Introduction

The nineteenth century brought a new wave of colonial expansion to South East Asia, and by the early 1900s the greater part of the region was under some form of Western control. The hope of gaining access to China through South East Asia also lay behind France’s entry into Vietnam, where the Mekong and Red Rivers appeared to offer prospects for trade with the interior. In contrast with earlier practice, when the Iberian governments and the private, profit-seeking East India Companies exercised sovereign power over overseas territories, colonial administrations now detached themselves from direct economic control and pursued liberal, laissez-faire policies. To raise revenues, they taxed land, imports and exports, prostitution, and non-essentials such as liquor, tobacco and opium. Given that intervention took place in areas of unproven worth, it is somewhat surprising that Western governments showed any enthusiasm at all for colonial adventures.