Description

Saigon possessed an ideal strategic location, upon a deep sheltered bend on the Saigon River, with good connections to the sea and the rest of the Mekong Delta.  A new settlement by Vietnamese standards, it only arose during the 17^th century and assumed great importance from 1790 as a military base upon being the site of a massive Vauban-style citadel, Thành Bát Quái (meaning ‘Eight Diagrams’), built by the French mercenary, Victor Olivier de Puymanel, on behalf of the emperor.  By the early 19^th century, Saigon was one of the greatest commercial hubs of Southeast Asia.

 

However, Saigon’s fortunes faded after it was the epicentre of Lê Văn Khôi’s Revolt (1833-4).  Upon defeating the rebellion, Emperor Minh Mạng ordered the Thành Bát Quái to be destroyed so that it could never again be used against him.  In 1836, it was replaced by a modest square fortress, the Phụng Thành (‘La citadelle du Phénix’).

 

During the Cochinchina Campaign (1858-62), French and Spanish forces under Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly sought to conquer southernmost Vietnam, of which taking Saigon was paramount.  During the Battle of Battle of Kỳ Hòa (February 24-5, 1861) they seized the city, however, they were soon encircled by massive Vietnamese forces, resulting in the lengthy Siege of Saigon (February 18, 1859 – February 25, 1861).  Early in the siege, the French, fearing that La citadelle du Phénix might be employed against them if Saigon ever returned the Vietnamese hands, decided to largely destroy the fortress, leaving only skeletal remains.

 

The French eventually prevailed, lifting the siege and taking control over Saigon and the surrounding region, which became the French colony of Cochinchina française.  This entity was to be administered by the French Navy, led by an Admiral who simultaneously served as the civil governor and the Commander-in-Chief of the regional military force, the Corps Expedtionnaire de Cochinchine.

 

In the wake of the Siege of Saigon, the city was a battle-scarred, ramshackle town amidst malarial swamps, and was of not of much value in its present state.  The French prized Saigon’s strategic location, so decided to destroy the existing town, and on a tabula rasa, build a grand city largely on modern European lines.  In this vein, the Governor of Cochinchine française, Vice-Admiral Léonard Victor Joseph Charner, issued the Decree of April 11, 1861, that officially called for the creation of a metropolis fit to serve as the new colonial capital.

 

In due course, Charner’s successor as governor, Admiral Louis Adolphe Bonard (in office, November 30, 1861 – May 1, 1863), appointed the seasoned and respected engineer Lieutenant Colonel Paul Coffyn, who was newly arrived in Saigon, to devise the urban masterplan for the city.

 

Enter Lieutenant Colonel Paul Coffyn 

 

Lucien Florent Paul Coffyn (1810 – 1871), commonly known as ‘Paul Coffyn’, was an important military engineer, urban planner and cartographer, most renowned for his work in France’s overseas possessions.  He was born in Dunkirk, the son of François Joseph Coffyn, a prominent merchant and the U.S. Consul for the Pas-de-Calais region.  He trained as an engineer and joined the Marines Corps du Génie, first serving in Montpellier, Valenciennes and in Algeria.  From 1849 to 1855, Coffyn, with the rank of Commander, served as the Chief of Engineer of Tahiti and the Marquesas, where he made an important town plan of the colonial capital Papeete, “Plan terrier du Domaine de l’Etat. Croquis annexe au Memoire Annuel” (1849), today held by the National Library of New Zealand.  Awarded the Légion d’honneur in 1856, he later served in Nouvelle-Calédonie and in Italy during the Second Italian War of Independence (1859).  In 1861, in the wake of the Opium War, Coffyn, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, become the Chief of the French Engineers in China.  Later that year, he was made the ‘Colonel commandant le Génie en Cochinchine’, whereupon he created the present urban masterplan of Saigon.  His last posting was as the Director of Engineers at the great naval base of Brest.

