Early years

Born Nguyễn Phúc Đảm at Gia Định in the middle of the Second Tây Sơn – Nguyễn War, Minh Mạng was the fourth son of lord Nguyễn Phúc Ánh – future Emperor Gia Long. His mother was Gia Long's second wife Trần Thị Đang, later known as the empress Thuận Thiên. At the age of three, under the effect of a written agreement made by Gia Long with his first wife the Empress Thừa Thiên, she took Đảm in and raised him as her own son.

Following Thừa Thiên's death in 1814, it was supposed that her grandson, Crown Prince Cảnh's eldest son Mỹ Đường, would be responsible for conducting the funeral. Gia Long however, brought out the agreement to insist that Phúc Đảm, as Thừa Thiên's son, should be the one fulfilling the duty. Despite opposition from mandarins, such as Nguyễn Văn Thành, Gia Long was decisive with his selection.

In 1816, Gia Long appointed Đảm as his heir apparent. After the ceremony, Crown Prince Đảm moved to Thanh Hòa Palace and started assisting his father in processing documents and discussing country issues.

Gia Long's death coincided with the re-establishment of the Paris Missionary Society's operations in Vietnam, which had closed in 1792 during the chaos of the power struggle between Gia Long and the Tây Sơn brothers before Vietnam was unified. In the early years of Minh Mạng's government, the most serious challenge came from one of his father's most trusted lieutenants and a national hero in Vietnam, Lê Văn Duyệt, who had led the Nguyễn forces to victory at Qui Nhơn in 1801 against the Tây Sơn dynasty and was made regent in the south by Gia Long with full freedom to rule and deal with foreign powers.

Policy towards missionaries and Christianity

In February 1825, Minh Mạng banned Christian missionaries from entering Vietnam. French vessels entering Vietnamese harbours were ordered to be searched with extra care. All entries were to be watched "lest some masters of the European religion enter furtively, mix with the people and spread darkness in the kingdom." In an imperial edict, Christianity was described as the "perverse European" (practice) and accused of "corrupting the hearts of men".

Between 1833 and 1838, seven missionaries were sentenced to death, amongst them Pierre Borie, Joseph Marchand, and Jean-Charles Cornay. He first attempted to stifle the spread of Christianity by attempting to isolate Catholic priests and missionaries from the populace. He asserted that he had no French interpreters after Chaigneau's departure and summoned the French clergy to Hue and appointed them as mandarins of high rank to woo them from their proselytising. This worked until a priest, Father Regereau, entered the country and began missionary work. Following the edict which forbade further entry of missionaries into Vietnam, arrests of clerics began. After strong lobbying by Duyệt, the governor of Cochin China, and a close confidant of Gia Long and Pigneau de Behaine, Minh Mạng agreed to release the priests on the condition that they congregate at Đà Nẵng and return to France. Some of them obeyed the orders, but others disobeyed the order upon being released, and returned to their parishes and resumed preaching.

File:Martyrdom of Joseph Marchand.jpg|Martyrdom of Joseph Marchand in 1835.

File:Matyrdom of Saint Pierre Borie 1838 Vietnam.jpg|Martyrdom of Pierre Borie on 24 November 1838.

File:Jean-Charles Cornay.jpg|Martyrdom of Jean-Charles Cornay, 1837.

File:Vietnam martyrs Paul Mi Pierre Duong Pierre Truat 18 December 1838.jpg|Martyrdom of Paul Mi, Pierre Duong and Pierre Truat on 18 December 1838.

File:Arrest of three martyrs, Ninh Bình, trial.png|Painting depicts the trial of three Catholics in Ninh Bình in 1838, where they were forced to step on the cross.

Isolationist foreign policy

Minh Mạng continued and intensified his father's isolationist and conservative Confucian policies. At the start of his rule, Vietnam was of no interest to the European powers, since most of the continent was engaged in the Napoleonic Wars. Nevertheless, Napoleon had seen it as a strategically important objective in the Anglo-French power struggle in Asia, as he felt that it would make an ideal base from which to contest the East India Company's foothold in the Indian subcontinent. With the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy and the final exile of Napoleon in 1815, the military scene in Europe quieted and French interest in Vietnam was revived. Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau, one of the volunteers of Pigneau de Behaine who had helped Gia Long in his quest for power, had become a mandarin and continued to serve Minh Mạng, upon whose ascension, Chaigneau and his colleagues were treated more distantly. He eventually left in November 1824. In 1825, he was appointed as French consul to Vietnam after returning to his homeland to visit his family after more than a quarter of a century in Asia. Upon his return, Minh Mạng received him coldly. The policy of isolationism soon saw Vietnam fall further behind the pace of technology and become more vulnerable to outside encroachment as political stability returned to continental Europe, allowing European powers free hand to once again direct their attention towards increasing their influence in Asia. With his Confucian orthodoxy, Minh Mạng shunned all Western influence and ideas as hostile and avoided all contact.

