On the rules and regulations of the Duong-Thuong Hoi-Quan at Faifo (Hoi-An), Central Vietnam

Abstract

The province of Quang-nam in Central Vietnam, called Cacciam or "Province of Ciam" by missionaries of the 17th century, was originally the center of the Kingdom of Champa. It came under domain of the Le Dynasty in the 1740's. It was, however, not until the early years of the 17th century when the Nguyen Lords occupied the area that north Vietnamese immigrants started coming in great numbers and the Chinese merchants contributed toward the development of the area. Nguyen Hoang, the first Nguyen Lord, came to south and assumed the governorship of Thuan-hoa (including the present Quang-tri and Thua-thien) in 1558. He managed to maintain friendly relations for more than 40 years with the Trinh Lords of the north. The latter were in reality controlling the Le emperors, the legitimate rulers of Vietnam. It was from 1600 that rivalry between the north and south prevailed.