Vietnam's recorded history begins in 111 BC, when the Chinese conquered the northern part of the region and ruled for more than 1,000 years. For the next 700 years, Vietnam was a collection of small, competing kingdoms (the northern and southern portions of the country vied for control even then). The Nguyen Dynasty took power in 1802 and ostensibly ruled most of Vietnam until 1954, but the Nguyen emperors were largely controlled by the French after 1887. During World War II, the Japanese invaded. After the war, the French attempted to retain Vietnam as a colony.
The Viet Minh, a coalition of communist and nationalist groups, forced the French out in 1954 (you can still see reminders from the famous Battle of Dien Bien Phu), and the country was temporarily divided along the 17th parallel. The North consolidated under communist leadership, and the South went to the nationalists. An election was supposed to have been held, but the South, suspecting that the North would win, refused to participate. A few months later, the South declared independence.
The two sides sought to undermine each other's governments from the start. The North consolidated power under popular leader Ho Chi Minh. In 1963, North Vietnamese troops openly crossed the border and the Vietnam War began in earnest. Despite support from the U.S. and a handful of other countries, the South was unable to defend itself. North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon in 1975 and ended the war.
Though it initially took a hard-line communist approach, Vietnam later began liberalizing certain segments of its economy and in 1983 announced an open-door trade policy with the rest of the world. The government maintained strict control over exchange rates, however, which helped it get through the Asian economic crisis of 1997. Today, Vietnam seems full of contradictions: It still subscribes to Marxist principles and is controlled by the party, but it is embracing capitalism and all its benefits. Although the country is gaining prosperity, it hasn't forgotten its past—the government has erected heroic war memorials and billboards extolling the virtues of the collective state.
