French Indochina previously spelled as French Indo-China , [ a ] [ b ] officially known as the Indochinese Union [ c ] [ d ] and after as the Indochinese Federation , [ e ] was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from to It was initially a federation of French colonies — , later a confederation of associated states within the French Union — It was established in and was dissolved in In , Vietnam was reunited and it regained Cochinchina.
Its capitals were Hanoi — and Saigon —, — The Second French Empire colonized Cochinchina in and established a protectorate in Cambodia in After the French Third Republic took over northern Vietnam through the Tonkin campaign , the various protectorates were consolidated into one union in Two more entities were incorporated into the union: the Laotian protectorate and the Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan.
The French exploited the resources in the region during their rule, while also contributing to improvements of the health and education system in the region.
Deep divides remained between the native population and the colonists, leading to sporadic rebellions by the former. After the Fall of France during World War II , the colony was administered by the Vichy government and was under Japanese occupation until 9 March , when the Japanese army overthrew the colonial regime.
They established puppet states including the Empire of Vietnam. France sought to restore control with the help of the British in the — war , which led to all-out Vietnamese resistance in the First Indochina War. In , France returned Guangzhouwan to China. To counter the communist Viet Minh and as part of global decolonization , France formed the anti-communist State of Vietnam as an independent associated state within the French Union in March This led to Cochinchina returning to Vietnam in June.
