Nguyen Huu Canh

Statue Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh in Biên Hòa

Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh Tomb in Truong Thuy Commune, Lệ Thủy District, Quang Binh

Lễ Thành Hầu Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh or Nguyễn Hữu Kính, (阮有鏡), (1650–1700?) was a general of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu.^[1] He is considered the one who established territorial sovereignty for Vietnam in Saigon and Gia Định regions in 1698. From that time, these regions officially became part of Vietnam.

Biography

Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh was born in Lệ Thủy District, Quảng Bình Province, Bắc Trung Bộ, Vietnam (then part of Đàng Trong). In 1698, Canh was sent by Nguyễn Phúc Tru to the south. He founded Gia Dinh garrison there. He called on people from many places in Central Vietnam to settle in these regions. He ordered the building of roads, canals, markets. Saigon has turned into a busy port city since then.^[2]

References

1. Ngọc Hiền Nguyễn Lễ Thành Hầu Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, 1650-1700 1995
2. Erik Harms Saigon's Edge: On the Margins of Ho Chi Minh City 2011 - Page 37 "Although most sources identify the founding of what is now Ho Chi Minh City with the military occupation of the area, the naming of districts, and the establishment of administrative works by Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh in 1698, Professor Nguyễn Đình Đầu argues that it did not become a true “city” until Nguyễn Cửu Đàm built a citadel there in 1772 to protect against the danger of Siamese ."