The Colonial Bastille
Subtitle: A History of Imprisonment in Vietnam, 1862-1940
Edition: 1 edition
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: February 5, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 372
ISBN-13: 9780520224124
Subjects: Asian / Middle Eastern history: First World War; Political ideologies; Prisons; 20th century; c 1800 to c 1900; Penology; History - General History; Social Science; Vietnam; Sociology; Asia - Southeast Asia; World - Colonial Studies; History / Asia; History; Ethnic Studies - General; National liberation movements; Nationalism
First sentence: Most of our prisons in Indochina include only one room, in which all detainees, both the accused and the convicted, are held together indiscriminately.
Description: "Peter Zinoman's study focuses on the colonial prison system in French Indochina and its role in fostering modern political consciousness among the Vietnamese. Using prison memoirs, newspaper articles, and extensive archival records, Zinoman presents a wealth of significant new information to document how colonial prisons, rather than quelling political dissent and maintaining order, instead became institutions that promoted nationalism and revolutionary education.".

"Zinoman includes case studies of large prison rebellions to highlight the colonial prison's capacity to generate solidarity among criminals, political prisoners, and native guards. He also demonstrates how media coverage of prisons contributed to the development of Vietnamese nationalism. Finally, he analyzes how the post-colonial communist state promoted its founders' heroic "prison memoirs" to serve specific political objectives.

Offering valuable insight into methods of disciplinary power and their possible consequences, The Colonial Bastille will appeal not only to readers in Asian studies but also to those interested in colonialism, comparative revolutions, and penology."--BOOK JACKET.