Agricultural colonisation in Lam Dong province, Viet Nam

Abstract

Since 1975, the territory within the limits of Vietnam has been subject to rapid land use changes. Agricultural colonisation by ethnic Viet in the mountains and plateaus of the Central Highlands constitutes one of the most visible trends in this process. As one of the traditional dynamics in Viet history, agricultural colonisation has contributed to the integration of marginal peoples and territories into the national body. In the province of Lam Dong, in the Central Highlands, the actual distribution and structure of the population are directly inherited from four phases of agricultural colonisation: the Colonial period (1858-1954); the regime of South Vietnam (1954-1975); the unified communist State (1975-1987); and the Vietnam of Doi Moi (1987 onwards). By analysing these phases, this article aims to show that agricultural colonisation has contributed to the penetration and consolidation of the State in such marginal territories.