Period of 1883 - 1955

French Domination 1883 - 1945

The period of French domination began with the first cannon-shot upon Đà Nẵng in 1858. Step by step, the aggressors occupied various provinces of North Vietnam, before twice attacking the Hà Nội Citadel. On March 12, 1883, two warships ventured deep into Hạ Long Bay. After anchoring in the coastal region of Cửa Lục, troops landed and took possession of  Bãi Cháy Hill. The area of Quảng Ninh was occupied from then on.
The revolutionary movement spread out to all the regions in the province. After the establishment of Đông Triều Trần Hưng Đạo Revolutionary Base on June 8, 1945, many revolutionary bases were established. The victory of seizing political power in the province capital of Quảng Yên, Quảng Ninh was the first province to seize the political power in the northeast region.   
Later, the Guerrilla Troop of Đông Triều became the Armed Forces Troop for Liberation; establishing their presence in Hải Phòng, Kiến An, Hải Dương, Hòn Gai, Cẩm Phả, Tiên Yên, Đầm Hà and Móng Cái.
The colonialists paid special attention to coal in the province. After the Nguyễn Court signed treaties handing land over to the French, they gradually started to take possession of this resource. On August 26, 1888, in Huế, Nguyễn representatives conceded the coal-mining region of Hòn Gai for a period of 100 years. In 1888, the General Governor of Indochina signed a decision that conceded the island of Cái Bầu to a French merchant. In 1890, the Huế Court made further concessions, by selling the coal-mining region of Đông Triều.  Further lands were gradually conceded through decisions made by the French General Governor.
In 1888, various French coal companies were established. The greatest among them was the French Society of Coal-Mines in Bắc Kỳ, which held a monopoly on the vast Hòn Gai-Cẩm Phả region. The colonialists helped mine proprietors to recruit thousands of Vietnamese workers from the Northern Delta and Thanh-Nghệ-Tĩnh regions. Although the French provided new mining and transportation equipment, the extracting, shoveling and transporting of coal remained manual and strenuous. Working deep inside the pits was no treat either.
The colonialists managed miners with techniques such as whipping and wage retrenchment. They were the victims of intermittent misfortunes, such as the collapsing of mines and disease. Over 67 years, colonialist proprietors profited by exploiting over 30 million tons of Vietnamese coal.
In 1928, the Vietnam Youth Revolutionary Association, the predecessor to the Communist Party, appointed a large number of its members to try to promote the proletarization of the mines. From there, the revolutionary movement moved from spontaneous and scattered reactions to organized and conscious strikes.
On June 17, 1929, the Communist Party of Indochina was founded in the North. Among the early activities led by the Party's branches, the one with the largest impact was the commemoration of Russia’s October Revolution. On November 7, 1929, the hammer and sickle could be seen fluttering in the wind in townships throughout Quảng Ninh.
On February 3, 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam was founded. By the end of the month, a faction had formed in the mine of Mạo Khê. The faction issued a journal named Coal, and the number of Party members gradually increased.
Along with the development of the Communist Party, there was the growth of many mass organizations; the first of which was the Red Labour Association. Manifestations reached a larger and larger scale, the most successful being the commemoration of International Labour Day: celebrated for the first time in Vietnam. On May 1, 1930, the hammer and sickle flag flew from Bài Thơ Mountain.
From early-1931 on, the movement saw retaliation, with Party members and civilians being arrested and imprisoned. It abated temporarily, before bursting out again with violent force in the Popular Front Period, which lasted from 1936 to 1939. In the middle of 1936, many Party members who had been released from prison returned to the mines to lead the movement. On November 13, 1936, a general strike spread from Cẩm Phả to Hòn Gai, having an impact on all the mines and factories in the province. Over 30,000 miners participated, demanding higher wages, less working time and better conditions. After 10 days of drastic struggle, the proprietors accepted their demands.
By September 1939, in the midst of the Second World War, the Japanese launched an attack on Indochina. As the war spread, coal production decreased. The revolutionary movement was repressed after the French and Japanese established their joint rule, but in late-1940 some Party factions in Quảng Yên and Uông Bí were re-founded. The revolutionary strategy had been drawn, and the Việt Minh Front (Vietnam Independence League) was founded. Việt Minh organizations were established in Quảng Yên, Uông Bí, Đông Triều, Móng Cái and Hòn Gai. In mid-1945, in the Đông Triều area, miners from Mạo Khê and young peasants from villages gathered and established the Guerrilla Troop.
At Móng Cái, troops under the pretext of Allied forces fighting the Japanese, overflowed and drew along with them Viêt Quốc (Vietnam Nationalist Party) and Viêt Cách (Vietnam Revolutionary Association) reactionaries. The Việt Minh organization of Móng Cái organized a manifestation to boost the prestige of the revolution, and later, established training grounds on Vĩnh Thực Island.
On June 8, 1945, the Guerrilla Troop of Đông Triều Trần Hưng Đạo Revolutionary Base was established, and tore down four Japanese posts in Chí Linh, Đông Triều, Mạo Khê and Tràng Bạch only in a day. A short time later, the Guerrilla Troop marched on Uông Bí, attacking two others Japanese forts. On July 20, 1945, they occupied the provincial capital of Quảng Yên. The armed force developed increasingly and achieved many victories in this region.

Period from 1946 - 1955

 The Quảng Ninh front was a violent one. On the Eastern of the province, the French established Nùng autonomous region and the Mán corridor which caused many difficulties for Việt Minh. Việt Minh attacked to the east (Đông tiến) twice to establish the revolutionary bases. Most of the province was full of French posts, but regional troops and guerrillas initiated thousands of battles. The more the Revolutionary Armed Force attacked, the more they had strongly.
After Điện Biên Phủ Campaign and the Geneva Agreement concluded, the central zone of Quảng Ninh was appointed a regrouping spot for French troops. On April 24, 1955, the last French soldier left Bãi Cháy. Quảng Ninh has been liberated since then.