Like many cities in
Vietnam, Saigon did not escape the wrath of war. Since
the beginning, Saigon has had quite a traumatic
history. There are many citations to the birth of
Saigon and the origin of its name. In the 15th
century, this area were swamps, marshes and thick
forests. By the early 17th century, a small township
was formed. According to one theory, Saigon or Sai Con
has its root in a Khmer word Prei Kor (Kapok Tree
Forest).
The name Saigon was used officially in 1698, when Lord
Nguyen Phuc Chu sent Mr. Nguyen Huu Canh to this
region to create various districts and to form a
government for this southern outpost. Because of its
strategic location for trade and commerce as well as
military importance, Saigon continued to grow and
became a bonafide city. By 1772, Mr. Nguyen Cuu Dam
began to fill many of the canals to form streets.
In the mid 19th century,
the French with the aid of the Spanish invaded this
port city and destroyed the fort. This event was the
precursor to the long struggle between the people of
Vietnam and France leading to the historical defeat of
the French in 1954. In the years after the defeat of
the French, Vietnam was divided into two separate
countries and Saigon became the hub of resettlement
for many as people from north and central Vietnam
immigrated south.
In the 60's and 70's,
Saigon was bustling with commerce and business. It was
the cultural center and the capital city of South
Vietnam. Already heavily influenced by the French in
terms of culture and style, the city had an air of a
French provincial town with a Vietnamese twist. Saigon
was dubbed the "Pearl of the Orient" by the foreign
press. The city was alive with activities and cultural
diversity that rivaled any Asian city at the time.
After the fall of South
Vietnam to communism in 1975, the city and many of its
inhabitants were in a state of chaos and turmoil. In
1976, the new government renamed the city Ho Chi Minh
City and shut its door to the rest of the world.
Although recognized world wide as Ho Chi Minh City, to
the people of Vietnam, the city is still lovingly
referred to as Saigon.
