This is the first detailed study in English of the Tay Son Uprising of 1771-1802, which started in a hamlet in the mountains of south-central Vietnam, and by the beginning of the 19th century, had profoundly altered the political and social landscape of the country. Vietnamese and missionary archival material is used to highlight the communitarian idealism of the first peasant supporters, the political opportunism of the movement's leaders and the often-conflicting involvements of outlaws, pirates, minority coastal peoples and local Christians. Legacies of violent and bitter experiences have been evident in the two centuries that followed. With bibliography and index.