Ham Nghi
Encyclopedia
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
); died 14 January 1943), was the eighth Emperor of the Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese Nguyễn Dynasty. He reigned for only one year (1884 – 1885).
On July 4, 1885, the Mandarins' Revolt broke out under the leadership of the two regents Nguyễn Văn Tường
Nguyen Van Tuong
Nguyễn Văn Tường was a mandarin of the Nguyễn Dynasty in Vietnam. He is known for installing and dethroning three emperors in 1883–84: Dục Đức, Hiệp Hoà, and Kiến Phúc.-Biography:...
and Tôn Thất Thuyết
Ton That Thuyet
Tôn Thất Thuyết was the leading mandarin of Emperor Tự Đức of Vietnam's Nguyễn Dynasty. Thuyết later led the Can Vuong movement which aimed to restore Vietnamese independence under Emperor Hàm Nghi. He was born on May 12, 1839 in Huế....
. The French stormed the palace and Tôn Thất Thuyết took Emperor Hàm Nghi and three empresses into hiding.
Hàm Nghi went to the hills and jungles around Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
along with Tôn Thất Thuyết's force. While they waged a guerrilla war
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
against the French occupation forces, the French replaced Hàm Nghi with his brother, Emperor Đồng Khánh, who was enthroned as the Son of Heaven.
In October 1888, after a series of setbacks, Hàm Nghi was hiding in an isolated house near the spring of the Nai river, with Tôn Thất Thiệp, the second son of Tôn Thất Thuyết, and only a few attendants. There, he was betrayed by the head of his Muong guards, Trương Quang Ngọc, and captured on November 1, while Thiệp was killed. He was then turned over to French officers on November 2.
On December 12, 1888, he was exiled to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. There he married a French Algeria
French Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
n woman named Marcelle Laloë on November 4, 1904. They had three children, Prince Minh-Duc, Princess Nhu May and Princess Nhu Lý. He was buried in Thonac cemetery, near Sarlat, Dordogne France
In 2002, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam sent a delegation to France to seek permission from Princess Nhu Lý (Countess De La Besse, died 2005, in her 97th year) to move her father's remains to the former Imperial capital of Huế. Her family has presently refused.
Most cities in Vietnam, regardless of the political orientation of the government, have named major streets after him.