Cochinchina is a region encompassing the southern third of Vietnam including Saigon; or Ho Chi Minh City. It was a French colony from 1862 to 1948. In 1864; all French territories in southern Vietnam were declared to be the new French colony of Cochinchina; which was to be governed by Admiral Jules Marie Dupr?from 1868-74. The later state of South Vietnam was created in 1954 by combining Cochinchina with southern Annam. In Vietnamese; the region is called Nam Bo.