Nguyễn Tri Phương ( vi-hantu, 阮知方, 1800 – 1873), born Nguyễn Văn Chương, was a

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

mandarin and military commander. He commanded armies against the

French conquest of Vietnam The French conquest of Vietnam (1858–1885) was a series of military expeditions that pitted the Second French Empire, later the French Third Republic, against the Vietnamese empire of Nguyễn dynasty, Đại Nam in the mid-late 19th century. It ...

at the Siege of Tourane, the

Siege of Saigon The siege of Saigon, a two-year siege of the city by the Vietnamese after its capture on 17 February 1859 by a Franco-Spanish flotilla under the command of the French admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly, was one of the major events of the ...

and the Battle of Hanoi (1873).

Early years

Nguyễn Tri Phương was born in 1800 in Ðường Long village, Chánh Lộc canton, Phong Ðiền district, Thừa Thiên fu, now is Chí Long village, Phong Chương commune, Phong Ðiền district, Thừa Thiên Huế. Born in a peasant family, Nguyễn did not go to school, but with intelligence, high self-study and self-reliance, he made a great career. Starting from an official at the district level, due to his talent, he was promoted to the court, was recruited and in turn held many important positions during the three reigns of

Minh Mạng Minh Mạng (), also known as Minh Mệnh (, vi-hantu, 明命, lit. "the bright favour of Heaven"; 25 May 1791 – 20 January 1841; born Nguyễn Phúc Đảm, also known as Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu), was the second emperor of the Nguyễ ...

Thiệu Trị Thiệu Trị (, vi-hantu, wikt:紹, 紹wikt:治, 治, lit. "inheritance of prosperity"; 6 June 1807 – 4 November 1847), personal name Nguyễn Phúc Miên Tông or Nguyễn Phúc Tuyền, was the third emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty. He was th ...

, and

Tự Đức Tự Đức (, vi-hantu, :wikt:嗣, 嗣:wikt:德, 德, , 22 September 1829 – 19 July 1883) (personal name: Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Nhậm, also Nguyễn Phúc Thì) was the fourth emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam, and the country's la ...

. Phương had risen quickly in military ranks after recapturing

Hà Tiên Hà Tiên is a Provincial city (Vietnam), provincial city in Kiên Giang Province, Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Its area is and the population as of 2019 is 81,576. The city borders Cambodia to the west. Hà Tiên is a tourist site of the region th ...

and defeating the Siamese army at Châu Đốc. He succeeded Trương Minh Giảng in 1841 as viceroy of King Thiệu Trị (reigned 1841–1847) in Southern Cochinchina. He then became a senior advisor to the next King Tự Đức (reigned 1847–83).

Battle of Hanoi (1873)

He was wounded and captured by the French in Battle of Hanoi (1873). He refused to be treated by French and began a hunger strike, dying shortly afterwards. His ceremonial dress was taken as a trophy by

Francis Garnier Marie Joseph François Garnier (; 25 July 1839 – 21 December 1873) was a French officer, inspector of Indigenous Affairs of Cochinchina and explorer. He eventually became mission leader of the Mekong Expedition of 1866–68, Mekong Exploration C ...

Legacy and memory

He was venerated alongside Hoàng Diệu by the Vietnamese people as loyal subjects who sacrificed themselves for Vietnam. Many cities and streets in Vietnam were named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Tri Phuong 1800 births 1873 deaths People from Huế Nguyen dynasty officials Nguyen dynasty generals People of the Cochinchina campaign People who died on hunger strike