Violence and Predation, Mainly in the Form of Piracy, Were Two Of
violence and predation robert j. antony Violence and Predation on the Sino-Vietnamese Maritime Frontier, 1450–1850 iolence and predation, mainly in the form of piracy, were two of V the most persistent and pervasive features of the Sino-Vietnamese maritime frontier between the mid-fifteenth and mid-nineteenth cen- turies.1 In the Gulf of Tonkin, which is the focus of this article, piracy was, in fact, an intrinsic feature of this sea frontier and a dynamic and significant force in the region’s economic, social, and cultural devel- opment. My approach, what scholars call history from the bottom up, places pirates, not the state, at center stage, recognizing their impor- tance and agency as historical actors. My research is based on various types of written history, including Qing archives, the Veritable Records of Vietnam and China, local Chinese gazetteers, and travel accounts; I also bring in my own fieldwork in the gulf region conducted over the past six years. The article is divided into three sections: first, I discuss the geopolitical characteristics of this maritime frontier as a background to our understanding of piracy in the region; second, I consider the socio-cultural aspects of the gulf region, especially the underclass who engaged in clandestine activities as a part of their daily lives; and third, I analyze five specific episodes of piracy in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Gulf of Tonkin (often referred to here simply as the gulf), which is tucked away in the northwestern corner of the South China Sea, borders on Vietnam in the west and China in the north and east.
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