Export Diversification of Agricultural Products in Vietnam under French
Rule: Reconsideration of the Rice Monoculture *
Rui Takahashi * *
1. Introduction: Reconsideration of the rice monoculture
The global food crisis that occurred from 2007 to 2008 revealed the presence
of Vietnam, which is the world's second largest rice exporter. 1 However, the
stereotype of Vietnam as a rice exporter was widespread during the colonial period. 2
The problem with this view is that many researchers regarded the economy of French
Indochina (Indochine française in French), the name of Vietnam during the colonial
period (Figure 1), which was one of the major rice exporters to places such as Siam,
Burma, as the rice monoculture. 3 In particular, colonial Vietnam, defined as the rice
*
Th i s research was supported by M EX T - Support ed P rogra m fo r th e Strat egic Research
Fou ndation at P rivat e Uni versi ties, 2010-2012, No. S1002006. I am grate fu l t o th e p ro ject
me mb ers for their helpful comments.
**
Depart ment of Economic s, School of P oliti cal Science and Econo mics, To kai Universit y.
E -mail : rui ta@ke yaki .cc.u-tokai .ac. jp
1
According to FAO, Rice Market Monitor, October 2016 , X IX , (3), Vietn am is t h e th ird largest
rice exp ort er wi th 7.2 mi lli on tons after India (10.0 mi llion tons) and Th ai lan d (9 .9 mil lio n ton s).
2
A d et ail ed discussion of colonial Vi etnam as a rice e xporter can be fo un d in Tak ah ash i [2 00 6].
3
In this stud y, we explicitl y distinguish between t he terms ‘co lon ial Vietn a m’ and F ren ch
Indo ch in a. French Indochi na refers strictly to Federal Indochin a (L ' Un io n In do ch i no i se)
est ablished in 1887. It was co mposed of Coch inchina, centred on Sai gon; Ton kin p rotectorate,
cent red o n Hanoi and correspondi ng to the northern part of current Vi etn am; Ann am p ro tecto rate,
1
monoculture, has been considered a food supply base for the plantations (e.g. rubber
and sugar cane) in another area. 4
Obviously, although we have no objection to the functions of colonial Vietnam
as a major rice exporter, we should carefully consider the view that colonial Vietnam
was characterized as a rice monoculture, specialized in rice export only. The view of
the rice monoculture obscures the fact that various agricultural products were planted
in colonial Vietnam and exported from there, and gives a biased evaluation of
agricultural development in Vietnam. In fact, as mentioned in this study, various
agricultural products were produced in northern, central, and southern Vietnam during
the colonial period. Additionally, the export of natural rubber saw dramatic growth in
the 1930s in southern Vietnam, which was a base for the export of rice.
Why did colonial Vietnam come to be regarded as a rice monoculture? We
consider two main issues related to this view. Most of the existing materials on
colonial Vietnam are about Cochinchina. Colonial Vietnam is often considered to be
separated into northern, central, and southern regions; traditionally, Cochinchina,
which is a southern region, was only a crown colony of France. Therefore, we can use
detailed documentation prepared by the colonial authorities, such as the Governor
cent red on Hue, and correspondi ng to the central part of current Vi etn am; th e Camb od ia
protectorate; Laos protectorate; and the Kwangchowan l eased territo r y (t h e Lao s p rotecto rate and
Kwan gchowan l eased territor y were integrat ed in 1893 and 1900, resp ecti vely). Th erefo re, we
regard ‘colonial Vi etnam’ a s t he combined area of Tonkin, Annam, an d Co ch in ch in a.
4
In a stu dy of Vietnam during the col oni al period, for example, Ki ku ch i [19 88] , Bro ch eu x, and
Hémer y [2009: 189] debate using the term ‘ monocul ture of rice’ d irectl y. Add i tion all y, Kano
[2001] and Sugihara [1996] posi tioned F rench Indochina as a sp eci ali zed eco no my fo r rice
export ation wi th the progress of i nterregi onal division among the co lo n ial econ o my in Asia. We
con sider t hat this i s also a kind of rice monoculture vi ew.
2
Tonkin
1.
Lai Chau
2.
Lao Cay
3.
Ha Giang
4.
Cao Bang
5.
Yen Bay
6.
Tuyen Quang
7.
Bac Kan
8.
Lang Son
9.
Son La
10.
Phu To
11.
Vinh Yen
12.
T hai Nguye n
13.
Bac Giang
27. T hanh Hoa
14.
Hai Ninh
28. Nghe An
15.
Son Tay
29. Ha Tinh
16.
Bac Ninh
30. Quang Binh
17.
Kien An
31. Quang Tri
18.
Quang Yen
32. T hua T hien
19.
Hoa Binh
33. Quang Nam
20.
Ha Dong
34. Kontum
21.
Hung Yen
35. Quang Ngai
22.
Hai Duong
36. Binh Dinh
23.
Ha Na m
37. Dar Lac
24.
T hai Binh
38. Khanh Hoa
25.
Ninh Binh
39. Lang Bian
26.
Nam Dinh
40. Binh T huan
Annam
Cochinchina
41.
T hu Dau Mot
51.
Long Xuyen
42.
Tay Ni nh
52.
Chau Doc
43.
Bien Hoa
53.
Ha Tien
44.
Ba Ria
54.
Rach Gia
45.
Gia Dinh
55.
Bac Lieu
46.
Cho Lon
56.
Soc Trang
47.
Go Cong
57.
Tra Vinh
48.
Tan An
58.
Can T ho
49.
Mi T ho
59.
Vinh Long
50.
Sa Dec
Figure1
Map of Vietnam under French Rule
e
Sou rce: Masp ero, G.[1 93 0] L'Indo ch in e,u n empi re co lo nia l f ran ça is, To me 2 : L'Indochi ne
fran çaise, l' Ind och in e écon omiq u e, l' Ind o ch in e pit to resq u e. P ari s : G. V an Oest.
No tes: 1) The nu mbers in the figu re in dicate th e lo cation s o f each p ro vin ce. Alt hough the
names of pro vinces su ch as P h u To and M i Tho are po ssib l y mi sp ri nt s, we spell
them as described i n th e so urce. 'To uran e' is p resen t 'Da Nan g (Đà Nẵng)' .
2) On the map of the so u rce, th ere i s no d escriptio n o f t h e ti me p o int. However ,
consid erin g that we can co n fir m Lam Bian (La m V ien ) pro vin ce wh i ch existed from
Janu ary 19 16 to Octob er 1920 (Hau t Do n gn ai o r Don g Nai Th uo n g during t he
period other th an abo ve b efore Janu ary 1 94 1 ) on th e map, th e map is considered to
sho w condit ion in th e l ate 1910 s.
3
General of Indochina (Gouvernément général de l' Indochine).