In 1819, Lieutenant John White of the United States Navy was the first American to make contact with Vietnam, arriving in Saigon. Minh Mạng was willing to sign a contract, but only to purchase artillery, firearms, uniforms and books. White was of the opinion that the deal was not sufficiently advantageous and nothing was implemented. In 1821, a trade agreement from Louis XVIII was turned away, with Minh Mạng indicating that no special deal would be offered to any country. That same year, East India Company agent John Crawfurd made another attempt at contact, but was allowed to disembark only in the northern ports of Tonkin; he gained no agreements, but concluded relations with France posed no threat to Company trade. In 1822, the French frigate La Cleopatre visited Tourane (present day Đà Nẵng). Her captain was to pay his respects to Minh Mạng, but was greeted with a symbolic dispatch of troops as though an invasion had been expected. In 1824 Minh Mạng rejected the offer of an alliance from Burma against Siam, a common enemy of both countries. In 1824 Henri Baron de Bougainville was sent by Louis XVIII to Vietnam with the stated mission "of peace and protection of commerce. Upon arriving in Tourane in 1825, it was not allowed ashore. The royal message was turned away on the pretext that there was nobody able to translate it. It was assumed that the snub was related to an attempt by Bougainville to smuggle ashore a Catholic missionary from the Missions étrangères de Paris. Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau's nephew, Eugène Chaigneau, was sent to Vietnam in 1826 as the intended consul but was forced to leave the country without taking up his position.

Further fruitless attempts to start a commercial deal were led by de Kergariou in 1827 and Admiral Laplace in 1831. Another effort by Chaigneau in 1829 also failed. In 1831 another French envoy was turned away. Vietnam under Minh Mạng was the first East Asian country with whom the United States sought foreign relations. President Andrew Jackson tried twice to contact Minh Mạng, sending Edmund Roberts in 1832, and Consul Joseph Balestier in 1836, to no avail. In 1837 and 1838, La bonite and L'Artémise were ordered to land in Tourane to attempt to gauge the situation in Vietnam with respect to missionary work. Both were met with hostility and communication was prevented. Later, in 1833 and 1834, a war with Siam was fought over control of Cambodia which for the preceding century had been reduced to impotence and had fallen under the control of its two neighbours.

In 1824, a Burmese envoy dispatched by the Burmese king, presenting a proposal of a Burmese–Vietnamese alliance against Siam, which was immediately declined by Minh Mang. Minh Mang saw a risky war against Siam, the former ally, might have jeopardized Vietnamese hegemony in Cambodia, which had been acquired by his father Gia Long. Second, he had carefully watched the British seizure of Singapore in 1819 and who were waging war in Burma, thus he saw Britain as the new rising threat, and urged that the Chakri dynasty of Siam should focus alongside Burma in their struggle against the British expansion.

After Vietnam under Gia Long gained control over Cambodia in the early 19th century, a Vietnamese-approved monarch was installed. Minh Mạng was forced to put down a Siamese attempt to regain control of the vassal, as well as an invasion of southern Vietnam which coincided with rebellion by Lê Văn Khôi. The Siamese planned the invasion to coincide with the rebellion, putting enormous strain on the Nguyễn armies. Eventually, Minh Mạng's forces were able to repel the invasion, as well as the revolt in Saigon, and he reacted to Western encroachment by blaming Christianity and showing hostility, leading to the European powers' asserting that intervention was needed to protect their missionaries. This resulted in missed opportunities to avert the colonisation of Vietnam through having friendly relations, since strong opposition was raised in France against an invasion, due to the costs of such a venture. After the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1839, Minh Mạng attempted to build an alliance with European powers by sending a delegation of two lower rank mandarins and two interpreters in 1840. They were received in Paris by Prime Minister Marshal Soult and the Commerce Minister, but they were shunned by King Louis-Philippe. This came after the Society of Foreign Missions and the Holy See had urged a rebuke for an "enemy of the religion". The delegation went on to London, with no success.

