Colonial Exploitation and Socioeconomic Transformation in Cochinchina (1862–1945): An Approach Based on the Core-periphery Model

Abstract

This article analyzes the mechanisms of French colonial exploitation in Cochinchina (1862–1945) through a political–economic perspective and the theoretical framework of the center–periphery model. Drawing on diverse primary sources from the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), including the Procès-verbaux du Conseil colonial, Annuaire statistique de l’Indochine, and Bulletin officiel de l’Indochine française, the study reconstructs the power and economic structures that led to Cochinchina's conversion into a dependent economy serving the French capitalist core. Four main pillars of the exploitation system are identified: (1) a centralized administrative apparatus and direct rule; (2) a land monopoly regime and plantation economy; (3) a trade and financial network controlled by French capital; and (4) transport and urban infrastructures designed for export. Within Wallerstein’s theoretical framework, Cochinchina is conceptualized as a “modernized yet dependent periphery,” a region where growth and modernization were tied to dependency. The findings reveal that the colonial system not only drained resources but also constructed a three-level social hierarchy: The French ruling class, an intermediary class of Chinese and French-Vietnamese Eurasians, and the vast majority of native peasants and laborers. By combining qualitative document analysis with quantitative economic data, this article contributes to understanding the structural and enduring nature of Cochinchina’s socioeconomic dependency during the broader formation of global capitalism.