The Poisoning at Hanoi Citadel (Vietnamese

Vietnamese language

Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

:Hà Thành đầu độc) was a poisoning plot which occurred in 1908 when a group of Vietnamese indigenous tirailleurs attempted to poison the entire French colonial army's garrison in the Citadel of Hanoi

Hanoi Citadel

The central old citadel of Hanoi was the former residence of Vietnamese monarchs dating back to Đại Việt, when the city was known as Thăng Long.- History :...

. The aim of the plot was to neutralize the French garrison and make way for Hoang Hoa Tham's rebel army to capture Hanoi

Hanoi

Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...

. The plot was disclosed, and then was suppressed by the French.

Background and poisoning

In early 1908, Hoang Hoa Tham collaborated with Vietnamese nationalists, including Phan Boi Chau

Phan Boi Chau

Phan Bội Châu was a pioneer of Vietnamese 20th century nationalism. In 1903, he formed a revolutionary organization called the “Reformation Society” ....

, in organizing a plot to seize Hanoi from the French

French colonial empire

The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...

. Vietnamese cooks were to neutralize the French garrison in Hanoi by poisoning their dinner foods; at the same time, Vietnamese soldiers (Grade Indochinois) would attack and prevent French troops at Don Thuy, Son Tay

Son Tay

Sơn Tây is an urban district and city in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It was the capital of Son Tay province before merging with Ha Dong province in 1965...

, and Bac Ninh

Bac Ninh

Bắc Ninh is a city in Vietnam and capital of the Bac Ninh province. The city is the cultural, administrative, and commercial center of the province. The city area is 80.82 square km, with a population of 150,331 . In January, 2006, the town of Bac Ninh was upgraded to city...

 from coming to the aid of the Citadel of Hanoi; and Hoang Hoa Tham would wait outside the citadel and launch an attack on Gia Lam

Gia Lam

Gia Lâm is a district of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. Gia Lam Airport is located in the district. At one time Vietnam Airlines's headquarters were on the airport property....

 when the signal arrived from the inside.

The plan was executed on the evening of June 27, 1908, when the group of Vietnamese cooks managed to mix datura

Datura

Datura is a genus of nine species of vespertine flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. Its precise and natural distribution is uncertain, owing to its extensive cultivation and naturalization throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the globe...

 poison with food they had prepared for a party. The poison immediately knocked out nearly 200 French troops but did not kill them. Moreover, one of the cooks had felt guilty and had gone to a church for confession, the French priest then reporting this to government officials; the French general-in-charge in Hanoi immediately proclaimed martial law

Martial law

Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...

 and ordered the arrest of plot leaders and plotters. Outside the citadel, Hoang Hoa Tham did not receive the signal he was expecting, realized the plot had failed and withdrew all his troops.

Aftermath

In quick response to the plot, the French executed by guillotine

Guillotine

The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...

 13 plotters. On July 8, 1908, another 24 death sentences

Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

 were announced and the remaining rebels were sentenced to life

Life imprisonment

Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...

 or exiled. Severely repressive actions were launched against the Vietnamese activists, and hundreds of them, including Phan Chau Trinh, were sent to Con Dao

Con Dao

The Con Dao Islands are an archipelago of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, in southeastern Vietnam, and a district of this province.-Description:Situated at about from Vung Tau and from Ho Chi Minh City, the group includes 16 mountainous islands and islets...

 prison. The French also accused Phan Boi Chau for the plot, forcing him to flee to Japan; this abortive plot later became one of many incidents that eventually landed Chau in French prison in 1914. On the other hand, the French began hunting Hoang Hoa Tham. They attacked and defeated Tham in 11 major battles from January 29 through November 11, 1909 and then surrounded him in Yen The

Yen The

Yên Thế is a rural district of Bac Giang province in the northeast region of Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 91,934. The district covers an area of 301 km2. The district capital lies at Bo Ha. This is the homeland of Struggle of Yên Thế's farmers...

, though Tham managed to flee and would kept on fighting until he was assassinated in 1913.