5
Additionally,
Cochinchina included the Mekong River Delta, which is famous as a breadbasket, and
the rice of the Mekong River Delta is integrated into Cholon and Saigon. 6 Large
amounts of rice, often known as ‘Saigon rice’, were exported to other Asian areas
mainly. 7 We understand that the analysis of Cochinchina, which is the rice export
region, has often been regarded as an analysis of all of Indochina. Furthermore, we
have no alternative but to use the data on agricultural exports to analyse the
agricultural development of colonial Vietnam, because data on agricultural production
5
Most of t he materials publi shed from 1862, when the fi rst treat y of S aigon was sig n ed , b y wh ich
eastern Cochinchi na was ce ded to France, to around 1900 are those o f Co ch in ch in a, su ch as Et at
d e la Coch in ch in e Fra n ç a i se. There were l ittl e informat ion of Tonkin an d An n am co mp ared to
Co ch inchina in the earl y 20th centur y. Therefore, the studi es carried ou t in rural areas in Ton kin
and An nam b y F rench geographer P. Gourou and F rench agricultural eco no mi st Y. Henr y were
ver y in teresting. These fi ndings are summarized as Gourou [1936] and Henr y [ 193 2 ], resp ect ivel y.
Additionall y, t here is an issue of whet her coloni al Vietnam, wh i ch was d ivid ed in to
no rth ern , central , and southern parts, can b e regarded as a uni ty, su ch as a market area.
Co nsi d eri ng that the Ngu yen Dynast y alread y carri ed out uni fied go vern an ce o f th e no rth ern ,
cent ral, and southern parts, the whole of colonial Vi etna m is con sid ered to b e a market area
con sisti ng of these three parts. Additional l y, the fa ct that workers o f Ton kin fl o wed into th e
natural rubber plantati ons in Cochinchi na means t hat the l abo ur mar ket s o f To n kin and
Co ch inchina were int egrated.
6
Cholon district corresponds to a part of the fi fth and si xth wards o f Ho Ch i M inh Ci ty tod a y.
Large can al s (Arroyo Chinoi s) were founded around the area call ed Kh anh ho i, ma n y ju n ks ca me
and went, and great quant iti es of rice were brought and mil led.
7
About 97% of the ri ce export ed from French Indochina consist ed o f ‘Saigon rice’, whi ch was
export ed fro m Sai gon. Additional ly, nearl y 80% of S aigon rice was fro m Co ch in chin a, in clu d in g
th e Mekong Ri ver Delta. For more information, see Takahashi [ 2006].
4
of materials during the colonial period is scarce. 8
Second, the concept of monoculture has the characteristic that it disguises the
diversity of agriculture. Arthur Lewis (Lewis, W.A.) defined the concept of
monoculture as ‘to export a single crop’ 9 (i.e. this concept of monoculture has the
possibility of providing misleading evaluations of agricultural development by
ignoring the production of agricultural products for the domestic market or export
shares that are relatively low). Sufficient attention has not been paid to agricultural
products other than rice that were produced in the northern, central, and southern
regions of colonial Vietnam, which is considered to be a rice monoculture.
From these points of view, this study raises questions about the view that
colonial Vietnam is regarded as a rice monoculture, aiming to examine the following
two hypotheses and give our own answers. The first hypothesis is that the agriculture
of colonial Vietnam was characterized by a diversity of production and export, as in
Tonkin and Annam, which have not been mentioned much in the existing studies. We
note the diversification of agricultural exports even in Cochinchina, which was the
major rice exporter (i.e. the growth of rubber export was equal to rice in the 1930s).
Second, the agricultural diversity, which is different from the rice monoculture,
was created by Vietnamese peasants and plantation farmers who could respond
appropriately to market opportunities with the development of the domestic and
international market of agricultural products. Therefore, we should pay attention to
the natural rubber section in southern Vietnam which increased in exports, provide
8
Generally, the s yste m of t rade stati stics i s establ ished for the pu rpo se o f cu st o m collectio n
befo re the syste m of production stat istics i s establi shed at an earl y stage o f eco no mic
develop ment.
9
Lewis [1970: 37] gives the following descri p tion: ‘Agri culture sho ws qu it e a d ifferen t p ictu re ,
for this i s the era in which ‘monocult ure’ became est abli shed. The t erm i s mi sleadi n g si n ce it
implies cul tivat ion of onl y one crop, whereas what happens is a tenden cy to exp o rt onl y o n e cro p.’
5
much information on the materials available, observe the process of rubber export
growing in the 1930s, clarify the characteristics of plantations that supported the
export of natural rubber, and indicate the adaptation of ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese
to the international market. Thus, their entrepreneurship was very impo rtant.
In this study, the Statistical Yearbook of Indochina (Annuaire Statistique de
l'Indochine in French) is mainly used for our analysis because it includes time series
data on the export of agricultural products for the northern, central, and southern
regions. Additionally, to analyse the second hypothesis, which focuses on the
economic agent (i.e. plantations managed b y ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese) at the
micro level, we use Annuaire du Syndicat des Planteurs de Caoutchouc de l 'Indochine
1926 and 1937, which include rosters of members of the rubber plantation’s union.
Attempts to analyse using these micro data have not been carried out so far, and this
analysis is a major feature of this study. The reference period is from the late 19th
century, when the data on agricultural exports are available, to about 1945, when
World War II ended and North Vietnam was established.
Next, we consider the diversification of agricultural exports in colonial Vietnam
using the data of Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina, and present a point of view that
is different from the traditional perspective of the rice monoculture in Section 2. In
particular, we note that natural rubber export progressed in Cochinchina, which has
been linked closely with the view of the rice monoculture, and provide an overview
of the process. In section 3, we conduct an analysis of the adaptation of plantations
to the international rubber market and entrepreneurship of the ethnic Chinese and
Vietnamese.
2. Diversity of agriculture during the colonial period
2-1. Diversification of export items
6
Figure 2
Changes and Diversification in Total Exports
Source: R ésumé sta tist iq ue rela tif a u x an n ées 19 13 a 1 940 .
2
Note: H index is th e Hi rsch man =Herfi n d ah l in d ex cal cu lat ed as Σ α i when the
export share of i tem i is sh o wn as α i . Thi s i nd ex ind icates th e co n cen trat ion of the
export co mpon en t if this va lu e i s hi gh (if lo wer, d i versi ficatio n ). We calcul ated α i
of rice, maize, coal , smo ked an d d ried fi sh , n atu ral rubb er, ce men t , leather, pepper,
copra, and other it ems. Ad di tion all y, th e do t ted li n e o f th e H i nd ex indi cat es that
the data were obtain ed b y l in ear in terp ol atio n.
In the beginning, we confirm the total exports of Vietnam during the colonial
period in Figure 2. Except for the 1930s when rice export diminished under the
influence of the Great Depression, 10 the total export increase over roughly the whole
period. On the other hand, H index observes that the diversification or specialization
of the export (for details, refer to the note to Figure 2) has been increasing steadily
10
The d ecline of rice export s i n the 1930s seems to have been due to th e fallin g o f rice p rices
related to the Gre at Depression and the block economy. S ee also th e d i scu ssio n in Takah ash i
[2006] .
7
Figure3
Trends in Exports by Region
Sou rce: B ri tish Consu la r R epo rts in th e B riti sh Pa rli a menta ry P ap ers, various years.
