A new Cochinchina was beginning to take shape in the waters of the Mekong Delta and its surrounding coastline. The Chinese shipping network laid the basis for much of the new system of Dang Trong, centred in merchant houses of Canton’s Hong merchants and by the 1760s operating on a grander scale than ever before. The ports and commercial enterprises of the delta and its water frontier depended on a continuous circulation of commodities, primarily rice, cash crop, and a variety of transshipped goods such as tin, gold, and rattan for its prosperity and growth. Tensions grew. The Tay Son rebellion destroyed both the kingdoms of Dang Trong and Dang Ngoai, decimated the kingdom’s population, and obliterated the old Canton trade. The Tay Son’s strength grew out of, and reacted to, 200 years of Nguyen rule. The thirty-year civil war was fought ultimately between the two rival southern powers of Dang Trong (Cochinchina), while the northern power Dang Ngoai (Tongking) had little say about its outcome. Its eventual conquest of Dang Ngoai brought an end to that region’s political economy and commenced the process whereby southern power would come to ascendance on a territory that by 1802 to be known as Viet Nam.

The history of the Mekong Delta, late 1700s to 1945, in Vietnam. Before late seventeenth century, this area was a lightly settled region far from the centers of Cambodian or Vietnamese power. The chapter sketches out the character of this region over time. It examines the emerging conflicts between Khmer, already settled in this area, and new settlers. The chapter argues that this conflict was not resolved when France, from late 1850s onwards, conquered these territories. In fact, the Khmer-Vietnamese conflict over sovereignty was simply put in abeyance. The chapter also sketches out the Mekong Delta by 1945: its different populations, especially Vietnamese, Chinese, and Khmer; some comments on religion as well. It examines the economic dislocations up to 1945 that shaped the delta during the First Indochina War.

In the Mekong Delta, in addition to directly fighting against the communist-led Resistance, the French also allied with semi-autonomous militias against the Resistance, particularly those associated with the Cao Dai and the Hoa Hao. A situational logic of alliance and opposition, understood by all participants, shaped the overarching "system." Within this system, both the French and the Resistance competed to co-opt smaller groups, from parastates to local militias, to their side, which in turn tried to establish their autonomy. This chapter looks at these allies, some of which were parastates, their funding, their economic bases, and their interactions. It gives particular attention to those affiliated with the Cao Dai (Pham Cong Tac, Trinh Minh The) and the Hoa Hao militias (Tran Van Soai, Ba Cut). It also examines the complexity of control at local levels, where in some villages, up to three different political actors, including the Vietnamese state, vied for dominance.

In August 1945, almost all southerners in Vietnam opposed the French and supported the Viet Minh. By the end of 1947, however, this coalition was in tatters. Mekong Delta politics fractured along ethnic and political lines. This chapter looks at the "priming" phase of this violence in 1945 and 1946. It distinguishes sharply between the development of a political fracturing among Vietnamese groups, on the one hand, and of a second, less-noticed development: the ethnic split between Vietnamese and Khmer. The chapter looks at the intervention of France, including the French military, from October 1945 onwards, emphasizing their weakness and unpreparednesss. It examines the challenges facing the Viet Minh, including its contentious relations with the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao politico-religious groups. Discusses the common use of violence, including killing, against perceived traitors.