in Vietnam. Around this time, Vietnam was carrying out its Nam tien ("Southward"), the occupation of the Mekong Delta, a territory being part of the Khmer Empire and to a lesser extent, the kingdom of Champa which they had defeated in 1471.

European involvement in Vietnam was confined to trade during the 18th century, as the remarkably successful work of the missionaries continued. In 1787, Pierre Pigneau de Behaine,