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Minh Mang 明命帝 was the second emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, reigning from 14 February, 1820 until 20 January, 1841. He was a younger son of the previous emperor, Gia Long whose oldest son, Crown Prince Canh, had died during the Nguyen war to take the throne. Nguyen Thanh To, his imperial name, was chosen to take the throne after his father because of his well known attitude of opposition to French involvement in Vietnam and his rigid Confucian orthodoxy.
Like all of the early Nguyen emperors, he had to deal with numerous peasant revolts, but managed to suppress them. However, the most serious threat came from one of his father's most trusted lieutenants and a national hero in Vietnam, Le Van Duyet. He had won the victory for the Nguyen forces at Qui Nhon and was made regent in the south by Gia Long with full freedom to rule and deal with foreign powers. He had opposed the enthronement of Minh Mang, who was violently opposed to outside influences like Christianity, because he thought this was a betrayal of the same people who had helped Gia Long take the throne.
Le Van Duyet died before Minh Mang could act against him, but in a humiliating show of vengance, in 1832 Minh Mang had Duyet's tomb violated and his dead body punished in public. This act, especially infuriating in a Confucian society, caused Duyet's son, Le Van Khoi to lead a rebellion against Minh Mang. It was a desperate position for the Nguyen Dynasty as it was taken as an opportunity by Thailand to also invade south Vietnam. The Nguyen forces were only barely able to repel the attack and suppress the rebels, after which violent reprisals occurred.
Although those who met Emperor Minh Mang always agreed he was personally a very wise and gentle man, his harsh policies had a dangerous impact on his country. His strict belief in Confucian society meant that there was no innovation of any kind allowed during his reign, and when rebellions broke out, his first reaction was to blame the Christian missionaries and their Vietnamese converts. He issued laws banning the spread of the religion and had hundreds of Christians put to death. This gave France the opportunity to involve itself in Vietnam and in 1858 French troops briefly occupied Tourane, demanding that the persecutions stop. This act was the start of France's campaign in the following years to occupy and colonize Vietnam.
In the end, Minh Mang died and left the throne to his son, Emperor Thieu Tri, who was just as rigidly Confucianist and anti-foreign as he had been. However, also during his reign Minh Mang had made the government work more efficiently, stopped a Thai invasion and built many national monuments in the imperial city of Hue. His legacy is one of success for himself, but with policies that brought Vietnam a lot of trouble after he was gone.
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