham-nghi (1872–1947, r. 1884–85, July 5), though just a teenager, joined a guerrilla force and attacked the French. After French control was established, the native ruler became subject to French orders. | 8 |
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| 1884, June 6 |
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| The second Treaty of Huê divided Vietnam into thirds and gave France the right to occupy militarily any place in Annam. Thereby, effective French control was firmly established. | 9 |
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| June 17 |
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| A new treaty with Cambodia gave the protecting power much more control than before. | 10 |
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