 

Returning to the masterplan of Saigon, Coffyn worked quickly but carefully, integrating his task with that of his other key role, as the architect of Saigon’s major new public buildings.  He submitted his finished plan (highlighted by the present manuscript map) to Admiral Bonard on April 30, 1862, with his proposal being formally approved by the governor on May 10.

 

The Present Map in Focus

 

The present manuscript is quite likely the most important map of Saigon in existence, being the earliest of the two known manuscripts of Coffyn’s masterplan of the spring of 1862.  Unlike the other (later) version, the present map is personally signed in manuscript by Coffyn and Admiral-Governor Bonard, rendering it ‘the official’ example of the masterplan.

 

The beautifully drafted map, executed entirely in grisaille pen and wash, shows Coffyn’s vision for a newly built city of 500,000 people, covering a territory of around 25 square kilometres.  It showcases an impossibly grand modern European style-city that seemingly ignores its location in the flat swampy Mekong Delta.  With meticulous geometric order, the plan provides the new colonial capital with all the governmental, military, commercial and social institutions befitting a major Western metropolis.  As M.A. Petiton, a mining engineer who lived in Saigon in the late 1860s opined of the urban design, it was made by “a French officer with unlimited confidence in the future of the colony”.

 

The polygonal-shaped city proper is shown to be bounded by the Saigon River, to the west, the Arroyo Chinois (Tàu Hủ), to the south and the Arroyo de l’Avalanche (Thị Nghè) to the northwest (all of which were preexisting bodies of water).  In addition, a canal de ceinture (belt canal) was to be built, in the form of an outward-bulging semi-circle connecting the two arroyos, so rending Saigon an island, a critical factor for defence and flood control.  On the banks of the river and arroyos opposite the city proper were to be suburbs.

 

As shown, Coffyn’s Saigon was to consist of a rational grid of streets largely at 45-degree orthogonals from the Saigon River.  The city centre was located upon the land by the Saigon River, between the lower courses of the arroyos, and was centred upon a rondpointe, a semi-circular plaza by the quayside.  The streets are all identified by numbers, save for Rue Impériale (now Hai Bà Trưng Street), which runs northeast from the rondpointe, and which was to be the main street, or division street.  Coffyn intended the intra-muros (downtown) to be divided into two zones, with the areas the right (northeast) of Rue Impériale being the administrative district of around 200 hectares (including the partially rebuilt outlines of La citadelle du Phénix), while the commercial and industrial district, of 2,300 hectares, was to be to the left (southeast) of the thoroughfare.  The inner city lots were generally smaller, intended for more intensive development, while several canals added space and assisted drainage.

 

The bulk of the city beyond, the extra-muros, was to largely consist of residential areas, including many fine estates on large lots.  At the centre of the residential zone was to be a large park and basin, connected to the Arroyo Chinois and the belt canal by channels.

 

Everything was to be carefully regulated, to uniform standards.  Streets were to be strait and to intersect at right of nearly right angles.  Major streets were to be 40 metres wide (sufficient to someday host a tramway), while minor thoroughfares were to be 20 metres wide, while all streets were to be lined with trees to provide protection from the sun.  In fact, Coffyn envisaged that “the inhabitants will enjoy a beautiful tree-lined promenade of about 20 kilometers in length”.  The widths of the sidewalks (which were to be mandatory along all streets) were strictly regulated.  Lot sizes were the be as follows, with the 1^st category being merchants’ houses on the quays: 10 m x 12 m (120 m²); the 2^nd category being large merchants’ houses on the quays: 20 m x 20 m (400 m²); the 3rd category, being houses in the intra-muros (downtown) zones: 20 m x 80 m (1,600 m²); while the 4^th category were houses located in the extra-muros zones: 50 m x 90 m (4,500 m²).

 

While each district of the city was to have its own small park, Coffyn’s plan did not allow for much greenspace or large open public spaces in the city proper.  This was due to security concerns, as such large parks and squares could be used for marshalling protests and insurgencies.

