Ho Chi Minh City was founded in the 18th century by Vietnamese refugees migrating southward to escape civil war in the north. The refugees formed a small settlement on the Ben Nghe (now the Tàu Hú) River, a tributary of the larger Sai Gon River. Soon after, Chinese merchants began to settle in the area and the town gradually became one of the commercial hubs in the region. In the early 19th century the ruling Nguyen dynasty named the town Gia Dinh, and after the French conquered the area in 1859 the city was named Saigon. The origins of the name are uncertain, but the Chinese translation of Saigon is “Western Palace.”
During the French colonial era, Saigon was the capital of the French colony of Cochin China. French rule ended in 1954 after years of fighting between French and Vietnamese forces. Under the terms of the peace settlement, Vietnam was temporarily divided into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam); Saigon became the capital of South Vietnam. In the 1960s the city was at times the scene of heavy fighting during the Vietnam War. Its population grew rapidly with the introduction of refugees, in addition to the many U.S. troops and officials stationed there. At the end of the war in 1975 the North Vietnamese captured Saigon, and when Vietnam was reunified in 1976, the city's name was changed to Ho Chi Minh City. Most of its residents, however, still call it Saigon.
