Đàng Trong
Đàng Trong, also known as Nam Hà, was the South region of Vietnam, under the rule of the Nguyễn lords, later enlarged by the Vietnamese southward expansion. The word "Đàng Trong" first appeared in the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum by Alexandre de Rhodes. Contemporary European sources called it Cochinchina or Quinan.
During the 17th century and almost all the 18th century, Đàng Trong was a de facto independent kingdom ruled by the Nguyễn lords while they claimed to be loyal subjects of the Lê emperors in Thăng Long. It was bordered by Đàng Ngoài along the Linh River. Nguyễn rulers titled themselves as Chúa instead of Vua or King until Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát claimed the title Vũ Vương in 1774. The country did not have an official name, foreigners often called the kingdom Quảng Nam Quốc, after the Quảng Nam Governorate where the important harbor Hội An located.
