page_title: Lê dynasty
section_title: Hội An
hierarchical_section_title: Lê dynasty / Economic development / Hội An
caption_attribution_description: A voyage to Cochinchina in the years 1792 and 1793: Faifo
context_page_description: The Lê dynasty, also known as Later Lê dynasty, was the longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, ruling from 1428 to 1789 with a brief six-year interruption by the Mạc dynasty. It is usually divided into two historical periods – the early period in which emperors ruled in their own right, and the restored period, in which figurehead emperors reigned under the auspices of the powerful Trịnh family. During their reign, Vietnam's economy quickly recovered, grew and became the third-largest economy power in Eastern Asia.
  The dynasty officially began in 1428 with the enthronement of Lê Lợi after he drove the Ming army from Vietnam. The dynasty reached its peak during the reign of Lê Thánh Tông and declined after his death in 1497. In 1527, the Mạc dynasty usurped the throne; when the Lê dynasty was restored in 1533, the Mạc fled to the far north and continued to claim the throne during the period known as Southern and Northern Dynasties.
context_section_description: The area of Quảng Nam river original was part of Champa kingdoms and was annexed by Đại Việt during Emperor Thánh Tông 's reign. It was opened for foreign merchants trade and settlement. In 1535 Portuguese explorer and sea captain António de Faria, coming from Da Nang, tried to establish a major trading centre at the port village of Faifo. Hội An was founded as a trading port by the Nguyễn Lord Nguyễn Hoàng in 1570. The Nguyễn lords were far more interested in commercial activity than the Trịnh lords who ruled the north. As a result, Hội An flourished as a trading port and became the most important trade port on the East Vietnam Sea. Captain William Adams, the English sailor and confidant of Tokugawa Ieyasu, is known to have made one trading mission to Hội An in 1617 on a Red Seal Ship.
  The early Portuguese Jesuits also had one of their two residences at Hội An. In 1640, Nguyễn lord Nguyễn Phúc Lan ordered to close all Dutch stores and factories in Hội An, ban the Dutch for trading in Cochinchina because he suspected the VOC allying with the Trịnh lord in the north. In the 17th century, Polish Jesuit missionary Wojciech Męciński was believed to visited Hội An.
  In the 18th century, Hội An was considered by Chinese and Japanese merchants to be the best destination for trading in all of Southeast Asia, even Asia. Trading activities and handicraft manufacturing had been shifted from Tonkin to Hội An. The city also rose to prominence as a powerful and exclusive trade conduit between Europe, China, India, and Japan, especially for the ceramic industry. Shipwreck discoveries have shown that Vietnamese and Asian ceramics were transported from Hội An to as far as Sinai, Egypt.
  Hội An's importance waned sharply at the end of the 18th century because of the collapse of Nguyễn rule (thanks to the Tây Sơn Rebellion – which was opposed to foreign trade). Then, with the triumph of Emperor Gia Long, he repaid the French for their aid by giving them exclusive trade rights to the nearby port town of Đà Nẵng. Đà Nẵng became the new centre of trade (and later French influence) in central Vietnam while Hội An was a forgotten backwater. Local historians also say that Hội An lost its status as a desirable trade port due to silting up of the river mouth. The result was that Hội An remained almost untouched by the changes to Vietnam over the next 200 years. The efforts to revive the city were only done by a late Polish architect and influential cultural educator, Kazimierz Kwiatkowski, who finally brought back Hội An to the world. There is still a statue for the late Polish architect in the city, and remains a symbol of the relationship between Poland and Vietnam, which share many historical commons despite its distance.
caption: Hội An port in 18th century
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