Note: Lin ear in terpo lat io n was u sed to estimate t ren ds in expo rts.
although there were fluctuations until the 1920s. Therefore, the H index indicated the
specialization of the export until the 1920s. However, the index continued to decrease,
and while the value in the 1920s was greater than 0.6, it fell to 0.2 in the second half
of 1930s. We knew that export items of French Indochina had been rapidly diversified
since the 1920s, behind the growth of total exports.
Why did such an export diversification happen? To clarify this, we will confirm
trends in export values by region and the change in the composition of the main export
items. Figure 3 shows what was observed in the time series data of export values for
Cochinchina, Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia, and Laos, which made up French Indochina.
According to the figures, export values are highest for Cochinchina, followed in order
8
Figure 4
Change the Composition of the Main Export Items
Sou rce: The same as Fi gure 2 .
No te: Th e dot ted l ine d rawn in 19 09 an d 191 3 ind icates th at th e d ata in th at section were
obt ain ed b y linear int erpo lation .
by Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia, and Laos, and we know that there are no changes for
their positional relationship from the end of the 19th century until 1940.
When we check the composition change of major export items in Figure 4, we
see that the export share of rice is extremely h igh in the group that includes rice,
maize, coal, smoked and dried fish, natural rubber, cement, leather, pepper, copra,
and other items. 11 Most of the rice exported was from Cochinchina (see Note 7); as
11
In parti cular, the coalfi eld Hongai (Hòn Gai) at Halong (Hạ Long) City (th e cap it al o f curren t
Qu ang Ninh (Quảng Ninh) province, also known for Halong Bay, t he wo rld h eritage si te) i s ver y
fa mo us. F or more informati on, see Robequain [ 1939] and a recent stu d y, Bro ch eu x an d Hémer y
9
described above, the view of the rice monoculture was created by the export structure
specialized in rice. The export structure that was specialized for rice continued to the
mid-1920s; thereafter, the proportion of exports other than rice, such as natural rubber
and maize, expanded rapidly and, because exports diversified due to the collapse of
the export structure specialized for rice, it is no longer regarded as a rice monoculture.
In particular, natural rubber was often grown in Cochinchina and exported from there,
as detailed below. Therefore, it is remarkable that export diversification progressed
due to increasing natural rubber in the 1930s, notwithstanding the superiority of
exports from Cochinchina confirmed in Figure 3.
On the other hand, maize has been cultivated in all regions of Tonkin, Annam,
and Cochinchina as a food of the Vietnamese since ancient times, 12 and maize export
grew rapidly with the development of the international market, especially after the
implementation of the protective policy for products of French colonies in 1932 (the
tariff hikes for grain from other countries using production quotas) (Robequain
[1939]). Importantly, the indigenous peasants were able to adapt to changes in the
market, such as the increase of imports from France and the development of the
international market. As noted above, not only in Cochinchina, but also in all of
Vietnam, including Tonkin and Annam, the adaptation of Vietnamese (and ethnic
Chinese, who were deeply involved in the export of agricultural products) was
confirmed as the expansion of agricultural exports (the diversification of exports of
agricultural products) or the development of natural rubber plantations during the
colonial period.
[2009 : 12 4].
12
Maize had been grown aft er the harvest of the rice in the tent h lu n ar mon th (lu au mo a) i n
Ton kin, and doubl e or triple cropping of maize was done in Annam and Co ch i n ch in a (Hen ry
[1932] ). Regarding the situat ion of maize production in Annam prior to th e expo rtat ion o f mai ze,
see ‘La culture du ma ys en Annam,’ on Bul letin Economic de l' Indochi n e, 40 (Octob er 1, 1 901 ).
10
2-2. Diversification of agricultural products and export growth of natural rubber
By limiting our consideration to exports of agricultural products, we can
understand the importance of agricultural diversity in Tonkin, Annam, and the rubber
export of Cochinchina, thereby clarifying the type of agricultural development, unlike
the rice monoculture discussed above.
The trends in the contribution ratios of the exports in major agricultural
products are given in Figure 5. Until the early 1930s, it was known that most of the
year-on-year growth rate of exports could be explained by the export of rice. However,
the contribution of rice in agricultural exports is weak for the late 1930s, recovering
from the effects of the Great Depression, and the agricultural export growth is
explained by the exports of maize and natural rubber described above. It is certain
that the role of rice export was great until the early 1930s in the development of
agricultural exports, consistent with Figure 4. However, except for the year 1940, 1 3
it is clear that the exports of maize and natural rubber had made important
contributions to the agricultural exports of French Indochina in the late 1930s. In
particular, the contribution of rubber exports gradually increasing to the year 1939
cannot be ignored. As mentioned above, cultivation of natural rubber was carried out
mainly in Cochinchina, and we understand that the driving force for the growth of the
agricultural export had changed from rice to natural rubber there.
Additionally, we understand the important role of products categorized as
‘Other items’ in Figure 5, especially in 1905 and 1923. The fact that agricultural
13
Per Annuaire Stat istique de l ’Indochine, exports of rice (total of wh ite ri ce, b ro wn rice, bro ke n
rice, an d bran) for Japan increased rapidl y, fro m 7629 tons in 1939 to 4 68 ,28 0 ton s in 19 40 . We
should note that this period overlaps the time when Japan strengt h en ed i ts i n volve men t wit h
Fren ch Indochina, including the Japanese mil itary occ upation of Fren ch Ind o ch in a. Th erefo re, we
und erst an d the increase in rice exports to Japan from F rench Indoch in a d uri n g this p eriod .
11
Figure5
Trends in the Contribution Ratio of the Exports of Major Agricultural Products
Source: Th e same as Fi gu re2.
diversity progressed in Tonkin and Annam is known by confirming the export
development of agricultural products, which is summarized in the ‘Other items’ in
detail. Table 1 shows the average annual growth rate of exports for 29 items including
major export items such as rice, maize, natural rubber, and 26 other items over half a
century, from the 1890s to the 1930s. We know the following facts, per Table 1: 1)
although rice exports increased significantly in the late 19th century, such rapid
growth was not seen thereafter, 2) exports of maize and natural rubber increased from
a relatively early stage, 3) copra, star anise, castor oil, lacquer, benzoin resin, coffee,
tea, cardamom-amomum, cotton (seed cotton and ginned cotton), kapok, and buffalo
showed positive export growth on average during the entire period. These facts are
consistent with our conflicting view about the rice monoculture mentioned repeatedly
12
Table 1
Average Annual Growth Rate of Exports of Major Agricultural
Sou rce: The same as Fi gure 2 .
13er o btai ned by l inear regressi on where the dependent vari able is the
Notes: 1 ) Average annual growth rate is an estimate o f t h e sl op e p ara met
n atural lo g o f exp ort vo lu me o f agricu ltu ral p rod u cts and th e in d ep end ent variable is th e time tren d for each period. * i nd i cat es
statisti cal significan ce at th e 1 0 % level, ** at t h e 5 % level, an d *** at the 1% level.
