Cao Lãnh

The name Cao Lãnh originates from the earlier term “Câu Lãnh,” in which “Câu” refers to the old village title “câu đương,” a local official responsible for assisting with minor legal matters, maintaining order, and carrying out administrative tasks, while “Lãnh” was the personal name of a man named Đỗ Công Tường; people therefore called him “Ông Câu Lãnh” (Mr. Lãnh, the câu đương), and the market he established became known as “Chợ Câu Lãnh,” which over time was gradually transformed in pronunciation into “Cao Lãnh,” eventually becoming the official name of the area. ^[2]

During the French colonial period Cao Lãnh found some supporters for the nationalist appeal of Trần Huy Liệu's Đông Pháp Thời Báo (Indochina Times) founded in May 1923.^[3] Later, in the initial resistance to the French in 1945, the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng and others in the South merged to form the Third Division of the popular army. Cao Lãnh was where the troops were reorganized into 23 units each of 500-600 men.^[4]

Prior to 1975, Cao Lãnh was the capital of Kiến Phong province, in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. In February 1976, Kiến Phong was merged with Sa Đéc Province to become Đồng Tháp Province. Sa Đéc became the capital city of the new province. Cao Lãnh replaced Sa Đéc as the capital on April 24, 1994, and became a city in October 2007.