Tonkin (French protectorate)
Tonkin, or Bắc Kỳ, was a French protectorate encompassing modern Northern Vietnam. Like the French protectorate of Annam, Tonkin was still nominally ruled by the Nguyễn dynasty, but in 1886, the French separated Tonkin from the Nguyễn imperial court in Huế by establishing the office of "Viceroy". However, on 26 July 1897, the position of Viceroy was abolished, officially making the French resident-superior of Tonkin both the representative of the French colonial administration and the Nguyễn dynasty court in Huế, giving him the power to appoint local mandarins. In 1887, Tonkin became a part of the Union of Indochina.
Administrative divisions of Tonkin 1920
Girls study chemistry in colonial school (Ecole Normale d'Institutrices)
Girls study tailoring in colonial school (Ecole Normale d'Institutrices)
Girls study maths in colonial school (Ecole Normale d'Institutrices)
Annam (French protectorate)
Annam, or Trung Kỳ (中圻), was a French protectorate encompassing the territory of the Empire of Đại Nam in Central Vietnam. Before the protectorate's establishment, the name Annam was used in the West to refer to Vietnam as a whole; Vietnamese people were referred to as Annamites. The protectorate of Annam became a part of French Indochina in 1887, along with two other Vietnamese regions, Cochinchina in the South and Tonkin in the North. The region had a dual system of French and Vietnamese administration. The government of the Nguyễn Dynasty still nominally ruled Annam and Tonkin as the Empire of Đại Nam, with the emperor residing in Huế. In 1948, the protectorate was merged in the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam, which was replaced the next year by the newly established State of Vietnam. The French legally maintained the protectorate until they formally signed over sovereignty to the Bảo Đại and the government of the State of Vietnam in 1950 after signing the Élysée Accords in 1949. The region was divided between communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam under the terms of the Geneva Accord of 1954.
Administrative divisions of the French Protectorate of Annam in 1920.
Postcard of the Annam Tower, built in Marseilles for the 1906 Colonial Exhibition.
An Indochinese primary school completion certificate (Bằng-Cấp Tiểu-Học Cụ-Thề Đông-Pháp) issued by the National Ministry of Education of the Nguyễn dynasty in the year 1939. It has a modern French design but displays traditional symbols like the seal of the minister and the usage of Classical Chinese alongside Romanised Vietnamese.