Bảo Đại (Vietnamese: [ɓâw ɗâjˀ], chữ Hán: 保大, lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 1913 – 31 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (chữ Hán: 阮福永瑞), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was de jure emperor of Đại Nam, which consisted of the French protectorates of Annam and Tonkin within French Indochina, covering the present-day central and northern Vietnam. Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1932.
The Japanese ousted the Vichy French administration in March 1945 and kept Bảo Đại as emperor, under whose authority the Empire of Vietnam was proclaimed. He abdicated in August 1945 after Japan surrendered.
From 1949 to 1955, Bảo Đại was the chief of state of the anti-communist State of Vietnam. He was criticized for being too closely associated with France and spending much of his time outside Vietnam. He was eventually ousted in a referendum in 1955 by Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm, who was later supported by the United States.
Bảo Đại was born as Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (阮福永瑞) on 22 October 1913 with the childhood name Mệ Vững and the only child of Emperor Khải Định and his concubine Hoàng Thị Cúc. However; there are still many questions about Bảo Đại's background. According to historical records, Khải Định was said to prefer being homosexual and disliked getting close to women. At that time, Vietnam had been ruled by the Nguyễn dynasty since 1802. Then, the French colonial government completely conquered the country in 1883 and split Vietnam into three areas: the protectorates of Annam and Tonkin and the colony of Cochinchina, all of which would later be parts of Federation of Indochina. The Nguyễn dynasty was given nominal rule of Annam and Tonkin.
On April 28, 1922, at the age of 9, he was investitured as Crown Prince of East Palace (Đông Cung Hoàng Thái Tử, 東宮皇太子). On June 15, 1922, he and his father led the delegation to France to participate in a colonial exhibition (Exposition nationale coloniale) in Marseille. This was the first time he went to an oversea trip in Western Europe.
In June 1922, Prince Vĩnh Thụy was adopted by the former governor of Resident-Superior of Annam, Jean François Eugène Charles and his wife. They then sent him to France to study at the Lycée Condorcet. In February 1924, he returned to Vietnam to attend the 40th birthday anniversary of his father, before returning to France to continue his study at Hattemer School in November. He was the first Vietnamese monarch to receive a full western education, that would shape his vision about his reign in the future.
On November 6, 1925, Emperor Khải Định died and Prince Vinh Thuy returned to Vietnam to attend the funeral. On 8 January 1926, Vinh Thuy took the enthronement ceremony and became the 13th emperor of Nguyễn dynasty at 12 years old and took the era name Bảo Đại ("Protector of Grandeur" or "Keeper of Greatness"). He did not yet rule the country directly but through his appointed regent " Tôn Thất Hân" while returning to France to continue his study in March of the same year.
The imperial court also sent a Confucian scholar to France to teach the emperor Chữ Hán and Vietnamese etiquette, but French teachers later barred him from doing his duty. After returning to Vietnam to rule, Bảo Đại himself admitted that "he almost knew nothing about the history of his dynasty and country even the colonial rule events."
At France, his adoptive father, Jean François Eugène Charles, former governor of Annam, was responsible for the emperor's education. When Bảo Đại travelled to study in France, Emperor Khai Dinh entrusted Charles to look after his son. Every day at noon and after school, Bảo Đại went to Charles's house at the Rue des Bourdonnais and was not allowed to go anywhere until the evening. Besides managing Bảo Đại's studies at school, Charles also took Bảo Đại on vacation in Vichy or at his private residence in Prades during the summer. Charles likely considered Bảo Đại as the part of his family and monitored Bảo Đại to train him to become the future ruler. After morning classes, he had to spend time on doing homework very diligently with other fellow countrymen.
In 1930, Bảo Đại started to study at Sciences Po in Paris and lived in his private home at Rue 13 Lamballe Street. According to the newspaper L'Asie Nouvelle (New Asia), Bảo Đại developed interests in sports such as tennis, golf and skiing. To the conservative Vietnamese monarchy, this was the new revolution in the imperial family where the former emperors did not participate in any activities of commoners. The newspaper described him feel more comfortable and suitable with western lifestyle and entertainments in Paris like clubbing and partying rather than political activities or ruling his own country.
The young man enjoyed this way of life and it was uneasy to change and adapt with the conservative Vietnamese lifestyle after returning home. In 1932, although there was a proclamation of returning of the Emperor to his country posted at Meridian Gate with millions of Vietnamese people looking forward to it, he was still hesitant because it seemed that he had not yet made up his mind to return to his country.
According to historical records, young Bảo Đại was described as the playboy and the car enthusiast. He also owned many types of cars at the age of 16. The young man had some high-speed cars to drive on the streets of Paris city and on the highway from Cannes to Deauville. He himself was considered a good and fast driver, comfortable and calm when accelerating, understanding clearly the engine's features to impress the others.
The French colonial government was also aware of Bảo Đại 's lack of the responsibility as the emperor and lack of enthusiasm for returning to Vietnam. Eugène Chatel, secretary of the Governor-General wrote: "I wonder if the emperor was always trying to delay his return to his country, but through some people close to him, they felt that he was not very eager or hurry to return to rule."
The archives of the French Governor-General showed that the Hue imperial court and mandarins were extremely impatient with the absence of the emperor, urging The French colonial government to encourage him to come back to rule. The secretary-general of the Governor-General of Indochina, Eugène Chatel, became increasingly frustrated with Bảo Đại's hesitation. Chatel wrote many reports to the Ministry of Colonies to call for the need of magnificent ceremony, demanding more money and easier conditions. The future of the dynasty depended on the emperor's return.
Return to Vietnam and assassination plot
In September 1932, Bảo Đại began his long journey to return to Vietnam on the ship named "Président Doumer" with a farewell ceremony by Minister of Colonies Albert Sarraut who represented the colonial government in Marseille. All of places where the ship docked on the journey would organise grand receptions except in Penang, Malaysia (Straits Settlements) because French secret service received news about the assassination plot. At this time, the Colonial Committee of the French Communist Party met in secret at 120 rue Chateaudun. Eight people were present including one European and seven Vietnamese that planned to assassinate the emperor before his return. This plot was taken at places in Paris and Marseille, but it was unsuccessful.
They tried to conduct terrorist assassination the third time in the Malay Peninsula, but it was discovered. On that day, the ship had to secretly anchor far from the reception venue, but the perpetrator did not show up. The ship continued to sail into Vietnamese territorial water, anchored at Cape Saint-Jacques (now Vũng Tàu) with warships protection.
Bảo Đại then transferred to a warship named "Dumont d'Urville", which would take him to Đà Nẵng, part of Protectorate of Annam. Besides that, there was two more ships escorted "Dumont d'Urville" together with cannons fired and flying flag hanging as the emperor boarding on the warship. Arriving at Da Nang port, he transferred to a gunboat and sailed up the Han River to the city. Finally, he boarded a train and traveled another 100 kilometers to Hue. The emperor later wrote in his memoirs: "After many years of living in freedom, I felt as if I am now entering a prison..."