Pa Chay Vue, (RPA: Paj Cai Vwj or Puas Cai Vue), commonly referred to as Pa Chay or Batchai, led the Hmong people in the War of the Insane revolt against French rule in French Indochina from 1918 to 1921. He was considered a hero among the Hmong nationalists, and a crazed man among the French subdued Hmong - but in present times, he is unanimously considered a hero by Hmong People everywhere.
France had consolidated its political rule over Indoch...
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Pa Chay Vue, (RPA: Paj Cai Vwj or Puas Cai Vue), commonly referred to as Pa Chay or Batchai, led the Hmong people in the War of the Insane revolt against French rule in French Indochina from 1918 to 1921. He was considered a hero among the Hmong nationalists, and a crazed man among the French subdued Hmong - but in present times, he is unanimously considered a hero by Hmong People everywhere.
France had consolidated its political rule over Indochina in Southeast Asia in the late 19th century. In 1918 the French colonial power in Indochina was still strong, but the ongoing First World War in Europe was beginning to weaken their political authority. The French heavily taxed the native peoples of Indochina; those who could not pay with silver or opium were forced to sell their children to pay. As a way to make colonialism more profitable and as a way to have the people 'earn their keep' as colonial subjects, the French also forced corvee labor.
Pa Chay was an orphan who grew up in the...
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