Annam, a territory along the east coast of Indo-China, between 10° and 23° N. lat., forming an empire which, since 1885, has been under a French protectorate. The names Annam and Cochinchina are sometimes used as interchangeable; sometimes the whole region is Annam, with Tongking (Tonquin) and Cochinchina as subdivisions; and conversely, sometimes Cochinchina has Tongking and Annam for its northern and southern sections. Cochin-China was the name originally given by the early navigators to the whole coast from Siam to China. Annam, a name given by the Chinese in the 3d century A.D., was adopted by the Annamese as the official name for the whole country.
The French usage is to treat French Indo-China (under one central government in Saigon) as including Annam, Cambodia, Cochin-China, and Tongking (Tonkin), with a total area of over 100,000 sq. m., and a total population of 20,000. Of this total, Annam has perhaps—with recent additions—some 50,000 sq. m., its pop. being variously stated at from 5,000,000 to 10,000. Annam lies between Tongking on the N. and Cochin-China and Cambodia on the S. On the W. the mountain-range bounding the Mekkong valley on the E. was, till lately, regarded as its frontier towards Siam. But after a controversy with Siam, ending in a treaty (1893) enforced by a French warship at Bangkok, the Mekkong was made the frontier with Siam, from Cambodia to 18° N. Annam accordingly now includes a large number of the hill-tribes, Mois or Khas, and Laos. The country, save on the coast and along the Mekkong, is mountainous; minerals are believed to abound; coal is worked near Turane. The mountains are covered with valuable timber, and the lower lands are extremely fertile. The chief productions are, besides rice and other cereals, cotton, cinnamon, sugar, tea, coffee, and tobacco. The chief ports are Turane (wholly under French control), Qui-nhon, and Xuan-day: Hué is the capital. The principal imports are rice, cotton cloths and yarns, opium, and paper, for the most part from China and Japan.
The other sections of French Indo-China are treated in separate articles (see CAMBODIA, COCHIN-CHINA, TONGKING; see also the articles on BURMA and SIAM). But as Tongking has been so closely associated with Annam, its physical geography may be mainly dealt with here. Tongking, with an area of about 35,000 sq. m., and perhaps 9,000,000 inhabitants (mainly Annamites, with some Chinese), falls into three distinct natural divisions—(1) the delta-land in the SE.; (2) the region of plateaus in the north; and (3) the forest region in the west. The Song-coi, or Red River (called Thao by the Annamese, and Hong-kiang by the Chinese), flows across the whole of Tongking from NW. to SE. The delta-lands formed at its mouth may be defined as a rough insular triangle, the apex of which is Son-tay, and its two sides, Song-dai on the south, and Song-can on the north, both issuing into the sea. Not far below Son-tay the Song-coi opens out at intervals into four leading branches, of which one is navigable for large ships. These main water-ways are connected by a network of subsidiary channels—many natural, some in part artificial. The delta-lands are all crossed by great embankments or dykes, hundreds of miles in extent, often 60 to 70 feet wide at the base, 20 to 30 feet high, and broad enough at the top for three carriages to drive abreast. The delta-lands are extremely fertile, yielding two harvests a year. This fertility is due to the red soil which is transported by the Song-coi (Red River), and which is rapidly enlarging the delta. Hanoi, a seaport when built by the Chinese in the 8th century, is now 100 miles inland. Now, too, there are populous agricultural villages where, 20 years ago, fishermen were casting their nets. The staple product is rice; but there are also grown pea-unts, castor-oil, mulberry for silkworms, cotton, sugar-cane, spices, sweet potatoes, &c. The north of Annam is rich in minerals of all kinds, and there have been opened gold, silver, copper, tin, and salt mines, while extensive coal-fields have hardly yet been touched.
The mountains are covered with all kinds of useful woods.
