The Age of the Sea Falconsgulfs.^17 To the south is the amorphous landscape of the lower Mekong.
Swamps, river systems, estuaries, ports, and the Gulf of Siam dominate
the topography. Numerous islands around the coastline provide navi-
gational orientation, shelter, seafaring supplies, and naval bases.^18 This
geography has played an important role in Vietnamese history and has
allowed both state and non-state maritime actors to flourish.^19
The dynamic relationship between the physical terrain and navy
may have been responsible for the shifting power paradigm among the
Vietnamese between 1600 and 1800. The evolution of naval technology
allowed the Vietnamese not only to engage successfully with a complex
natural landscape, but also to expand their political projection over the
Cham, Khmer, and other groups. During their encounter with those
peoples, the Vietnamese were able to learn from other maritime tradi-
tions.^20 Most important among these was probably the Cham, who were
believed to have sailed across the South China Sea to the Philippines
in search of gold during the eleventh century.^21 When the Nguyen
established their control in Cochinchina in the late sixteenth century,
they relied heavily on coastal operations for both state-formation and
competing with their rivals. By the end of the sixteenth century, Nguyen
- Notable among these are Cam Ranh, Nha Phu, Van Phong, Vung Ro, Da Rang
estuary (Phu Yen), O Loan, Lam Bay, Xuan Dai, Cu Mong, Thi Nai, Nuoc Man,
Tra Khuc Estuary, Sa Ky, Dung Quat, Tam Giang, Cua Dai (Hoi An), Da Nang,
Chan May, Ha Trung, Nhat Le, Ly Hoa, Gianh River, and Vung Ang. - Significant among these are Tho Chu, Phu Quoc, Hon Khoai, Con Dao, Ly Son,
Cu Lao Cham, and Con Co - Charles Wheeler suggests that“... before the twentieth century, waterways were
the preferred and often the sole mode of transportation... When faced with
mountain wall, Vietnamese, a coastal people, simply passed around it, in boats...”
Charles Wheeler, “A Maritime Logic to Vietnamese History? Littoral Society in
Hoi An trading World c. 1550–1830”, Conference Proceedings, Seascapes, Littoral
Cultures, and Trans-Oceanic Exchanges, 12–15 February 2003, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C. http://www.historycooperative.org/proceedings/ seascapes/
wheeler.html. (accessed March 2017). - P. Paris, “Esquisse d’une ethnographic navale des pays annamites”, Bulletin des Amis
des Vieux Hue 4 (1942): 353–54, 364, 425, 431. - Roxanna M. Brown and Peter Burns, “Eleventh century Cham–Philippines
Foreign Affairs”, in National Committee for the International Symposium on
the Ancient Town of Hoi An, Ancient Town of Hoi An (Hanoi: The Gioi, 1991):
101–06; Anthony Reid, “Chams in the Southeast Asian Maritime System”, in idem
(ed.), Charting the Shape of Early Modern Southeast Asia (Chiangmai: Silkworm
Books, 1999): 49–53.