Domestic program

The beginning of Minh Mang rule over Vietnam was vastly unsettling. Vietnam was divided into autonomous domains governed independently by Viceroys under Gia Long. The first cholera pandemic reached Vietnam in summer 1820 removed 206,835 tax payers from royal tax registers, while political scientist Samuel Popkin suggested that around one million people might have been perished due to the disease, out of Vietnam's total population of around eight million.

On the domestic front, Minh Mạng continued his father's national policies of reorganising the administrative structure of the government. These included the construction of highways, a postal service, public storehouses for food, monetary and agrarian reforms. He continued to redistribute land periodically and forbade all other sales of land to prevent wealthy citizens from reacquiring excessive amounts of land with their money. In 1840 it was decreed that rich landowners had to return a third of their holdings to the community. Calls for basic industrialisation and diversification of the economy into fields such as mining and forestry were ignored. He further centralised the administration, introduced the definition of three levels of performance in the triennial examinations for recruiting mandarins. In 1839, Minh Mạng introduced a program of salaries and pensions for princes and mandarins to replace the traditional assignment of fief estates.

Diseases, disasters and rebellions against oppression and misery were very frequent, undermining the king's strength. Vietnam was at its low point of coherence in history. About 200 rebellions were recorded during his twenty-year reign.

File:Thân Văn Nhiếp (1804 - 1872).jpg|Thân Văn Nhiếp, Sinologist and Law prosecutor in the Ming Mạng's reign

File:Deputy Governor of Kamboja in his dress of ceremony by John Crawfurd book Published by H Colburn London 1828.jpg|Trương Tấn Bửu the Viceroy of Hanoi in 1802 and vieroy of Gia Định in 1823 under Gia Long and Minh Mạng's reigns respectively

Conquests and ethnic minority policy

Despite ongoing intra-turmoil, Minh Mang exhibited his admiring to Confucian rule and classical Chinese culture, while imposing ethnic assimilation at home and pursuing territorial expansion and interference in neighboring Laos. Minh Mang put his support to Vientiane's king Chao Anou, his close ally, to wage war against Siam. But the outcome did not go for their plan. Anou was defeated and then was detaining to the Siamese in late 1828 by Chao Noi, ruler of Muang Phuan, also a tributary of Minh Mang. Chao Noi was arrested by the Vietnamese for betraying, then being executed in Hue by Minh Mang. Muang Phuan was annexed into Vietnam in 1832 as Tran Ninh prefecture.

Minh Mạng enacted the final conquest of the Champa Kingdom after the centuries long Cham–Vietnamese wars. He aggressively repressed culture of the Cham and indigenous highland peoples. The Cham Muslim leader Katip Sumat was educated in Kelantan and came back to Champa to declare a Jihad against the Vietnamese after Emperor Minh Mạng's annexation of Champa. The Vietnamese coercively fed lizard and pig meat to Cham Muslims and cow meat to Cham Hindus against their will to punish them and assimilate them to Vietnamese culture.

The Chinese or Hoa particularly concentrated in urbanized areas such as Saigon, Cho Lon, and Hanoi. They organized themselves into bang or 'congregations.' Two groups of Chinese that people tended to distinct, known as Minh Hương and Thanh nhân. The Minh hương were South Chinese refugees of the Ming dynasty that had migrated and settled down in South Vietnam earlier during the 17th century, who married with Cambodian women, had been substantially assimilated to local Vietnamese and Khmer populaces, and loyal to the Nguyen, compared to the Thanh nhân, Chinese immigrants of the Qing dynasty that recently arrived in Southern Vietnam, who dominated the grain trade. During the reign of Minh Mạng, a restriction against the Thanh nhân was issued in 1827, which prohibits the Thanh nhân access to the state bureaucracy, rice monopoly and foreign trade. Their alternate option was having themselves to be adjusted and integrated into Vietnamese society like the Minh Hương.

Minh Mang sent troops to crushed a rebellion in Cambodia in 1820, then incorporated Cambodia into Vietnam in 1834 as the new Tây Thành province. Since then, until his death, Minh Mang had been trying to force the Cambodians to adopt Vietnamese culture by the cultural assimilation progress of what historian David P. Chandler dubbed The Vietnamization of Cambodia. Siamese accounts describe that Khmer nobles in Phnom Penh was forced to dress like Vietnamese, abide to Vietnamese laws, and were called "the new Yuon (Viet)". Cambodian revolts were put down brutally. Douglas Johnson recalled year 1836 as the momentum marked the greatest territorial extent of the Vietnamese empire, also high point of its stability which most revolts in Minh Mang's realm had been suppressed. However, continuous uprisings in Cambodia, Tonkin, and wars with Siam put Minh Mang's expansion to an query, as all sides became exhausted.

