Nguyen Quang Bich and the Can Vuong movement against the French colonialism in the Northwest Tonkinese region in the late 19th century

Abstract

The anti-French movement in the Northwest, spearheaded by Nguyen Quang Bich, was one of the most significant resistances 
in Tonkin and Vietnam during the second half of the 19th century. In response to the resistance court’s call and upon receiving a mandate from King Ham Nghi, Nguyen Quang Bich, alongside Nguyen Van Giap and others, dedicated their efforts to rallying the people of the Northwest. They courageously rose to combat the invading French colonizers from mid-1885, during the year of At Dau. The armed struggle, known as the Can Vuong movement, emerged early in the Northwest and persisted for several years, inflicting considerable losses on the enemy. However, a comprehensive and objective analysis of the Can Vuong movement’s resistance against the French colonialism in the Northwest remains systematically unstudied. Drawing upon a variety 
of documentary sources, this article aims to examine and elucidate the characteristics, significance, and role of this regional 
movement within the broader context of the Can Vuong movement in Tonkin and across the nation during the last two decades of the 19th century.