Vietnam - Background

Before WW2

• French controlled Indo-China(Vietnam)

After WW2

• Japan (allied with Germany) took control of South-East Asia, including Indo-China
• French want Indo-China back

Viet Minh (under Ho Chi Minh) were a nationalist group who fought the Japanese. Ho Chi Minh was a communist.

By 1945, the Viet Minh controlled the North of the country but they wanted it all. They marched to Hanoi (Capitalist) and declared Independence.

1946 - War with France. Didn't let USA know that they wanted to be communist so USA were sympathetic - felt it was a war against colonialism.

1949 - Communists take over China and begin to help the Viet Minh.

USA get worried...

USA concerned that China wanted the whole of South-East Asia to become communist - this went against American Ideology.

USA financially supported France ($500 million).

An idealogy based around equality. In a truely communist society, everything is collectively owned, i.e. no-one has individual possessions. This is theoretically means that everything is shared equally amongst citizens.

An ideology based around trade and industry. In a truely capitalist society, everything has a value and everything is privately owned. This, theoretically, means that resources are traded amongst citizens, often via. some form of currency.