Lê Văn Khôi revolt

The revolt was caused by the prosecutions launched by Minh Mạng against southern factions which had opposed his rule and tended to be favourable to Christianity. In particular, Minh Mạng prosecuted Lê Văn Duyệt, a former faithful general of Emperor Gia Long, who had opposed his enthronement.[4] Since Lê Văn Duyệt had already died in July 1832, his tomb was profaned and inscribed with the words "This is the place where the infamous Lê Văn Duyệt was punished".[2]

The Lê Văn Khôi revolt sought the re-establishment of the line of Prince Cảnh (here during his 1787 visit in Paris).

Lê Văn Khôi, the adoptive son of general Lê Văn Duyệt, had also been imprisoned, but managed to escape on 10 May 1833.[2] Soon, numerous people joined the revolt, in the desire to avenge Lê Văn Duyệt and challenge the legitimacy of the Nguyễn dynasty.[5]

Torture and execution of Father Joseph Marchand, on 5 November 1835

Execution of Jean-Charles Cornay, 20 September 1837

It took three years for Minh Mạng to quell the rebellion and the Siamese offensive. When the fortress of Phien An was invaded in September 1835,[6] 1,831 people were executed and buried in mass graves (now situated in District 3, Saigon).[2] Only six survivors were temporarily spared,[3] among whom were Le Van Cu, but also the French missionary Father Joseph Marchand, of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Marchand had apparently been supporting the cause of Lê Văn Khôi, and asked for the help of the Siamese army, through communications to his counterpart in Siam, Father Taberd. This revealed the strong Catholic involvement in the revolt.[2] Father Marchand was tortured and executed on 5 November 1835, as was the child Le Van Cu.[2]

The failure of the revolt had a disastrous effect on the Christian communities of Vietnam.[5] New waves of persecutions against Christians followed, and demands were made to find and execute remaining missionaries.[1] Anti-Catholic edicts to this effect were issued by Minh Mạng in 1836 and 1838. In 1836–1837 six missionaries were executed: Ignacio Delgado, Dominico Henares, Jean-Charles Cornay, José Fernández, François Jaccard, and Bishop Pierre Borie.[8][9]

• Katip Sumat uprising
• Ja Thak Wa uprising
• Nông Văn Vân's Rebellion
• Siamese–Vietnamese War (1831–34)

• Chapuis, Oscar (1995). A History of Vietnam: From Hong Bang to Tu Duc. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-29622-2.
• McLeod, Mark W. (1991). The Vietnamese response to French intervention, 1862–1874. Praeger. ISBN 0-275-93562-0.
• Choi Byung, Wook (2004). Southern Vietnam under the reign of Minh Mạng (1820–1841): central policies and local response. SEAP Publications. ISBN 0-87727-138-0.