The 1782 Saigon Massacre was a massacre of ethnic Chinese carried out by the Vietnamese Tây Sán rebels under the leadership of Nguyá» n Nhạc in 1782 in the city of Saigon, which is modern-day Ho Chi Minh City.
During the early phase of the Vietnamese civil war of 1771âÂÂ1802, many Chinese formed a military group called the HoàNghéa army that fought for the Nguyen lord who was the Tây Sán's enemy. In 1782 the Tây Sán led by Nguyá» n Nhạc launched an attack on Saigon and succeeded in capturing the city. However, one of Nhạc's key lieutenants was killed by an ethnic Chinese general fighting for the Nguyen. Nhạc decided to clean out Chinese settlers in Saigon. Tây Sán troops burned and pillaged the shops of Chinese merchants and massacred thousands of Chinese residents. This was more generally reflected by Tây Sán's anger at the increasing support given by the Chinese community to their Nguyen rivals. After this victory, the Tây Sán leaders returned north in June, leaving the city in the hands of their lieutenants. Chinese civilian death toll ranged from 4,000 to 20,000.