ACTIVITIES OF SOME TYPICAL PROGRESSIVE AND PATRIOTIC LANDOWNERS IN THE FIELD OF JOURNALISM IN COCHINCHINA IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

From the second half of the 19th century, several indigenous newspapers were published in Vietnam and experienced rapid development in the early 20th century, particularly in Cochinchina. Although the French government aimed to use colonial press freedom to promote colonial policies and Western education, and to train a class of civil servants and employees to support the political and colonial economy, the progressive classes in Cochinchina took advantage of press freedom to fight back. This article explores the activities of some typical progressive and patriotic landowners in Cochinchina on the press front during this period. By exploiting original documents on Vietnamese journalism in the early 20th century, studying the contributions of landowner-intellectuals in the field of journalism, and synthesizing, analyzing, and comparing them, this study confirms the positive impact of patriotic landowners from the South. It provides a more objective view of the landlord class, particularly the contributions of patriotic and progressive landowners in Cochinchina to the Vietnamese nationalist movement in general and the press front in particular.