2 ) We d escri b e t h e name o f each agri cu ltu ral p rodu ct in Jap an ese, En glish, French and Viet namese, begi nn i ng at the top.
above, especially observation 3. In other words, the agricultural products mentioned
in observation 3 are those that are grown in large volumes in Annam and Tonkin for
export, demonstrating that diversified agriculture developed in Tonkin and Annam
(Robequain [1939], Henry [1932]). 14 Furthermore, because many crops experienced
rapid export growth since the early 20th century, we suggest that indigenous peasants
in Tonkin and Annam adapted to the development of export markets early.
As mentioned above, the development of the cultivation and export of various
crops in Tonkin and Annam, as well as the expansion in exports of natural rubber, are
difficult to reconcile with the conventional rice monoculture view, and the agriculture
of Vietnam was characterized by the diversification of agricultural exports during the
colonial period. More importantly, the diversification of agricultural exports was
supported by indigenous peasants and plantations. In the next section, we focus on
the natural rubber sector with many materials, relatively; because rubber exports
supported the export diversification of agricultural products in colonial Vietnam in
the 1930s, we analyse the adaptation of rubber plantations to markets.
3. Development of rubber plantations and rubber exportation
3-1. Development of rubber plantations
Against the background of an increase in exports of natural rubber in the 1930s,
14
Per Henry [1932] , the production areas of product s described abo ve are as fo l lo ws: copra wa s
produced in Cochinchina and Annam; star anise in Tonkin; castor o il in Ton ki n; lacqu er and
ben zo in resin in Tonkin and Annam; coffee in Tonkin and Annam; tea in Ton kin , An n am, an d
Co ch inchina; carda mom-a mo mum in Tonkin and Annam; cott on in Ton ki n , An n am, and
Co ch inchina; kapok in Cochinchina; and buffal o in Tonkin, Annam, and Co ch in ch in a. Th ere were
man y agricul tural products produced in Tonki n and Annam but not i n Co ch in chin a.
14
Figure 6
Trends in Natural Rubber Growing Area by Region
Sou rce: Annua ire Statistiq ue d e l’Indo ch in e 1 939 -194 0.
No te: Th e areas o f 189 7-19 19, 1 920 -192 5, and 19 26 -1 929 are cu mu l ati ve areas pl anted by
th e end o f each perio d.
which also led to the diversification of agricultural exports, there was a development
of rubber plantations. The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) was introduced into
FrenchIndochina for the first time by Raoul, who was a pharmacist of the French Navy,
and who sent 2000 saplings to the botanical garden in Saigon from British Malaya
where he worked in 1897 (Robequain [1939]). After many complications, French
settlers cultivated the rubber tree, and natural rubber plantations evolved. 1 5
15
More i nformat ion about the process of the spread of Hevea brasi lien si s and th e d evelo p men t
of the p lantation sector can be found in Lan [1911] , Crevost [1927], an d Grou p men t P ro fessi o nn el
de l a Product ion Agricol e et Forestière de l’ Indochine [ 1942], in ad ditio n to Ro b equ ain [ 193 9],
men tion ed above.
15
As described above, the cultivation of natural rubber in plantations was
concentrated in Cochinchina (it is easy to confirm this in Figure 6). The rubber
cultivation area in Cochinchina consistently dominated the cultivated area of
Indochina from the end of the 19th century to 1940, and rubber was cultivated in
Cambodia and Annam. Additionally, the cultivated area increased rapidly in the
1920s. 16 Although the time lag of an increase of cultivated area in the 1920s and
rubber export growth in the 1930s seem strange at first glance, it is understandable
because the rubber tree is a perennial crop. 1 7
Why did the cultivation area of the natural rubber increase during the late 1920s
and the rubber export expand in the 1930s? It is conceivable that French capital
flowed into Indochina because of the rise in the international price for rubber, as
mentioned by Takada [1988]. 1 8 However, we must emphasize that local Chinese and
16
Note that the growi ng area displayed in Fi gure 6 i s the cumulati ve area p l an ted b y th e end o f
th at p erio d. Therefore, the di fferences between the hei ghts of the bin s ind icate th e n ewl y p lan t ed
area.
17
The p lantations, which had plant ed rubber t rees and were estab lish ed b y th e ri se o f rub b er
pri ces in the l ate 1920s, encount ered fall ing internat ional prices th ereafter. Ho wever, th ese
plantations were supported by t he Governor General of Indochina, and con tri bu t ed to th e in crease
in expo rts in the 1930s. S ee also Note 18 belo w.
18
Intern ational pri ces had fa llen due t o excess suppl y and an increase in th e prod u ction o f n atu ra l
rubb er in Briti sh M al aya, in the Dutch East Indies during worsenin g eco no mic cond ition s after
th e First World War. There after, the price rose due t o the pl an for t h e red u ctio n o f in t ern ation al
productio n in 1921 of t he St evenson Commit tee, appoint ed b y the Go vern men t o f t h e Un it ed
Kin gdom. Thi s caused pri ces to ri se in t he lat e 1920s. However, this d raft h ad b een ab olish ed in
1928 due to massi ve increase in product ion in the Dutch East Indies, d u e to p ri ces ri sin g (this
me ant t h e violat ion of the St evenson draft) and regul ations of de man d in th e Un ited S tates (th ere
were man y demands for t ires i n the automotive industry in the U.S. ). After th at, prices tu mb led
16
Vietnamese, as well as French, adapted to changes in the market, such as the rise of
the international price for rubber. Namely, the increase of cultivated area after the
late 1920s in Figure 6 included the effect of the increase of small plantations managed
by Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese. To confirm this point, we have conducted an
analysis using micro data that have not been used much for colonial Vietnam studies.
The micro data are required for an analysis of the characteristics of plantations and
adaptation to markets because the analysis is difficult using aggregated data only. 1 9
We created a panel data set by merging the data of plantations using information
like name, location, and owner of each plantation in the 1926 edition and the 1937
edition of Annuaire du Syndicat des Planteurs de Caoutchouc de l 'Indochine, which
is a yearbook of the rubber plantation’s union. Table 2 shows the result of matching
data of plantations from these materials (with a total sample size of 1062). Per Table
2, 122 plantations were identified in 1937 and also found in 1926, while 245 existed
agai n wit h the Great Depression. Under these ci rcumstances, for the i mpo verish ed plan tation s in
Fren ch Indochina, the Governor General of Indochina made bail out lo an s an d an expo rt su b sid y
in the central budget . Obviously, non-competiti ve pl antat ions could no t su rvive even wi th th is
tempo rary assist ance. Additional ly, new controls on rubber produ cti on were p ro vid ed b y th e
London Agreement of 1934, and the out put ceili ng of French Indoch in a was 30 ,0 00 to n s (6 0,000
ton s in 1938), which was hi gher t han the others. If a t ax on excess p ro du ctio n was p aid to th e
Int ern atio nal Co mmitt ee, French Indochina was abl e to exceed the up p er li mit o f p rodu ct ion .
