In 1802, after annihilating the Tây Sơn, Nguyễn Ánh ascended the throne in Phú Xuân, taking the reign title Gia Long, establishing the Nguyễn Dynasty the final feudal dynasty of Việt Nam.
For the first time in history, the nation was unified from Nam Quan Pass to Cà Mau Cape. The official national title was VIỆT NAM (1820 under King Minh Mạng), later changed to ĐẠI NAM (Great South). Gia Long stated on the day of his coronation:
"Two hundred years of separation is enough. From now on, there is only one nation, one king, and one united people."
He meticulously constructed the capital Huế according to strict feng shui, erecting the Kỳ Đài (Flag Tower), Ngọ Môn (Noon Gate), the Đại Nội (Imperial Citadel), and the Hoàng Thành (Forbidden City) structures that still stand today as witnesses to a time of strength.
Under the first three kings Gia Long, Minh Mạng, and Thiệu Trị Đại Nam was the strongest power in Southeast Asia:
It possessed a massive army and a large fleet, with cannons cast using French technology.
The borders expanded, defeating Siam, integrating Cambodia, and establishing administrative offices in Laos. The map of Việt Nam had never been so vast, stretching from Nam Quan to the Gulf of Thailand.
Minh Mạng, a talented yet strict king, once said:
"A nation is strong because its people are wealthy the people are wealthy because the officials are incorruptible. If officials are greedy, the nation will be lost."
He divided the country into 30 provinces, established a rigid administrative system, used Confucian script as the main national language, and banned Catholicism to preserve the ancient culture. But it was precisely from here that the seed of danger was sown.
In 1858, the combined forces of France and Spain opened fire, attacking Đà Nẵng. While the court was still proudly thinking of itself as the "Celestial Superior Nation," its Gia Định Citadel was shattered by modern cannons (1859), and subsequently, it lost the three Eastern provinces and then the three Western provinces of the South. King Tự Đức sat on his throne, tears rolling down his face:
"I have tried to adhere to the way of the sages, why does Heaven force Đại Nam to endure this humiliation?"
From 1862 to 1884, the Nguyễn court successively signed treaties ceding land, accepting colonial status under the guise of "protectorate."
The mandarins divided into two factions: the pro-war and the pro peace. The pro-war faction cried, "Bình Tây sát tả" (Quell the West, Kill the Traitors), while the pro-peace faction argued, "Cõng rắn cắn gà nhà" (Carrying a snake to bite one's own chicken/Inviting disaster).
In 1885, the Huế capital fell in a single night (the Ất Dậu Incident). Young King Hàm Nghi fled the palace and issued the Cần Vương Edict (Aid the King):
"O compatriots! The French bandits have seized our country we cannot bow down. Take up your swords, take up your spears, help your King fight the enemy and save the nation!"
For more than ten years after that, the Cần Vương Movement erupted everywhere: Phan Đình Phùng, Nguyễn Thiện Thuật, Hoàng Hoa Thám... The blood of heroes once again stained the mountains and forests red. But French rifles were stronger than swords and spears, and eventually, all fell.
From Kings Thành Thái, Duy Tân, Khải Định to Bảo Đại, the Nguyễn Emperors became mere puppets within the Imperial Citadel (Đại Nội). The yellow flag with three red stripes still flew, but beneath it stood the shadow of French troops and their native auxiliary forces.
On August 30, 1945, King Bảo Đại read his Edict of Abdication at the Ngọ Môn:
"I would rather be a citizen of an independent country than be a King of an enslaved nation."
The gates of the Đại Nội closed. The Nguyễn Dynasty ended after 143 years (1802-1945), bringing to a close over a thousand years of Việt Nam's feudal regime.
Yet, the Việt people remember the Nguyễn Dynasty with mixed emotions:
A time when they unified the largest territory in history.
A time when they also lost the nation to colonizers.
And on the Kỳ Đài in Huế, the wind still whips the flag, as if reminding everyone:
"This land and river, no matter how many dynasties it experiences, truly belongs only to the people. When the people endure, the nation endures. When the people are lost, no matter how high the throne, only dust remains."