Rebellions

Minh Mạng was regarded as being in touch with the concerns of the populace. Frequent local rebellions reminded him of their plight. Descendants of the old Lê dynasty fomented dissent in the north, appealing not only to the peasantry but to the Catholic minority. They attempted to enlist foreign help by promising to open up to missionaries. Local leaders in the south were upset with the loss of the relative political autonomy they enjoyed under Duyệt. With Duyệt's death in 1832, a strong defender of Christianity passed. Catholics had traditionally been inclined to side with rebel movements against the monarchy more than most Vietnamese and this erupted after Duyệt's death. Minh Mạng ordered Duyệt posthumously indicted and one hundred lashes were applied to his grave. This caused indignation against southerners who respected Duyệt. In July 1833, a revolt broke out under the leadership of his adopted son, Lê Văn Khôi. Historical opinion is divided with scholars contesting whether the grave desecration or the loss of southern autonomy after Duyệt's death was the main catalyst. Khôi's rebels brought Cochinchina under their control and proposed to replace Minh Mạng with a son of Prince Cảnh. Khôi took into hostage French missionary Joseph Marchand within the citadel, thinking that his presence would win over Catholic support. Khôi enlisted Siamese support, which was forthcoming and helped put Minh Mạng on the defense for a period.

Eventually, however, the Siamese were defeated and the south was recaptured by royalist forces, who besieged Saigon. Khôi died during the siege in December 1834 and Saigon fell nine months later in September 1835 and the rebel commanders put to death. In all the estimates of the captured rebels was put between 500 and 2000, who were executed. The missionaries were rounded up and ordered out of the country. The first French missionary executed was Gagelin in October 1833, the second was Marchand, who was put to death along with the other leaders of the Saigon citadel which surrendered in September 1835. From then until 1838 five more missionaries were put to death. The missionaries began seeking protection from their home countries and the use of force against Asians.

Minh Mạng pursued a policy of cultural assimilation of non-Viet ethnic groups which from 1841, through 1845, led to southern Vietnam experiencing a series of ethnic revolts.

Ruling style

Coin bearing the flying dragon (phi long) issued by Minh Mạng, 1833

Minh Mạng was known for his firmness of character, which guided his instincts in his policy making. This accentuated his unwillingness to break with orthodoxy in dealing with Vietnam's problems. His biographer, Marcel Gaultier, asserted that Minh Mạng had expressed his opinions about national policy before Gia Long's death, proposing a policy of greater isolationism and shunning Westerners, and that Long tacitly approved of this. Minh Mạng was regarded as more nuanced and gentle than his father, with less forced labour and an increased perceptiveness towards the sentiment of the peasantry.

Although he disagreed with European culture and thinking, he studied it closely and was known for his scholarly nature. Ming Mạng was keen in Western technologies, namely mechanics, weaponry and navigation which he attempted to introduce into Vietnam. Upon hearing of the vaccination against smallpox, he organised for a French surgeon to live in a palatial residence and vaccinate the royal family against the disease. He was learnèd in Eastern philosophy and was regarded as an intellectually oriented monarch. He was also known for his writings as a poet. He was known for his attention to detail and micromanagement of state affairs, to a level that "astonished his contemporaries". As a result, he was held in high regard for his devotion to running the country. When Minh Mạng died, he left the throne to his son, Emperor Thiệu Trị, who was more rigidly Confucianist and anti-imperialist than his father. During Thiệu Trị's reign, diplomatic standoffs precipitated by aspiring European imperial powers on the pretext of the "treatment" of Catholic priests gave them an excuse to use gunboat diplomacy on Vietnam, and led to increasing raids and the eventual colonisation of Vietnam by France. Nevertheless, during his reign, Minh Mạng had established a more efficient government, stopped a Siamese invasion and built many national monuments in the imperial city of Huế.

Family and succession

Minh Mạng had a large number of wives and concubines. He is reported to have fathered 142 children from 43 wives. His sons included: Miên Tông (Emperor Thiệu Trị), Miên Định (Prince of Thọ Xuân), Miên Thẩm (Prince of Tùng Thiện), Miên Trinh (Prince of Tuy Lý), Miên Bửu (Prince of Tương An), Miên Lâm (Prince of Hoài Đức), Miên Triện (Prince of Hoằng Hóa), Miên Lịch (Yên Thành). Three of his daughters, Nguyệt Đình, Mai Am and Huệ Phố, were famous poets.