Plantations in French Indochina adapt ed to the changes in int ernation al rub b er p ri ces and po lit ical
in tervention. F or more informati on, see Robequain [1939], Kano [200 1: Ch. 2] (wri tten b y Tsu kasa
Mi zu sh ima), and Narusa wa [1982] .
19
Mo re specifi cal l y, our purpose is to analys e the phenomenon o f mar ket ad ap tation o f th e
plantation at the mi cro l evel, notwi thstanding the phenomenon of an in crease in exports and
gro wt h o f rubber culti vated area at t he macro level , wi th data obtain ed fro m o ffici al pu bl icatio n s
such as Annuaire Statist ique de l'Indochine.
17
Table 2
Changes in the Number of Rubber Plantations
1937
0
1
1926
Total
0
0
245
245
1
695
122
817
Total
695
367
1062
Sou rce: Ann uaire du S ynd icat d es Plan teu rs d e Ca ou tchou c d e l’Ind o ch in e 1 926 , 1937.
Note: 1 ) ‘1’ in 1926 means the p lan t atio n s in th i s categ or y are able to b e co n firmed in the
year 1926; ‘0’ means no t con firmed . ‘1 ’ in 19 37 mean s t h e p l an tati on s in t hi s
category can b e con fir med in th e year 1 93 7; ‘0 ’ mean s not con fir med .
2) Bo th samples in 1926 an d 1 937 in clu d e p lan tation s in Ann an , To n kin , Ca mbodi a,
and Laos, other th an Co ch i n ch in a. Ho wev er, th ey are i n a mi no rit y. We can confirm
19 plant ations i n An n an, 1 in Ton kin, 3 4 in Camb od i a, an d 4 in Lao s ou t of 1062
samp le plan t ations i n 192 7 and 19 37 .
in 1926 but were not identified in 1937. I have also found that 695 plantations were
identified in 1937 although they were not in 1926. Rubber plantations greatly
increased by the year 1937, if this information can be confirmed.
Next, we will confirm the features of these plantations. Figure 7 indicates the
intertemporal comparison of scale distributions of plantations in 1926 and 1937. Per
the figure, we know that most of the 695 plantations, which increased from 1926 to
1937, were small plantations, because plantations of less than 1000 ha increased by
the year 1937, the scale distribution converged to a small scale as a whole, and the
median value decreased in 1937. 2 0 These facts have not been emphasized in existing
studies, which tend to focus on large-scale plantations of the French capital using
aggregated data, such as cultivation area by region.
Additionally, Table 3 provides the main descriptive statistics that confirm the
20
The medi an value i s also l ow in 1926 becau se there were many s mall pl an tation s o f less th a n
100 h a. However, a ma ssive i ncrease of s mall plant ati ons by t he year 19 37 led to a d ecrease in
th e median value in 1937.
18
Figure 7 Comparison of Scale Distribution of Rubber Plantations between 1926 and 1937
Source: Ann ua ire du Syndicat des Plan teu rs d e Ca ou tchou c d e l’Ind o ch in e 1 926 , 1937 .
No te: Me 1926 i nd i cat es the med i an o f th e scale d ist ribu tion in 1 926 , also Me1 9 37 in 1937.
characteristics of the data mentioned in Table 2. First, as confirmed in Figure 7, the
average cultivation area of natural rubber from 1926 to 1937 is small. 2 1 Furthermore,
we confirmed the average cultivation areas on plantations that survived from 1926 to
1937 (plantations confirmed in both the 1926 and 1937 data, hereinafter referred to
21
Ho wever, as can be seen from Fi gure 7, because the scale distribu tio n s o f p lant atio n s are
po sitivel y ske wed in both 1926 and 1937, using the me an of cul tivati on area sho wn in Tab l e 3 as
th e rep resent ati ve value of the plantation scale i s normall y inapprop riat e. Hen ce, we sh ou ld u se
a med ian value that i s robust to the skewness as the represent ative valu e. In fact, th e mean o f
cult ivation area shown in Tabl e 3 makes a l arge di vergence fro m th e med i an valu e o f t h e
cult ivation area shown in Figure 7. Therefore, in t he case of using th e me an , i t is mean in gfu l to
discuss the rel ati ve posit ional relationshi p o f the scale dist ribution s o f 19 26 an d 193 7 fo r
survivors and new entrants. The median val ue of survivors and new en tran ts are 125 h a and 17
ha, resp ectivel y.
19
as ‘survivors’) and plantations considered to have newly entered in 1937 (plantations
confirmed only in 1937, hereinafter referred to as ‘new entrants’). The former group
is larger than the overall average in 1926 and the latter is smaller in 1937. It can be
seen, therefore, that large-scale plantations had been in existence since 1926 and
small-scale plantations had been established in 1937.
Based on the above observations, we estimate a probit model to confirm the
characteristics of survivors and new entrants. The results are summarized in Table 4
as ‘entry model’ and ‘survival model’, respectively. At a glance, we know that
plantations which had been in existence from 1926 to 1937 tended to be large in scale.
This means that survival probability increases with expansion of the scale, although
the effect diminishes. 2 2
Additionally,
although
provincial dummies
explaining
the geographical
conditions of plantations excluding soil conditions have no significant effect on
survival, 23 the owner dummy is significantly negative in 1926 and plantations with
22
In the survi val model (1), the square of culti vation area in 1926 is sign ifi can t ly n egative. Th i s
ind icates that the greater the cultivat ion area, the higher t he probabili ty o f su rvival , al thou gh th e
effect di mini shes. With this background, as the sca le of a plan t ation b eco mes l arger, th e
mo n it o ring cost of employment al so becomes l arger, whi ch is di sad van tageou s for large-scale
plantations. Although the square of cult ivation area in 1926 is no t signifi can t in th e su rvival
mo d el (2), t he p value is ve ry close to t he boundar y of the signi fican ce l evel o f 1 0 %.
23
Anoth er variable which measures geographi cal conditi ons on the ro ster in 1 92 6 i s ‘d ist an ce
fro m S aigon’. However, because plantations which reported such info rmati on are relati vel y fe w,
th ere is an increase in missing values. Addi tion all y, al though we cond u cted an an alysis in clud in g
th e ‘d ist ance from S aigon’, the resul t wa s not signifi ca nt . Hence, the ‘d i stan ce fro m Sai gon ’ was
not in cl uded in the anal ysis of Tabl e 4. In the 1926 versi on of Annuaire du S ynd i cat d es Pla nteu rs
de Caoutchouc de l'Indochine, the infor mation on the plantation called ‘P lan tation d e Ph u -Quo c’
is d escrib ed and the di stance from S aigon is shown to be 460 mi les. Ho wever, it i s ob vio u sl y 46 0
20
Table 3 Characteristics of Natural Rubber Plantations (Descriptive Statistics)
Sou rce: Ann ua i re du S ynd i cat d es Planteu rs d e Ca ou tchou c d e l ’Ind o ch in e 1 927 a nd 193 7.
