Tự Đức's Catholic persecution (original) (raw)

From 1849 to 1862, during the early years of the Vietnamese emperor Tự Đức (r. 1848–1883) of Vietnam, the most intense, brutal and bloodiest anti-Christian persecution ever in history happened in Vietnam, also was the last state-sponsored persecution of Catholic Christians in Vietnam, as a part of Tự Đức's efforts to eradicate every trace of Vietnamese Christianity. The persecution suddenly stopped in 1862 after a royal decree was passed by Tự Đức himself which granted Catholicism legitimate freedom to practice and protection.