ABSTRACT
Land was the key to political and social status in traditional Vietnam and, it was managed by the elite for its own benefit. The rich indigenous class that had established itself in Cochinchina during the early part of the twentieth century comprised individuals whose ancestors was not figures in Vietnamese society prior to the arrival of the French. The rigid system worked well when circumstances rendered society unchanging and it was exhibiting signs of strain long before the arrival of the French. Its slowness to react to and accommodate even limited social change left it prey to the internal pressure of social discord and the external threat of French colonialism. The superior military capability of the Europeans and fundamental, long-term problems of Vietnamese society lay at the root of this collapse. The middle classes in Vietnam came to assume this role because of their growing frustration at the limits that French rule placed upon their social, political and economic advancement.