No te: 1) Th e soil du mmy is b ased on t he info rmatio n o n th e soil qu alit y (Natu re d u terrain ) o f each plant atio n described in
th e ann u al fo r 192 6. Ho we ver, so me p lant atio n s d o n o t rep o rt th e soi l qu al it y in fo rmati on, i n which case t hey must
b e treated as mi ssin g valu es. To mini mize th e missi n g valu es, we h ave taken th e fol lowing measures: 1) For
plantatio ns wh ich do not report the so il in fo r matio n, we can ob tain lo cat ion in fo rmat ion, access information (Voi e
d'a cceès) an d dist ance from Sai gon (Dist an ce d e S aï gon ) t o th e p l antat io n. Th erefo re, we identi fy the location of
th e p l an tat ion using su ch i nformat io n. 2 ) B y co mp arin g th e lo catio n in fo r mat ion o f t h e plant ation and location map
o f th e pl an tations in Coch inchina, includ in g in fo rmati on on wh eth er th e pl an tat io n in red soil area or n ot , obt ain ed
fro m Hen ry [ 193 2], we confir m the soil o f th e pl an tation . We create so il d u mmi es fro m thi s operati on . 3 ) If the
lo cation obtained in th e operation 1 ) is n ot d escrib ed on th e map o f Hen ry [ 19 32] , we ident ifi ed the location usi ng
Go o gle M ap s (http :/ /map s.goo gl e. co.jp / viewed o n Ju ly 19 , 2 01 4) (in t hi s case, we assume t hat the lo cation name
o f th e p lan t ation i s same as the present). 4 ) So il qu alit y i n fo rmatio n o f th em can b e obtained al though plant ations
lo cated i n Ann an canno t b e ident ifi ed on th e map o f Henr y [19 32] . As we can con fi r m t he descrip t ions su ch as
Silico-a rgileu x (sili ceou s cla y) and S ab lo nn eu x (sand y land ), we create so il du mmi es referring to Henr y [19 32: 549552] and th e result o f soil anal ysis on Bu reau o f S ou t h ern Affairs [ 194 3: 22 7], for example t he red soi l contains a
small a mo un t of si lici c acid.
2) We creat ed th e o wn er du mmy i n 192 6 and 193 7 b y con fi rmin g wh et h er th e o wn er is lo cal or not for th e pl antat ion s
list ed o n th e annual 1926 and 1 937 resp ectivel y. I f o wn er du mmy is 1 , th e plan tat ion is owned b y local or a joint
ven tu re with lo cal cap ital.
kilometres rat her than 460 mil es, because this pl antat ion was i n the p resent P hu Q uo c Islan d (Đả o
Phú Quốc), which is act uall y 460 mi les from Saigon.
21
Table 4
Characteristics of Survival Plantations and New Entries
S o u r c e : Ann uaire du S yndica t d es Pla nteu rs d e Ca outcho u c d e l’In do chin e 19 26, 1937.
No tes: 1) ‘Su rvival mo del’ ind icates th e result o f th e prob i t an alysis, wh ere we re gard the
dep en den t vari ab le=1 as a case o f th e p lan tation sh o wn in bo th 1 926 and 1937.
Ad dition all y, ‘Entr y mo d el ’ ind icates t h e resul t o f a p ro bi t an al ysis, wh ere we regar d
th e dep end ent variable=1 as a case o f th e p lan t ation fo und in 193 7 b ut not in 1926
amo ng al l plantati ons in th e 1 937 an nu al.
2) In the t able, the co effi cient s o f each p ro bit mo d el are d escrib ed on th e upper line.
Th e values in parentheses are z valu es. * ind icates st atis tical sign ifican ce at the 10%
level, ** at th e 5% level , and *** at t h e 1 % level.
3) ‘So il d ummy’ is not in clud ed in ‘En try mo d el’ b ecau se th e i n fo rmat ion rel ated to
soil cann ot be obtain ed fr o m th e 19 37 ann u al. Ad diti on ally, we confirm some
plantatio ns fo r whi ch su ch d ata cou ld no t b e ob tain ed i n th e 19 26 annual. We
th erefore atte mpt ed t o p rev ent th e missin g valu es u sin g t h e met h od mentioned in
Table 3.
22
non-indigenous owners (e.g. the French) are likely to survive. This contrasts with
the case of ‘entry model’, and it is also an important issue. Therefore, we discuss it
further below.
Because soil dummies are not significant, the survival probability has little
relevance to the soil of plantations. This requires a little more explanation. Generally,
rubber plantations of French Indochina can be divided into two major types of soil.
One is grey soil (terres grises) and the other is red soil (terres rouges). 24 The former
was more common in early plantations located near densely populated areas such as
Saigon. Additionally, rice cultivation had been carried out by the local Vietnamese in
the soil. Although adequate fertilization is essential for fertility of the inferior red
soil, the grey soil is easy to reclaim, and land with grey soil therefore needs less
initial investment for the establishment of a plantation. Because there are also many
villages of Vietnamese near the plantations, workers for the plantations were
employed easily from villages in the vicinity (R obequain [1939]). Land with red soil
was spread in the densely wooded country of Cambodia, the Mekong Delta, and south
of Annam, and required a large initial investment for the establishment of a plantation
due to the great difficulties of land reclamation; hence, ethnic minorities were
employed for labour-intensive work, such as land clearing. 2 5 It was difficult to ensure
24
Fo r mo re information on the soi l of plant ations, see Robequain [ 193 9] an d Hen ry [1932]. Th e y
are al so referenced in our description of t he soi l. See also Takada [1 98 8]. Th e J ap an ese ed itio n
of Robequai n [1939] transl ated by M atsuoka and Okada indicates that th e grey so il i s called black
soil in th e t ransl ator’s not e on page 250.
25
Rob equain [1939] . The data of the workers in some pl antat ions are ob t ain ed fro m Ann ua ire d u
Syndicat des Planteurs de Caout chouc de l ' Indochine 1926. Accordin g to t h at work, th e Mo i (a
term t h at refers to ethnic minori ties in today’s Cent ral Highland s, bu t wh ich is rarel y u sed
because of i ts derogat or y nature) who were good at l ife in the jungle were e mp lo yed to recl aim
th e land .
23
a supply of workers for plantations established on population sparse jungle, and many
existing studies have noted this problem (Takada [1988], for example). Many workers
employed as cultivators or latex harvesters were hired from the Red River Delta of
Tonkin, which has a dense population, but labour problems often emerged. 26 On the
other hand, soil with higher fertility than grey soil was advantageous for natural
rubber cultivation (Robequain [1939], Bureau of Southern Affairs [1943: 226-227]).
Plantations in the red soil were established relatively late, grew larger, and developed
via high land productivity, as noted by Takada [1988].