 

Coffyn and his superiors intended for Saigon the be a segregated city, with the intra-muros dominated by European-owned businesses, while the residential areas of the extra-muros were to host the homes of white colonists.  The Vietnamese and other Asian peoples were to mainly live in the suburbs, beyond the river and the arroyos.  Here, segregation was to be achieved by economic circumstances, as opposed to legislation.  Indeed, even before Coffyn submitted the present plan to Bonard lots in the city were being auctioned off.  Land speculation exploded once Saigon’s urban lots were opened to French, German, English, American and Singaporean traders.  Land values soared to fantastic values.  Vietnamese and other Asians were generally unable to afford properties within Saigon proper, especially those in key locations.  As such, and as intended, Saigon proper became a white-dominated city.

 

In the ‘Légende’, lower right, Coffyn identifies the proposed locations of 30 key government, military and commercial institutions, as follows:

 

1. 1. Gouvernement et Administration Sup.re [Supreme Government and Administration Office, located within La citadelle du Phénix].

 

2. Caserne des Troupes Indigènes [Barracks for Indigenous Troops].

 

3. Caserne de Cavalerie [Barracks for Cavalry].

 

4. Caserne d’Infanterie de Marine [Barracks for the Marines].

 

5. Champ des Manouvres [Field for Military Manoeuvres].

 

6. Cimetière [Cemetery].

 

7. Prisons [Prisons].

 

8. Hôpital [Hospital].

 

9. Arsenal [Arsenal].

 

10. Caserne du Génie [Barracks for the Engineering Corps].

 

11. Magasine aux Vivers et Magasin Général [Food Storage Magazine and General Magazine].

 

12. Construction Navales [Naval Construction Grounds].

 

13. Dépôt de Charbons [Coal Depot].

 

14. Gouvernement Provisoire (Doit devneir Place Pbl.) [Provisional Government Office (will become the Place Publique)].

 

15. Messagerie Impériales [Imperial Post & Telegraph Office].

 

16. Direction du Port de Commerce [Commercial Harbour Master’s Office].

 

17. Direction du Port Militaire [Military Port HQ].

 

18. Terrains occupées provisoirement par Les Troupes Espagnols, L’Artillerie d Marine, La Génie Militaire, L’Hôpital, Le Dépôt de Coolis, L’Hydrographie [Land temporarily occupied by Spanish Troops, Marine Artillery, Military Engineering, Hospital, Coolie’s Depot, Hydrographic Office].

 

19. Terrains occupées provisoirement par Magasin Général [Land temporarily occupied by the General Magazine].

 

20. Terrains occupées provisoirement par Les Subsistances [Land temporarily occupied by the Military Storehouse].

 

21. Terrains occupées provisoirement par Le Camp des Lettrés [Land temporarily occupied by the Camp des Lettrés].

 

22. Terrains occupées provisoirement par De Construction Navales [Land temporarily occupied by the Naval Construction Grounds].

 

23. Terrain réservés pour la Ville et les Établs. Publies [Land reserved for the City and Public Establishments].

 

24. Cathédrale [Cathedral].

 

25. Le Champ de Mars [Military Parade Ground].

 

26. Terrain réservés pour l’Hôpital de [Cho-Quan] [Land reserved for the [Cho-Quan] Hospital]

 

27. Marché couvert [Covered Market].

 

28. Préfecture [Prefecture Offices].

 

29. Terrain réservé prov.r pour les Casernes d’Infantr. [Land provisionally reserved for the Infantry Barracks].

 

30. Terrain réservé prov.re pour le fort des Clochelons [Land provisionally reserved for the Bell Tower].

 

Importantly, the present manuscript seems to be the original, and official version of the plan that Coffyn submitted to Admiral-Governor Bonard for his approval.  In addition to being finely executed in the manner of a presentation piece for a VIP, it is personally singed in manuscript by both principals.

