The Age of the Sea FalconsNguyen chronicle states, were frequent suppliers of Nguyen Phuc Anh’s
navy. The 1789 order, for instance, requested the construction of more
than 40 large warships (dai chien chu) and more than 100 ghe tau vessels.
Officers in Tran Bien, Tran Dinh, and Vinh Tran also provided a con-
siderable amount of timber. Every group of 40 soldiers were required
to provide enough planks to construct one ship. Among Nguyen Phuc
Anh’s priorities after capturing Saigon in 1788 was the recruitment of
crews and equipment for the fleets.^34 Large shipyards and construction
sites were erected along the riverbank to the northeast of Gia Dinh that
was said to be 1.5 kilometers in length.^35
The results of the shipbuilding industry during the 1790s were
extremely impressive. The Veritable Records confirm that until 1821,
3,190 vessels of all sorts were constructed by the Nguyen. The same
reference indicates that in the time of Nguyen Phuc Anh (1778–1820),
the dynasty built 235 ghe bau vessels, 460 Sai warships, 490 warships, 77
large warships, 60 sailing ships in western style, 100 O vessels, and 60
Le vessels, which in total numbered 1,482.^36 Such a dramatic increase in
ship construction was crucial for the success of the Nguyen’s monsoon
campaign (1792–1799). The industry was able to provide not only suf-
ficient vessels to the navy but also a large number to regional markets
in exchange for weapons and other supplies. Portuguese and Chinese
merchants from Macau and Manila reportedly purchased vessels from
Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era, 206. “Bau” is probably the Vietnamese
pronunciation of the Malay term prao. We do not have a precise understanding
of why this is the case. Pham points out that a more detailed examination needs
to be conducted to position “ghe bau” within the Malay shipbuilding tradition.
She argues that ghe bau is not a typical Cham boat; and the words proa and ghe
bau are generic terms for different kinds of sailing vessels that are too broad to
draw any conclusions regarding cultural or technical exchange. See Charlotte Minh
Hà Pham, “The Vietnamese Coastline”: 155. We can be certain however, of the
wide use of the proa or ghe bau in Cochinchina’s waters between the sixteenth and
eighteenth centuries, and that the Vietnamese adapted this shipbuilding technique
on their way to the south from the Cham. See Li Tana, “An Alternative Vietnam?
The Nguyen Kingdom in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries”, Journal of
Southeast Asian Studies 29.1 (1998): 117.- White, A Voyage to Cochin China, 92.
- Trinh Hoai Duc, Gia Dinh Thanh Thong Chi (Gia Dinh Gazetteer), hereafter
GDTTC (Sai Gon: Nha van hoa phu Quoc vu khanh, 1972): quyen 6, 4a. - Li Tana, “Ship and Ship Building in Vietnam, 18–19th Century” (in Vietnamese),
Journal of Research and Development 4.38 (2002): 81.