Although the advantage of the red soil for natural rubber cultivation is seen in
the above studies, our results show that soil conditions had little effect on the survival
probability, unlike the referenced views. The reason is that both grey and red soil had
advantages and disadvantages. First, because of the introduction of fertilizer, the
problem of less fertility in grey soil could be resolved partially. 2 7 Second, the cost
to ensure disciplined labour was lower in plantations with grey soil than in those with
red soil. As described above, people of Tonkin and ethnic minorities had been hired
as workers in plantations with red soil, even though ethnic minority workers were less
likely to be disciplined labourers; employing Vietnamese workers from Tonkin was
very expensive due to their migration and recruitment and the provision of food,
clothing, and shelter; and the labour monitoring cost increased with the expanding
scale of a plantation. The common belief that red soil is advantageous is not
26
Wi th the increase of plant ations, because the wo rkers supplied fro m Co ch in chin a wer e
in adequ at e for the l abour demand, workers were hired from t he Tonkin p op ulat io n. In p lan tation s
of the F rench capit al, jobs brokers, cal led Caï, were used for the emp lo ymen t o f t h e Vietn amese
people. For more informati on, see Internati onal Labour Offi ce [1938] , Ro b eq u ain [19 39], an d
Takad a [ 1988].
27
Bureau of Southern Affair s [1943: 233] explai ns that ‘Ferti lizers are ap p lied on ly to gray
soil and n ot applied to red soi l at all‘.
24
necessarily relevant. 28
For plantations established by the year 1937, we found that the smaller scale of
the plantation, the higher the probability of its establishment. Province dummies are
significantly negative. This means that many plantations had already existed in these
provinces in 1926; therefore, the establishments of new plantations there declined.
The owner dummy in 1937 shows a positive significant effect on the probability of
new entrants. It indicates that the plantations of indigenous owners tended to be
established by 1937. This result contrasts with the survival model, and is very
important for evaluating local Vietnamese and Chinese entrepreneurship. Therefore,
we discuss this issue further in the next section.
3-2. Entrepreneurship and small plantations
From the above analyses, it is found that the large plantations of non-local
28
The concept of di sciplined labour i s cl osely rel ated to labour mon i to rin g p rob lems, as mo ral
hazard s raised by S.A. Marglin (M arglin [1974] ). As H ayami [2004: 29 4] n oted, fa mil y labou r is
‘th e lab our that works wit hout supervision based on strong co mmun it y relation ship ’, an d d o es
not cause monitoring problems. Therefore, the supervision probl ems and th e imp o sitio n o f
discipl ine are proble ms for empl oyed labour. Workers from Tonkin were h ired in accord an ce wi th
th e syst em of long-term contracts which also i mposed detailed obli gation s on emplo yers. Th ey
were recruit ed in authori zed empl oyment agen cies, t ransported b y sea fro m Haip hon g and o th er
lo catio ns to Saigon. The emplo yers had to consider the wel fare of wo rkers, su ch as t h e p ro visio n
of fo od , cl ot hing, and shel ter, and the prevent ion of malaria. Addit ion all y, vi llages o f wo rkers
had b een formed i n l arge-scale plant ations. In fact, we can confirm th at th ere are man y d wel lin gs
of plant ation workers in the Annuaire du Syndicat des Planteurs de Ca ou tch ou c d e l ' In do chi ne
1926, including much data of l arge-scale plantati ons. For more in fo rmation , see In tern ation al
Lab our Offi ce [ 1938] and Robequain [1939].
25
Figure 8 Relationship between Labour and Management Scale in Rubber Plantations (1926)
Source: Ann ua ire du Syndicat des Plan teu rs d e Ca ou tchou c d e l’Ind o ch in e 1 926 .
No tes: 1 ) Th e horizont al axis of the fi gu re ind icates th e cult ivation area o f each ru bb er plant ation in 1 926, an d
the verti cal axis in dicates wo rkers (i. e. te mpo rar y emp l o ymen t + con tract workers, divided by
cultu ral area) of each pl antat ion .
2) Th e st raight lin e in the figu re i s an app ro xi mat e curve, an d th e fo rmu la is one of the approxi mate
curves. Additional ly, t he valu es in p aren th eses are t st atist ics. * ind icates statisti cal signifi cance at
2
the 1 0% level and *** at th e 1 % level . R is ad ju sted for th e d egrees o f freedom.
capital were more likely to survive, and, more importantly, most new entrants were
small plantations with local capital. We confirm the reason for the increase in these
small plantations.
The first reason is that small plantations require less initial investment. Because
the development of rubber plantations in the late stage had progressed in red soil,
where initial investments were costly, it was important that the scale of a plantation
be small.
The second reason is that it was easy to overcome the problem of the
employment of disciplined labour when a plantation was established. Hayami [2004:
291-295] [2010] noted that plantations were motivated to expand their scale to
promote the pursuit of scale economics, and the problem of the monitoring cost for
26
hired labour also emerged. 2 9 In the case of small plantations, such a dilemma was
unlikely to occur originally. Figure 8, in which we confirmed the relationship between
the amount of labour input per area (lnL) and management scale (lnA) for the data of
1926, indicates the negative correlation; in other words, the larger the management
scale of a plantation, the less intensive the labour input. For a small operation,
monitoring problems do not really matter and the plantation tends to become labour
extensive as it grows.
The third reason is the most important. Most of the owners and management of
small plantations were local Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese. Their entrepreneurship
and ability to adapt to the rubber markets emerged with an increase in the
establishments of small-scale plantations. Table 5 displays the small plantations with
less than 40 ha, most of which were those of indigenous capital. 3 0 This reconfirms
29
Using t hi s logic, Haya mi [2004: 291-295] [2010] argues t hat peasan t s u sin g famil y labo ur,
wh o were fre e of the mo nitoring proble ms of hired labour, con tribu t ed to th e agricu l tu ral
develop ment in Asia, referr ing to Lewi s [1970] .
30
Per East Asiatic Economi c Investigat ion Bureau [ 1939: 157], th ere were 70 smal l ru bb er
plantations managed b y ethnic Chinese in the suburbs of S aigon. Th e si ze o f 4 0 h a i s al mo st th e
same as the average pl antat ion size in 1926 from t he medi an value (45 h a) in 19 26 i n Figure 7 .
Ho wever, the size of 40 ha i s almost t wice as l arge as the average in 1 937 . It su gges t s an in crease
in smal l pl antat ions.
En cycl opedi a Britannica’s fi rst edition, published in 1768-1771 , h ad alread y p ro v id ed an
article about ‘pl antati on’, which ‘in the West -Indies, denotes a spot o f grou nd which a pl anter o r
person arri ved in a ne w colon y, pit ches on t o cult ivate for hi s own u se, o r i s as sign ed fo r th at
pu rpo se. However, the t erm plant ation is o ften used in a s ynon ymo u s sen se wi th colon y.’
Ad dition all y, the art icl e i n the 11 t h edition publi shed in 1911 stat es as fo llo ws :’ Th e term was
earl y ap plied, in a fi gurati ve sense, to the settl ement of peop le, and p arti cularly to th e
colon ization of North Amer ica in the early part of the 17th century an d to th e settl emen t o f Scot ch
27
Table 5 Number of Plantations in French Indochina by Nationality of Capital and Growing Area
（ June 1st ,1934 ）
Sou rce: Au th or prep ared th i s tabl e b ased o n Bo s [1 93 6 ].
