In 1847, French vessels dispatched by Admiral Cécille bombarded Đà Nẵng, ostensibly on the grounds of alleged persecution of Roman Catholic missionaries.
In August 1858, once again ostensibly on the grounds of religious persecution, French troops, led by Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly, and under the orders of Napoleon III, landed in Đà Nẵng as part of the punitive Cochinchina Campaign.

The French overpowered the Vietnamese stationed in Da Nang, swiftly occupying the city and Tiên Sa peninsula (present-day Sơn Trà peninsula).
The occupying forces were quickly placed under siege by the Vietnamese army under the command of Nguyễn Tri Phương, and were eventually forced to retreat in March 1860.
The French were able to invade the southern stronghold of Saigon and, in June 1862, several provinces of southern Vietnam were ceded to the French as Cochinchina with the signing of the Treaty of Saigon.

Through two more decades of conflict, the French gradually strengthened their hold on Vietnam, culminating in the establishment of French Indochina (French: Union de l'Indochine Française) in October 1887.
Two years later, in 1889, the French colonists renamed the city Tourane, placing it under the control of the Governor General of French Indochina.
It came to be considered one of Indochina's five major cities, among Hanoi, Saigon–Cholon, Haiphong, and Huế.
In 1847, French vessels dispatched by Admiral Cécille bombarded Đà Nẵng, ostensibly on the grounds of alleged persecution of Roman Catholic missionaries. In August 1858, once again ostensibly on the grounds of religious persecution, French troops, led by Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly, and under the orders of Napoleon III, landed in Đà Nẵng as part of the punitive Cochinchina Campaign.
The French overpowered the Vietnamese stationed in Da Nang, swiftly occupying the city and Tiên Sa peninsula (present-day Sơn Trà peninsula). The occupying forces were quickly placed under siege by the Vietnamese army under the command of Nguyễn Tri Phương, and were eventually forced to retreat in March 1860. The French were able to invade the southern stronghold of Saigon and, in June 1862, several provinces of southern Vietnam were ceded to the French as Cochinchina with the signing of the Treaty of Saigon.
Through two more decades of conflict, the French gradually strengthened their hold on Vietnam, culminating in the establishment of French Indochina (French: Union de l'Indochine Française) in October 1887. Two years later, in 1889, the French colonists renamed the city Tourane, placing it under the control of the Governor General of French Indochina. It came to be considered one of Indochina's five major cities, among Hanoi, Saigon–Cholon, Haiphong, and Huế.
Da Nang