Bao Dai Quotes
The time has come to put an end to the fratricidal war and to recover at last peace and accord.
Bảo Đại. Le Dragon d'Annam. Plon, 1980.
This is the quotation that came to define Chamberlain’s naivety for history and the icon of failed diplomacy. However to see the beginning of the sequence of events that would lead up to this statement, see {585940} when Chamberlain suggested the infamous meeting in Munich. There had been an interesting history to Chamberlain’s appeasement of Germany. 39 years earlier, Chamberlain’s father, then Britain’s Colonial Secretary, and advocated a natural alliance with Germany. See Joseph Chamberlain, 1836-1914: {585939}.
This idea came from Dutch Philosopher Benedict Spinoza. See his quotation from 1677.
Chivington led troops to attack hostile Indians. When they arrived at Sand Creek, the most militant young Indian men had left. The others did not want to fight, displayed white flags and wanted to negotiate. Chivington made his famous statement, attacked the Indians and massacred most of them including the ones who were trying to surrender with white flags. See {597566}.
Originally published as The Cynic’s Word Book
Bảo Đại, born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy, was the 13th and final Emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling family of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was Emperor of Annam, which was then a protectorate in French Indochina, covering the central two thirds of the present-day Vietnam. Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1932.
