Delta to Delta

For much of its pre-modern history, the land of Vietnam consisted of three distinct geographical, cultural and political entities:the original Vietnamese homeland in the north, the Cham Kingdoms in the center and the Khmer-inhabited Mekong Delta in the south. This began to change in the 15th century with the Vietnamese southward movement. Delta to Delta: The Vietnamese Move South is the story of this migration, why and how it happened, complicated and abetted by the disruptions of civil wars, the century-long division of the country and social developments from the accession of Le Thanh Tong in 1460 to the establishment of the Nguyen Dynasty in 1802, and describes the cultural influences absorbed by the Vietnamese in their relations with the Cham, the Khmer and the first Europeans. It is the story of how Vietnam became the nation it is today.