The Lê–trịnh government and native chieftains in the northern uplands in eighteenth-century Vietnam: Focusing on the lạng sơn region

Abstract

During the eighteenth century, large numbers of Chinese laborers came to work in mines in the Northern Uplands of Vietnam. However, few investigations have been conducted on the responses of native chieftains or the local population to the social fluctuations in this area. Therefore, this article focuses on the survival strategies of native chieftains in the Lạng Sơn region. Investigation of correspondence between the Lê–Trịnh government and native chieftains in the Lạng Sơn region reveals that under this government’s control, native chieftains were tasked with collecting taxes and drafting soldiers in each commune. They were permitted to receive a portion of these tax revenues as salary and collect various fees via taxation, causing them to perceive these roles as their own vested rights. Meanwhile, during the mid-eighteenth century, the Lạng Sơn region was involved in extensive disturbances that destabilized the native chieftains’ political and economic bases. Given this background, the Lê–Trịnh government frequently sanctioned the aforementioned rights of native chieftains by issuing official documentation, while the chieftains themselves also requested the government to issue official documents confirming their rights. In fact, they possessed these documents until the colonial era or transcribed them in their genealogies, demonstrating that they recognized them as certifications of their vested rights. Thus, during the eighteenth century, developing relations with the Lê–Trịnh government was a survival strategy for native chieftains in the Lạng Sơn region.