Publisher's Synopsis
Sidney Augustus Staunton was born at Ellicottville, New York, USA in 1850. He joined Virginia Naval Academy and graduated as a midshipman in 1871. He wrote the book War in Tong-King - Why the French are in Tong-King and what they are doing there which was published in 1884. Tong-King, an integral part of the Kingdom of Annam, was a district of the vast South-Asian peninsula, bounding China's Yunnan and Kouang-Si in the north; Gulf of Tong-King in the east; Annam land in the south and Laos and Shan states of Burmah in the west.The country was conquered by China in the year 214 B.C. and became independent in 1428. In 1692, French planed to establish a colony in Tong-King. In eighteen century, French bishop Pigneau de Béhaine helped the king Gia Long to recover the throne from the dynastic revolution. After king Gia Long passed away in 1820, the relationship between French and Tong-King became worst. In 1859, French bombarded and captured Saigon of Cochin-China, and then, in 1883, attacked and captured Hué, capital of Annam. As result, Annam had to signed the treaty with French to formally recognize the protectorate of France. Sidney Augustus Staunton analyzed the relationship among Tong-King, China and France in his book and presented a thoughtful point of view on the war between French and Tong-King and the commercial interests in this land. I hope the readers will get a lot of useful information in the book.
