Saigon Harbour

In the nineteenth century, the Chinese declined in power in the Southeast Asian region,  so the French wanted to extend their colonies in Vietnam. Emperor Tu Duc had a weak military force, so a small force of soldiers was easy to capture Tourane (Danang) on September 2, 1858 (Goldstein 1992). Then the invaders turned south towards Saigon. Saigon fell on February 17, 1859. On February 22, 1860, under Napoleon III, the Port of Saigon was opened to navigation and commerce by Vice-Admiral Théogène François Page (Saigon/Vietnam n.d.).

References:

Goldstein, Erik. 1992. Wars and Peace Treaties: 1816 to 1991. New York: Routledge. 

Saigon/Vietnam. n.d. "Saigon Harbour." Last modified n/a (4 May 2022).