Policies of Southeast Asian Governments Towards Catholicism in the 16th – 18th Centuries: Case Study of Cochinchina, Vietnam
Abstract
The purpose of the research paper is to analyse the policy of the Nguyen Lords’ government towards Catholicism in the context of the increasing number of Western missionaries and merchants who arrived in Southeast Asia.
The scientific novelty. The article comprehensively evaluates Nguyen Lords’ policy towards a new religion introduced into his territory, which is also a testament to the behaviour of a government in the Southeast Asian region towards Western culture in the 16th – 18th centuries. The authors analysed the reasons for the religious policy of the Nguyen Lords and assessed its consequences for both the country and Christianity.
Conclusions. During more than two centuries of ruling Cochinchina, the Nguyen Lords implemented a flexible and pragmatic policy towards Catholicism: flexible in measures and methods of implementation, and pragmatic in the purpose and conditions for implementing policies. This policy would pave the way for ‘rejection’ when the influences of Catholicism proved dangerous to the rule; at the same time, the Nguyen Lords would enforce a ban on religion, even prohibiting the absorption of other cultures. The consequence of an extreme policy against religion led to the rejection of all achievements of Western civilisation. In other words, the xenophobic measures of the Nguyen Lords’ government further deprived the Vietnamese people of the opportunity to absorb new, progressive values.
The Nguyen Lords proactively approached Western civilisation but did not focus on receiving its achievements, which made it impossible for Dang Trong to form a Western learning movement like Japan or Thailand, and they could not resolve the contradictions and social crises in Vietnam at that time. The tragedy of Vietnam’s history gradually took shape in that context. Especially from the end of the 18th century, Catholicism was exploited by Western countries to carry out their invasion, leading to events that changed the fate of Vietnam.
References
Barrow, J. (1806). A voyage to Cochinchina, in the years 1792 and 1793. London: T. Cadell and W. Davies in the Strand [in English]
Borri, C. (1631). Relation de la nouvelle mission des Pères de la Compagnie de Jésus au royaume de Cochinchine. Traduite d’Italien par le père Antoine de la Croix. Rennes: I. Hardy [in French].
Cadière, L & To, N.V. (1944). History of Christianity in Vietnam in the 16th – 18th centuries. Hue: Publishing House Dai Viet [in Vietnamese].
Launay, A. (2000). Histoire de la mission de Cochinchine, 1728-1771: documents historiques. Vol. I-III. Paris: Missions étrangères de Paris [in French].
Luis, G. (1620). Cocincinensis mission annuae Litterae. anni 1620. ARSI, JS [in Latin].
Manguin, P.Y. (1972). Les Portugais sur les côtes du Viet-Nam et du Campa. Paris: École Française d’Extrême-Orient [in French].
Maybon, C.B. (2006). Europeans in Annam. Hanoi: World Publishing House [in Vietnamese].
Nguyen, Ch.D. (2011). The Contribution of Bishop Pigneau de Behaine to the Reform in Gia Dinh. Research and Development Journal, 3 (86), 27-40 [in Vietnamese].
Nguyen, K.V. (2001). The introduction of Christianity into Vietnam from the 17th to the 19th century. Hanoi: Vietnam Historical Science Association Publishing House [in Vietnamese].
Nguyen, H. (2009). History of missionary work in Vietnam. Vol. I. Hanoi: Encyclopaedia [in Vietnamese].
Nguyen, T.V. (1994). History of the Vietnamese Church. Vol. 3. Ho Chi Minh City: St. Joseph Major Seminary [in Vietnamese].
Phạm, K.D. (1957). Queen Minh Duc – Forerunner of Catholicism in Vietnam. Saigon: Tinh Viet [in Vietnamese].
Phan, H.L., Vu, V.Q. & Đoan, M.H. (Eds). (2009). Some historical issues of the Southern Vietnam region until the end of the 19th century. Hanoi: World Publishing House [in Vietnamese].
Rhodes A. de. (1854). Voyages et missions du Père Alexandre de Rhodes de la Compagnie de Jésus, en la Chine et autres royaumes de l’Orient. Paris: Julien Lanier [in French].
Sinh, B.D. (1999). History of the Catholic Church. Vol. 2. Canada: Veritas Edition Calgary [in Vietnamese].
Tana, L. (1998). Nguyen Cochinchina: Southern Vietnam in the 17th and 18th centuries. Ithaca: Cornell Southeast Asia Program Monograph [in English].
Tran, H.D. (2002). Religious policy of the Nguyen Dynasty in Cochinchina. Religious studies, 3, 23-27 [in Vietnamese].
Truong, C.B. (Ed.) (2008). History of Christianity in Vietnam in the 16th – 18th centuries. Vol. I. Hanoi: Hanoi Religious Publishing House [in Vietnamese].
Vien Khoa hoc Xa hoi va Ban Ton giao (1988). Some historical issues of Catholicism in the history of the Vietnamese nation: Proceedings of the scientific conference in Ho Chi Minh City, August 11-12, 1988. Ho Chi Minh City: Vien Khoa hoc Xa hoi va Ban Ton giao [in Vietnamese].
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