Notes: 1 ) Takada [1988] also cited th e d ata on Bo s [1 9 36].
2) *** indicates stat istical signifi can ce at th e 1 % l evel in ch i-squ are test of independen ce.
3) The d efinit ion o f ‘Lo cal (ind i gèn es)’ h ere is n ot sp eci fied in Bo s [1 936]. Howe ver, based on
th e appro xi mate esti mat ion usi n g th e n ames o f p lan tati on s d escri b ed o n Annuaire du Syndicat
des P lan teu rs de Ca ou tch o u c d e l' Ind o ch in e 19 27 and 1 93 7, mo st o f the indigenous owners
are V ietnamese, th e rest are a fe w et hn i c Ch in ese an d Ind ian. See also not e 30. A detai led
discussion of ethn ic Ind ian in Co ch in ch i n a can b e fo und i n no te 9 of Takahashi [200 6] as
wel l.
and Engl ish in the forfeited lands in Ireland.’ Hence, it can be underst ood th at origin al ly th e ter m
plantation was appli ed t o the Brit ish coloni al far m in the West In dies an d No rth America.
Be ca use studies on British colonial plant ations are i nseparable from t h e h i st o ry o f sl aver y, th ere
is an eno r mous body of research related to slaver y, among whi ch U. B. Ph il lips’ research i s
drawing attention. He set up the h ypothesi s that ‘slaves in l arge plantation s are in effi cien t’, wh i ch
was criti cal ly considered in t he cl assic ‘Ti me on t he Cross’ writ ten by R. Fo gel and S .L En ger man
(F o gel and Engerman [1974]). Philli ps [1910] described the plantatio n s yste m as fo llo ws: ‘Its
con cent ration of labor under skil led management made the plantation syste m, with i ts o verseers,
foremen , blacks miths, carpenters, host lers, cooks, nurses, plow-hand s and ho e-h an ds, p racti cal ly
th e facto ry s yste m applied to agriculture.’ This means that the plantati on was a p ro du ction s yst em
app lying the fact ory production method created by European id eolo gies for agricu ltu ral
productio n. In the present day, plantations are no l onger relat ed to slaver y. Th erefo re, Hayami
[2010 : 3 306] and Jones [1968] define the present plant ation as ‘an eco no mic u n it th at hires a
large a mount of unskil led l abor under strict labor manage ment and prod u ces agricu ltu ral prod u ct s
for sale’.
From the above li terature surve y, ‘plantation’ i s a far m where en trep ren eu rial man age men t
is carried out. Therefore, even smal l pl antat ions, i f the word ‘plan t ation ’ is used , are
entrepren eurial far ms using emplo yment rather than fa mi l y t o manage th e far ms.
28
that the analysis of Table 4 is correct, shows that the results of our analyses are robust.
As mentioned above, the increase in cultivation area in the late 1920s occurred
due to the rise in international rubber prices. Importantly, the local Vietnamese and
ethnic Chinese reacted flexibly to changes in the international market. Namely, we
can consider the downscaling plantations during this period as the result of their
adaptation to the markets, based on the trends of the international market, the labour
cost, and the initial investment for their plantations.
Additionally, the rubber plantation sector was established in Vietnam during the
colonial period, and it did not exist previously. The entrepreneurship of the
Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese, which achieved a ‘new combination (neue
Kombination)’ in the form of entry into the rubber market by adopting a European
system of plantation, should be greatly appreciated. 3 1
4. Conclusions and implications
We have questioned the stereotype of the rice monoculture in colonial Vietnam,
31
Recen tly, the evaluation and measurement of entrepreneurshi p in d evelo pin g coun t ries are
impo rtant issues i n the fiel d of devel opment economic s, because en trepren eu rshi p is not fo r med
in a sho rt t ime (M cKenzie and Woodruff [2012] ).
During the period of the Nguyen d ynast y, t he trade of Saigon rice b y Ch in ese merch an ts
had been activel y conduct ed in the form of trade permitt ed by the go vern men t or il legal t rad e
(mai nly for China), and la rge ri ce cult ivators e merged by accu mu lati n g lan d simu ltan eou sly
(Kikuchi [ 1988]). These fa ct s suggest that local Vietnamese and Ch in ese alread y po ssessed th e
entrepren eurship seen in the market’s adapt abilit y in response to develo p men t o f t h e in tern ation al
rice market and expansi on of new distribution net works during the col on i al p eri od .
29
and clarified the appearance of agriculture in Vietnam which had not been mentioned
much in existing studies. Finally, we summarize the results obtained by our analyses
and draw out the implications in view of the agriculture of present-day Vietnam.
Vietnam during the colonial period has been often regarded as a rice
monoculture because the concept of monoculture assumes exports and Cochinchina,
including the rice belt, from which relatively many materials were available, has been
regarded as the representative region of French Indochina. Reviewing the agriculture
of Vietnam during the colonial period in consideration of these points, we can confirm
two important points. First, the share of rice export that is the basis for the rice
monoculture greatly declined from the late 1920s to the 1930s. Particularly, the
exports of French Indochina were diversified by the increase in exports of natural
rubber to replace rice (note that Cochinchina was the largest exporter of natural rubber
and rice in French Indochina). Second, in Tonkin and Annam, which had not been
mentioned much in the existing research, diversified cultivations and exports had been
performed. From these points, we have noted that assigning the view of a rice
monoculture uniformly to the agriculture of colonial Vietnam is inappropriate, and
that diversified agriculture had been practiced (Section 2).
Additionally, we have focused on the increase in natural rubber exports during
the 1930s, and analysed the development of plantations using precious micro data.
Thus, we see that small plantations significantly increased with the growth of rubber
exports, and the Vietnamese and Chinese managed small plantation (Section 3).
The diversity of cultivations and exports of agricultural products in Tonkin and
Annam and the spread of small plantations with an expansion in rubber exportation
have one thing in common. That is the entrepreneurship and high market adaptability
of the Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese. The high market adaptability of indigenous
peasants allowed them to supply enough agricultural products, depending on
fluctuations in the demand and price in the international market. Additionally, the
entrepreneurship of Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese allowed them to build new
30
markets and introduce the plantation system that originated in Europe.
These facts cannot be derived from the perspective of the rice monoculture, and
may be evaluated more considering the agricultural development in present Vietnam.
As described above, although the present Vietnam also has a strong image as a rice
exporter, it actually produces and exports various agricultural products other than rice,
and dominates the international market in products such as coffee of Dak Lak (Đắk
Lấk) province, cashew nuts of Binh Phuoc (Bình Phước) province, and tea of Lam
Dong (Lâm Đồng) province and Thai Nguyen province. As in the colonial period, the
entrepreneurship and market adaptability of indigenous peasants allow them to export
various agricultural products. 3 2 The Government of Vietnam has also encouraged
peasants to diversify agricultural production in recent years; this may be a sign that
local Vietnamese ability has been properly evaluated. It is not an exaggeration to say
that the competitiveness of agriculture in present-day Vietnam is supported by the
market adaptability and entrepreneurship of the Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese that
has existed since the colonial period.
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