Domain of the Crown
The Domain of the Crown (Vietnamese: Hoàng triều Cương thổ; Chữ Hán: 皇朝疆土; French: Domaine de la Couronne; Modern Vietnamese: Đất của vua) was originally the Nguyễn dynasty's geopolitical concept for its protectorates and principalities where the ethnic Kinh did not make up the majority, later it became a type of administrative unit of the State of Vietnam. It was officially established on 15 April 1950. In the areas of the Domain of the Crown, the Chief of State Bảo Đại was still officially (and legally) titled as the "Emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty".
| Domain of the Crown | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Collection of autonomous territories of the State of Vietnam (a part of French Indochina until 1954) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1950–1955 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Domain of the Crown, coloured yellow, within French Indochina before 1954 (note the modern provincial names and boundaries). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Đà Lạt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area transferred | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • 1954 | Crown domains in Bắc phần ceded to North Vietnam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • Type | Autonomous administrative divisions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Emperor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1950–1955 | Bảo Đại | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Autonomy granted | 15 April 1950 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 March – 7 May 1954 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 July 1954 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 11 March 1955 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subdivisions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • Type | Autonomous territories, provinces, districts, communes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Vietnam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Domain of the Crown was established to preserve French interests in French Indochina and to limit Vietnamese immigration into predominantly minority areas, halting Vietnamese influence in these regions while preserving the influences of both French colonists and indigenous rulers.
After the 1954 Geneva Conference the Domain of the Crown lost considerable amounts of territory, as the entirety of Bắc phần was ceded to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, reducing it only to Tây Nguyên. On 11 March 1955 Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm dissolved the Domain of the Crown reducing both the power of the Chief of State Bảo Đại and the French directly annexing these areas into the State of Vietnam as the crown regions still in South Vietnam would later become Cao nguyên Trung phần in the Republic of Vietnam.