Nguyễn Phúc Khoát

Nguyễn Phúc Khoát (26 September 1714 – 7 July 1765) was one of the Nguyễn lords who ruled over the southern portion of Vietnam from the 16th-18th centuries. Also known as Chúa Võ (主武) or Võ vương (武王) (roughly Martial King), he continued the southern expansion undertaken by his predecessor, Nguyễn Phúc Trú. Provinces and districts originally belonging to Cambodia were taken by Khoát. The Vietnamese-Cambodian border established by the end of his reign remains the border today. The de jure pretense of loyalty to the Lê dynasty was performed by Khoát.

In 1747, Khoát sent a number of Vietnamese warriors to aid rebel princes of Cambodia against the newly crowned Cambodian King Ang Tong. These forces seized Sóc Trăng town and then moved towards Oudong, then royal capital of Cambodia. Ang Tong requested aid from Mạc Thiên Tứ, who secured a truce with the Nguyễn lord, in exchange for a few more provinces, namely Gò Công and Tân An. Ten years later, the Cambodian throne was seized by Outey II, with the help of Nguyễn and Mạc. In return for their contributions, he granted them seven provinces, including Sóc Trăng, Trà Vinh, Kampot, and Kompong Som.

Nguyễn Phúc Khoát died in 1765, and was succeeded by his sixteenth son, Nguyễn Phúc Thuần. The presumed heir was originally his second son Nguyễn Phúc Chương. After his death, his demise was taken advantage of by the Tây Sơn and its subsequent rebellion later in 1778.