Learn more about the French-Spanish cemetery in Da Nang

We would like to clarify related information such as the name and the construction and restoration of the relic, which up to now has not had a unified and clear perspective to understand the early days of the resistance against the French.

About the name

According to the report of Captain Treille of the 10th Marine Regiment (in command of the restoration work at the French-Spanish joint cemetery in Da Nang ) in 1898: "The cemetery of the French-Spanish expeditionary army is located at the end of Son Tra peninsula, 7 miles from the center of Da Nang city".

In the 1921 restoration records, when talking about the state of maintenance, the name “Tien Cha Cemetery (Tien Sa)” was used. The official dispatch of the Principal of the School of Far Eastern Antiquities sent to the Resident of Annam requested “to bring to your attention the state of disrepair of the cemetery on the Son Tra peninsula, north of Tourane”. The official dispatch of the First Office of the Resident of Annam sent to the Governor of Tourane stated: “about the state of poor preservation at the French-Spanish cemetery”. This shows that the use of names for this location is not consistent, but the name used is mainly the French-Spanish cemetery.

However, according to folk documents, the people of Da Nang often use the name "I-Pha-Nho Cemetery". In which, I-PhaNho in Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty - even before 1954 - was used to refer to Spain. So, a question arises: why do people use such a name? In case they think that using the word France - Spain would be too wordy, they would call it a shorter name, then why not use French Cemetery but I-Pha-Nho Cemetery?

In the overall history of Da Nang during the French colonial period, especially from the beginning of the 20th century after World War I, it can be seen that the French government in Indochina directed people to use the name I-Pha-Nho in their daily calling and may have had the idea of wanting to remove or minimize the name France for this relic? This is also a hypothesis, but through this, researchers need to unify the viewpoint of using the name French-Spanish cemetery for this special relic.

Cemetery renovation

When examining the current state of this cemetery, a question arises: how was this relic actually built and restored? After examining relevant documents, it can be seen that up to 1897, this cemetery underwent two restoration phases. Phase 1 from 1858-1885, it seems that the cemetery basically remained in its original state.

Phase 2, from 1885-1889, the Tourane Consulate began to renovate such as building a surrounding fence, installing an iron gate at the entrance, painting the engraved letters on some tombstones in the grounds and clearing the area around the cemetery.

In 1894, the French colonial government sketched out a design for a stele with a crypt underneath, and after a storm in 1897, the stele collapsed completely, exposing the crypt.

Therefore, in 1998, under the direction of Governor General of Indochina Paul Doumer, the colonial government began planning to build, renovate and inaugurate this cemetery on July 13, 1898. In 1921, this cemetery was renovated, but only the chapel was expanded.

The French-Spanish cemetery still holds special value in identifying the early stages of the resistance war against foreign invaders in Da Nang.

The above debates are not only a matter of academic research, but also evoke historical memories imprinted here.

This relic still needs a more scientific and unified approach, to both respect historical truth and preserve for future generations a mirror reflecting the country's difficult early days before the wave of invasion.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/hieu-them-ve-nghia-dia-phap-tay-ban-nha-o-da-nang-3303295.html