Abdication of Bảo Đại in the context of Japanese puppet state

Prior to the abdication of Bảo Đại on 25 August 1945 during the August Revolution, Vietnam was ruled by a series of dynasties of either local or Chinese origin. The following is a list of major dynasties in the history of Vietnam.

Tonkin (chữ Hán: 東京), or Bắc Kỳ (北圻), was a French protectorate encompassing modern Northern Vietnam from 1883 to 1949. Like the French protectorate of Annam, Tonkin was still nominally ruled by the Vietnamese Nguyễn dynasty. In 1886, the French separated Tonkin from the Nguyễn imperial court in Huế by establishing the office of "Viceroy" (經略衙, Kinh lược nha). However, on 26 July 1897, the position of Viceroy was abolished, officially making the French resident-superior of Tonkin both the representative of the French colonial administration and the Nguyễn dynasty court in Huế, giving him the power to appoint local mandarins. In 1887, Tonkin became a part of the Union of Indochina.

In March 1945, the emperor Bảo Đại rescinded the Patenôtre Treaty, ending the French protectorates over Annam and Tonkin, establishing the Empire of Vietnam, a Japanese-backed state. Following the surrender of Japan, ending World War II, the Việt Minh launched the August Revolution which led to the abdication of Bảo Đại and the declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Bảo Đại (Vietnamese: [ɓa᷉ːw ɗâːjˀ], chữ Hán: 保大, lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 1913 – 31 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc (Phước) Vĩnh Thụy (chữ Hán: 阮福永瑞), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was de jure emperor of Annam and Tonkin, which were then protectorates in French Indochina, covering the present-day central and northern Vietnam. Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1932.

The Japanese ousted the Vichy French administration in March 1945 and ruled through Bảo Đại, who proclaimed the Empire of Vietnam. He abdicated in August 1945 after Japan surrendered.

The Empire of Vietnam was a short-lived puppet state of Imperial Japan between March 11 and August 25, 1945. It was a member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It was ruled by the Nguyễn dynasty and created when Emperor Bảo Đại declared independence for Vietnam (Tonkin and Annam) from French protection. At the end of its existence, on 14 August 1945, the empire also successfully reclaimed Cochinchina as part of Vietnam.

The declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Tuyên ngôn độc lập Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa) was written by Hồ Chí Minh, and announced in public at the Ba Đình square in Hanoi on 2 September 1945. It led to the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), replacing the Empire of Vietnam under the Nguyễn dynasty and Emperor Bảo Đại, who abdicated on August 25.

This declaration was a declaration of independence from France, but France had initially never recognized the DRV. France formed the independent and unified State of Vietnam within the French Union when the Élysée Accords took effect on 14 June 1949, as an alternative method to solve the Vietnam question. This associated state would become the Republic of Vietnam. The declaration is also considered the foundation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam although this state was actually formed on 2 July 1976.