Minh Mạng's sons also had a remarkable number of offspring: Prince of Thọ Xuân fathered 144 children, including 78 sons and 66 daughters, Prince of Tuy Lý, another son, had 77 sons and 37 daughters. He is succeeded by Emperor Thiệu Trị, who himself fathered 29 princes and 35 princesses.

He decided to name his descendants (Nguyễn Phước or Nguyễn Phúc: all members of the Nguyễn dynasty) by choosing the Generation name following the words of the Imperial succession poem to avoid confusion. For boys, the following poem is shown in Chữ Quốc Ngữ (modern Vietnamese script) and in chữ nôm:

:Đế Hệ Thi

:Miên Hường Ưng Bửu Vĩnh

:Bảo Quý Định Long Trường

:Hiền Năng Kham Kế Thuật

:Thế Thoại Quốc Gia Xương.

:帝系诗

:绵洪膺宝永

:保贵定隆长

:贤能堪继述

:世瑞国嘉昌

Note: Hường replaced Hồng and Thoại replaced Thụy because it was taboo to use the names of passed emperors or fathers.''

The meaning of each name is roughly given as follows:

Girls receive also a different name on each generation, for example: Công-chúa, Công-nữ, Công Tôn-nữ, Công-tằng Tôn-nữ, Công-huyền Tôn-nữ, Lai-huyền Tôn-nữ, or shorten to Tôn-nữ for all generations afterward.

早年生涯

阮福晈是阮世祖嘉隆帝阮福映的第四子，为左宫嫔二妃陈氏璫所生。当时旧阮政权还偏安于嘉定（今胡志明市一带），并与北方的西山朝多次发生战争。陈氏璫与其他妃子一样也随之奔波，在嘉定府（今胡志明市）活禄村生下了阮福晈。

阮福晈三岁之时，阮福映命元妃宋氏兰（即后来的承天高皇后）将其收为养子抚养。宋氏兰要求阮福映做出担保，阮福映命黎文悦写下契券作为证明，交给宫婢阮氏犁保管。

景兴六十二年（1801年），东宫太子阮福景病死于嘉定。根据惯例，阮福景的儿子阮福美堂应当被立为新的皇位继承人。但由于阮福景一系有亲西方和基督教倾向，阮福映迟迟不立继承人。嘉隆十三年（1814年），承天高皇后宋氏兰逝世。由于皇后所生的儿子阮福景英年早逝，阮福映命令阮福晈以养子身份为皇后主持祭祀，这暗示了阮福晈极有可能继承皇位。阮朝的重臣黎文悦、黎质等极力反对，声称阮福晈是庶子，没有资格为皇后戴孝，而应该让嫡长孙阮福美堂（阮福旦）主持祭祀。阮福映便把保存的契券拿了出来，以此证明阮福晈是皇后的养子，认定他为「皇四子」，有资格主持皇后的祭祀。阮文诚又认为阮福晈的生母在世，祝文祭词中的称谓使用母字不大合适。但阮福映却声称：「子奉父命，以祭其母，名正言顺，有何不可！」坚持让阮福晈以儿子身份祭祀皇后。翌年（1815年），阮福晈被正式册立为皇太子。

治理国家

嘉隆十八年十二月十九日（1820年2月3日），嘉隆帝驾崩。临终前，嘉隆帝指定让黎文悦、范登兴担任辅政大臣。明命元年正月初一日（1820年2月14日），30岁的皇太子阮福晈正式举行登基大典，改年号为「明命」，次年（1821年）尊生母陈氏璫为皇太后。

明命帝是一位恬静好学的君主。未即位之时，明命帝就与黎光定、阮文诚等推崇儒学的大臣来往密切。继位之后，他对儒学推崇备至，常常秉烛夜阅奏章。明命帝勤于政事，在位期间进行了多项改革。不过为人多疑而且刚愎自用，事必躬亲，要他亲自朱批才能成行。明命帝在任期间常常训诫臣子：「人心思治，不欲滋事生变。然年富力强之时未有建树，而至年迈力衰之时尚能有何作为！故朕不敢有一时之懈怠。」

