The French used school textbooks in Vietnam to justify colonial rule

• Nationalist Movement in Indo-China (C10)

The French used school textbooks in Vietnam to justify colonial rule. Explain.

Answer

1. The Vietnamese were represented in the text books as primitive and backward.

2. They were shown capable of manual labour but not of intellectual reflection; ‘skilled copyists’ but not creative.

3. School children were told that only French rule could ensure peace in Vietnam.