 

In the bottom middle of the map a passage reads “Fait sous la direction du Colonel du Genie, Architecte des Bâtiments Civils” [Colonel of Engineers, Architect of Public Buildings], with Coffyn’s authentic signature appearing below in brown pen.  In the lower right corner is a passage which reads: “Vu and Approuvé Le Vice-Amiral Commandant en Chef” [Seen and Approved, The Vice-Admiral Commander-in-Chief], with Bonard’s authentic signature appearing below in brown pen.  Additionally, in the lower left, the map is signed by the draftsman of the Engineering Corps who drew the map to Coffyn’s specifications.

 

There is another known manuscript version of Coffyn’s masterplan of Saigon, held by the Archives nationales d’outre-mer (ANOM, Aix-en-Provence).  Please see this link, courtesy of Virtual Saigon:

 

https://virtual-saigon.net/Maps/Collection?ID=1267#:~:text=Projet%20de%20ville%20de%20500%20000%20âmes%20à%20Saigon.,-Document%20ID&text=Le%20projet%20de%20ville%20du,de%20Saigon%20et%20de%20Cholon

 

The ANOM plan has the same title, features nearly identical content and is drafted to the same scale.  However, it is coloured, althogh the draftmantship is not quite as refiend as on the present map.  This map was clearly made after the present work, as it is not personally signed by Coffyn and Bonard, while it adds a detial that missing on the present manuscript being the name of the hosptial [Cho-Quan], cited as no. 26 of the ‘Légende’.

 

The Coffyn Plan’s Legacy: The Blueprint for Saigon

 

While Admiral-Governor Bonard formally approved Coffyn’s urban plan for Saigon as depicted upon the present map, this decision was soon overruled by the French Government in Paris.  While then plan impressed many, Coffyns’ grandiose vision was partially rejected for being far too expensive.  Moreover, France did not have the desire or ability to attract 500,000 people to Saigon.

 

However, Coffyn’s plan was not rejected wholesale.  On the contrary, it was used as the definitive blueprint for building Saigon’s intra-muros (city centre), which commenced full throttle in 1865.  There, his street plan was almost precisely followed, although most of the canals in the downtown were filled-in to make wider streets (this was done to aid traffic flow and for health reasons).  Moreover, even the locations of many key sites, as desginated by Coffyn, were built where he suggested.  Specifially, nos. 6, 9, 11, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, as identified on the Legend on Coffyn’s map, were eventually built in the same location.

 

It is important to note that Saigon did not expand beyond its downtown area until well into the 20^th century, as the city did not grow nearly as quickly as Coffyn proposed (in 1900, the population of Saigon was only 166,000).  As such, for decades Coffyn’s plans for the extra-muros, or outward residential areas, were a moot point.

 

It is also worth noting that in the early 1870s, the colonial regime tried to build Coffyn’s proposed belt canal around Saigon (so making it an island), employing as many as 40,000 labourers to the task.  However, for financial reasons, the canal was never fully realized.

 

A comparison of Coffyn’s plan to the official map of Saigon from 1878, the Chef du service des Travaux publics’s Plan de la Ville de Saigon (Cochinchine) 1878 (Paris: Challamel aîné, 1878), confirms that Coffyn’s designs were largely followed during the construction of central Saigon.  Please see this link courtesy of Wikipedia Commons:

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Map_of_Saigon_1878.jpg

 

Coffyn’s design remained the only official urban plan of Saigon until the 1920s, when the celebrated Ernest Hébrard, the head of the Indochina Architecture and Town Planning Service, designed the city’s outward neighbourhoods, on different scheme.  Yet, today, many key aspects of Coffyn’s design remain present in Old Saigon.