Though Annam lies wholly in the torrid zone, yet the climate of Tongking is on the whole excellent. During the dry season, from September to April, the thermometer varies between 70° and 40° F. During the hot and rainy season, extending over the other six months, the thermometer seldom mounts from a minimum of 70° to beyond 100° F. On account of the moisture, however, the heats in June and July are sometimes almost intolerable. In the mountains of Annam, tigers, buffaloes, rhinoceroses, and elephants abound. Much fishing is carried on.
Inhabitants.—The Annamese are mainly of Mongoloid stock. The inhabitants of the mountains (Muong or wild people) are taller, fairer, and stronger than the inhabitants of the plain. The latter are small of stature, but well proportioned, indolent, but expert. Rice is their principal food; but, like the Chinese, they are omnivorous, and devour snakes, locusts, rats, and dogs. The Tongkingese display wonderful skill in building dykes. Yet at Haiphong, the Chinese have monopolised all the industries demanding skill and perseverance; and 'lazy as an Annamese' is a common proverb. The only good industries carried on in Annam are in lacquer and the finer metals. The manufacture of steel is unknown. Sericulture and silk-weaving are far behind the state attained by those arts in China. The dykes offer the most available roads, and the only two great highways are the route from Saigon through Hné to Hanoi, and by way of Bac-ninh and Lang-son to China; and the northern road from Hanoi to Son-tay and Hung-hoa. The speech of the Annamese is monosyllabic, like Chinese, from which they have borrowed many words. The Annamese written character was also derived at an early period from the Chinese alphabet. There is no Annamese literature distinct from the Chinese. The mass of the people worship tutelary spirits; Confucianism is in vogue with the more cultivated; the remainder adhere to Buddhism. There are besides about 420,000 Roman Catholics, descendants of emigrants from Macao and Japan (1624), and of Portuguese fugitives from Malacca.
Government.—The frame of government is of Chinese pattern, but in its operation is much harsher and ruder than its prototype. The emperor is absolute despot, and unless the actual monarch should have decreed otherwise, the succession passes to the eldest son. He is assisted by a council of six ministers and three 'kun,' one of whom is prime-minister. The bastinado is in full force, and mutilation and torture are regular instruments of arbitrary authority. Military service is obligatory on all men between the ages of 18 and 60; and they are so often called out, that the field-work is left principally to women. The capital of the empire is Hué.
History.—Tongking and Cochin-China were, 214 B.C., conquered by China, and occupied by Chinese colonists. In 939 A.D. Tongking freed itself from the yoke of China, and in 1403 a war commenced, which in 1428 ended with Annam's independence of China, although the latter still maintained a nominal suzerainty. In 1517 the Portuguese came into the country, followed by the Dutch, who established a trading settlement in Hanoi. In 1789, by the aid of the French, the emperor of Annam united Tongking and Cochin-China under his rule. In 1858 a Franco-Spanish squadron stormed Tonron, and next year Saigon likewise surrendered. In 1861 the whole province of Saigon submitted to France. Other provinces soon fell, and by the treaty of Saigon or Hné (1862) 'French Cochin-China' was established, and afterwards enlarged.
In 1870 Dupuis made a voyage up the Sang-coi as far as Yunnan; and in 1873, with 100 French soldiers, captured Hanoi. By commercial treaty (1874) with Annam, France secured the right of holding the delta-lands of Song-coi, and freeing them from pirates. Accordingly, in 1882, Major Rivière made himself master of Hanoi, and, notwithstanding the protests of China, Annam, by treaty on the 25th August 1884, acknowledged the suzerainty of France, and her right to regulate the relations of Annam with foreign powers, China included. After some conflicts with France, China also, by the treaty of Tien-Tsin, 9th June 1885, engaged to respect the new state of affairs introduced by France into Annam, and to sanction commercial relations between China and Tongking. Thus practically the whole of Annam, including Tongking and Cochinchina, has been made a dependency of France.
See recent works on Annam and French Cochinchina by Bouillevaux, De Rhins, Lemire, Launay; and works on the French colonies by Vignon, Rambaud, and De Lanessan (1886).