Rethinking the Lower Mekong: Frontier Formation and Regional Power in the Emergence of Southern Vietnam (17th-19th Centuries)
Abstract
The purpose of the research paper is to reinterpret the historical formation of Southern Vietnam between the seventeenth and the mid‑19th centuries by situating it within the trans‑regional dynamics of the Lower Mekong. It moves beyond nation‑centered narratives of ‘Nam tiến’ to highlight the interplay of frontier formation, mandala‑based political structures, and regional competition.
Scientific novelty. The study employs a multi‑scalar framework to conceptualize the Mekong delta as a mandala frontier zone characterized by demographic mobility, commercial integration, and overlapping spheres of authority. It demonstrates how Vietnamese migration, Chinese merchant networks, and Khmer interactions transformed the delta into a dynamic frontier of agrarian expansion, while Cambodia’s decline created the conditions for competing claims by the Nguyễn polity and Siam.
Conclusions. The study demonstrates that Southern Vietnam emerged through the interaction of frontier development, mandala-based political structures, and regional power competition. The Mekong Delta functioned as a frontier shaped by migration, commercial networks, and interaction among Vietnamese, Khmer, and Chinese communities. Applying the mandala framework reveals that the region was characterized by overlapping and negotiated spheres of authority, where both the Nguyễn polity and Siam expanded their influence through tributary relations, military intervention, and administrative consolidation.
Southern Vietnam gradually evolved into a strategic geopolitical space linking the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, and the Mekong River system. Its consolidation into a durable political base was driven by state-building, economic integration, and infrastructural development. The Vietnamese-Siamese conflicts further demonstrate that the region became a central arena of competition for control over the Lower Mekong, with Cambodia functioning as a buffer zone.
The study argues that the formation of Southern Vietnam is best understood through an integrated framework combining frontier dynamics, mandala political organization, and geopolitical analysis. It also highlights the importance of commercial exchange, local negotiation, ecological adaptation, and multi-ethnic interaction in shaping the frontier’s transformation.
References
Chandler, D. (2008). A History of Cambodia. Boulder: Westview Press [in English].
Chai, T.S.H. (2025). Rethinking East Asia’s Historical Order: Heterarchy in China–Southeast Asia Relations. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 18 (2), 246-266. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cjip/poaf005 [in English].
Choi, B.W. (2011). Southern Vietnam under the Reign of Minh Mang. Ha Noi: Nxb. The gioi [in Vietnamese].
Chutintaranond, S. (1990). “Mandala”, “Segmentary State” and Politics of Centralization in Medieval Ayudhya. Journal of the Siam Society, 78 (1), 88-100 [in English].
Cooke, N., & Li, Tana (Eds.). (2004). Water Frontier: Commerce and the Chinese in the Lower Mekong Region, 1750-1880. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield [in English].
Cushman, R.D. (2000). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. Bangkok: Siam Society [in English].
Dellios, R. (2003). Mandala: From Sacred Origins to Sovereign Affairs in Traditional Southeast Asia. (Centre for East‑West Cultural and Economic Studies, 10). Bond University [in English].
Fairbank, J.K. (Ed.). (1968). The Chinese World Order: Traditional China’s Foreign Relations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press [in English].
Gaspardone, E. (1952). Un Chinois des mers du Sud: le Fondateur de Ha-Tien. Journal Asiatique, 240 (1952). P. 363-385 [in French].
Gesick, L. (Ed.). (1983). Centers, Symbols, and Hierarchies: Essays on the Classical States of Southeast Asia. New Haven: Yale University Southeast Asia Studies [in English].
Le, Q.D. (2007). Miscellaneous Records on the Pacification of the Frontier. Ha Noi: Nha xuat ban Van hoa – Thong tin [in Vietnamese].
Le, P.H. (Ed.). (2017). The Southern Region – Formation and Development Process. 2 vols. Ha Noi: Nha xuat ban Chinh tri Quoc gia [in Vietnamese].
Le, V.N. (1988). Commodity Production and Trade in Southern Vietnam, 17th – 19th Centuries. Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Lịch sử, 3-4, 45-63 [in Vietnamese].
Li, Tana. (1998). Nguyen Cochinchina: Southern Vietnam in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Ithaca: Cornell Southeast Asia Program [in English].
Li, Tana, & Van Dyke, P.A. (2007). Canton, Cancao, and Cochinchina: New Data and New Light on Eighteenth‑Century Canton and the Nanyang. Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, 1, 1-24 [in English].
Lieberman, V. (2009). Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800-1830. Vol. 2: Mainland Mirrors: Europe, Japan, China, South Asia, and the Islands. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.[in English].
Nguyen, Q.N. (Ed.). (2017). Southern Vietnam, Vol. IV: From the Early 17th Century to the Mid‑19th Century. Ha Noi: Nha xuat ban Chinh tri Quoc gia [in Vietnamese].
Nguyen, V.K. (2024). Structures and Power Interactions in Mainland Southeast Asia in the 18th–19th Centuries. In Proceedings of the Conference ‘Chiến thắng Vàm Nao – Cổ Hũ (1834): 190 năm nhìn lại’ (Dong Thap, 2024) (pp. 21-47). Ha Noi: Nha xuat ban Chinh tri Quoc gia Su that [in Vietnamese].
Huynh, L. (1987). The History of the Reclamation of Southern Vietnam, 17th – 19th Centuries. TP. Ho Chi Minh: Nxb. Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh [in Vietnamese].
Shu, M. (2011). Balancing in a Hierarchical System: Pre‑Colonial Southeast Asia and the Tribute System. Waseda Global Forum, 8, 227-256 [in English].
Tambiah, S.J. (1977). The Galactic Polity: The Structure of Traditional Kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 293 (1), 69-97 [in English].
Taylor, K.W. (2013). A History of the Vietnamese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [in English].
Trinh, H.D. (1998). Gazetteer of Gia Dinh Citadel. Ha Noi: Nha xuat ban Giao dục [in Vietnamese].
Vo, V.S., Phan, X.B. (Eds.). (2025). History of Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City.Vol. II. Ha Noi: Nha xuat ban Chinh tri Quoc gia Su that [in Vietnamese].
Wolters, O.W. (1999). History, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Southeast Asia Program [in English].
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