 

The historian Cam Duong Ly Nguyen eloquently sums up the legacy of Coffyn’s plan (as translated from his original French):

 

Coffyn’s plan left remarkable marks on the city of Saigon. First, it helped to preserve and enhance the natural waterways – a major feature of Saigon – on which almost all local economic activities depend. Largely accessible by river, Saigon had become the main commercial center of southern Vietnam in the 17th century and one of the great trading ports of Southeast Asia in the early 19th century. Port activity had developed strongly there thanks to intense traffic of goods along the arroyos and a massive arrival of merchant ships. However, Saigon’s water network has deteriorated over time due to, on the one hand, the devastation of wars and, on the other hand, the impacts of recent spontaneous urbanization. Indeed, some arroyos have been filled in and others have been seriously polluted. Faced with this situation, local authorities have undertaken major efforts to preserve the waterways available to the southern metropolis. This is evidenced by the recent redevelopment operations of the arroyos, thanks to which urban sanitation is constantly improving. These efforts are giving Saigon’s waterways the opportunity to regain their former glory. We are thus witnessing the recent prosperity of the flower and ornamental plant trade along these arroyos, particularly in the run-up to the country’s traditional festival.

 

Secondly, the organization of urban space on the Western model remains largely dependent on Coffyn’s plan. Inspired by the Haussmannian heritage, he brought to the city of Saigon a grid layout in which large streets intersect, perpendicular and parallel to the river and the Arroyos. This spatial configuration remains a major achievement of French influence in the urban domain.

 

Thirdly, the urban plan drawn up by Coffyn allowed Saigon to create an abundance of green spaces with a large number of parks, gardens and rows of trees along the streets. This green landscape is part of the daily life of several generations of Saigonese. It has also become a source of inspiration for Vietnamese songs and poems. This is the case, for example, of the famous song “Con đường có lá me bay” (The Street with Flying Tamarind Leaves), through which the cultural wealth of the local streets is expressed. Thanks to its shaded streets, Saigon is made romantic and poetic in the eyes of locals and visitors.

 

The Coffyn Plan has left an important legacy to the city of Saigon in terms of urban planning. Its achievements have lasted until today, through the preservation of waterways, the development of streets and the creation of green spaces in Western style. This is a remarkable cultural heritage but also an illustration of the harmonious intersection between Vietnamese culture and French civilization, thanks to which Saigon was named “The Pearl of the Far East”. The Coffyn Plan therefore constitutes the essential premises for the spatial configuration of Saigon in the past, but also for the urban development of Ho Chi Minh City today. (Cam Duong Ly Nguyen, ‘Les prémisses de l’urbanisation de Saigon-Ho Chi Minh-Ville Empreintes du patrimoine culturel français sur l’évolution urbaine locale’, pp. 66-7).

 

References: Cf. [Re: the other mss. version of the plan:] Archives nationales d’outre-mer (ANOM, Aix-en-Provence): DFC Asie. Cote XXV/mémoires/104/51; Anne BURLAT, Processus institutionnels et dynamique urbaine dans l’urbanisation contemporaine de Ho Chi Minh-Ville, 1988-1998. Planification, production, gestion des secteurs d’habitat, Ph.D. Thesis, Université de Lyon II (novembre 2001), pp. 36-52; Erik HARMS, Luxury and Rubble: Civility and Dispossession in the New Saigon (University of California Press, 2016) p. 137; Caroline Herbelin, Christophe Bertrand, Jean-François Klein (eds.), Indochine des territoires et des hommes, 1856-1956 (Paris: Musée de l’Armée, 2013), p.  84; Cam Duong Ly NGUYEN, ‘Les prémisses de l’urbanisation de Saigon-Ho Chi Minh-Ville Empreintes du patrimoine culturel français sur l’évolution urbaine locale’, Faire Savoirs, N° 12 (décembre 2015), pp. 59-68; Société des études indochinoises, Part I (1974), p. 110; Gwendolyn WRIGHT, The Politics of Design in French Colonial Urbanism (1991), p. 171.