The Heaven and Earth Society Upsurge in Early 1880s French Cochinchina

Date

2010

Authors

Cooke, Nola

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Publisher

Centre for the Study of the Chinese Southern Diaspora, The Australian National University

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Open Access

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Abstract

In early 1880s Cochinchina, Heaven and Earth Society factional rivalry suddenly erupted into two years of unrest, in S©c Tr?ng Province especially. What was this upheaval about? Using previously unpublished archival materials, this article argues that the trigger for this upheaval was the early 1880 decision to replace the opium revenue farm with a government monopoly on opium from January 1882. It analyses what the archives show and suggest about the Tiandihui in Cochinchina and about its likely links with important Chinese businessmen like Ban Hap, the Tan Keng brothers, Wang Tai, and others. The article concludes that these men (or others like them) instigated this unique upsurge in secret society violence as an attempt to win control of the S©c Tr?ng area, a known outlaw haven with a large Chinese population, as a base for large-scale opium smuggling after the revenue farm was abolished.

Description

Keywords

Heaven and Earth Society, Chinese secret societies, French Cochinchina, S©c Tr?ng; Ban Hap; Tan Keng Sing brothers; Wang Tai; Chinese business history

Citation

Source

Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies

Type

Journal article

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Publication

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Open Access

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