明命帝继位之后，立即进行官制、行政区划、币制、教育制度等一系列改革，意图建立中央集权的「文官政府」。在后黎朝末年，儒家政治的「士农工商」秩序彻底被打乱，出现了「米罄逃荒，壹农贰士」的现象。这个现象在西山朝时代更甚。明命帝致力于恢复这种秩序。

整顿内政

1820年，刚刚继位的明命帝废除了嘉隆年间的侍书院，改为文书房。1829年，明命帝参照清朝的职官制度，重新制定官员品阶，设立九品十八级职官制度。自一品至九品，每品分为正、从两级。又改文书房为内阁，任命各部、院的三四品官入阁，管理国家事务。

1830年和1831年，明命帝先后下令废除了北城、嘉定城两个总镇之职，并参照清朝的行政区划制度，将全国的27个镇改为30个省1个府（京城承天府），各省以下依次设立府、县、州、总、社这些行政单位。在嘉隆帝时代，镇的官员多由武官担任，可以管理镇中的军民事务，因此各地的镇守、留镇有实力抗拒朝廷的命令。明命帝改镇为省之后，设置巡抚、布政使、按察使、领兵等职，由朝廷派遣上任。巡抚负责管理省内政治、教育，布政使负责管理赋税、丁田、丁壮并传达朝廷命令，按察使负责管理刑律、驿站，领兵负责管理军队。此外，又派遣朝廷大员前往重要的省份担任总督之职，其地位居于巡抚之上，负责考察官吏、维护疆界。对于少数民族聚居地，明命帝施行改土归流的政策，任命当地酋长为知州，并派遣流官监督内政。

1834年，明命帝参照宋朝的枢密院和清朝的军机处，设置机密院。机密院之职由四名四品以上的大臣担任，奉特旨佩戴金牌。其属下官僚有员外郎、主事、司务、编修，由各部、各院选出充补。

1836年，鉴于北城各地贫富差距悬殊、官僚仗势欺人、百姓好赌博和铺张浪费，明命帝接受裴茂先的建议，训导百姓，并严厉打击违法乱纪的官员豪强。他颁布了《十条圣训》以训导百姓。另一方面，又在北城各地设立养济所（相当于福利院），将鳏寡孤独残障人士接至养济所居住，由朝廷供养其生活。

1839年，明命帝制定各品级官员的年俸、春服钱标准。自一品至三品，每年两次领俸；四品至七品于四季之末领俸一次；八九品以下每月领俸一次。为了防止官员贪污，明命帝又从清朝引入了养廉银制度。

设置宗室管理体系

明命二年（1821年），明命帝令礼部详查皇室祖先世系，将澄国公阮文溜以前的世系编成「前纪」，为编纂《列圣玉谱》做准备。

明命四年（1823年），明命帝制定日字部二十字，要求后世的君主按此顺序为自己取名，而将二字名改为小字：

如绍治帝名阮福暶，嗣德帝名阮福时，协和帝名阮福升……依此类推。避讳时，既要避皇帝的名，又要避皇帝的小字。

同时，明命帝下令为自己的后裔编写「帝系诗」（），要求直系后代的命名采用以下排行：

而对每一个辈分名字命名的要求也很严格，要求按照如下的偏旁部首取名：

例如，明命帝的儿子绍治帝叫阮福绵宗，名中有「⼧」部；孙子嗣德帝叫阮福洪任，名字里有「人」部，以此类推。

而对于嘉隆帝其他儿子的后裔，明命帝下令为他们制定「藩系诗」（）以规定辈字。

同年，明命帝下令设立宗人府，设置官员以管理皇族内诸事。不过阮朝远支旁系宗亲众多，于是在郑怀德、黎质等人的建议下，明命帝下令将从阮淦至阮福淳之间九代远支宗室的名字删去姓氏，冠以「宗室」二字，标榜其地位。之后的绍治年间，宗人府改名「尊人府」，宗室则改名「尊室」。但在部分史料中，依然将远支尊室称为阮福氏。例如，尊室说被称作「阮福说」。尊室永𤕶被称作「公曾孙尊室阮福永」。明命二十年（1839年），依皇长子长庆公阮福绵宗建议，明命帝将《皇朝宗谱》分为前编和正编两个部分，前编记载广南国时期阮主后裔，正编记载阮朝皇帝后裔。

经济制度

在经济赋税上，明命帝与其父定下的制度并无太大差别。只不过之前嘉隆帝给予嘉定城「裁决诉讼、自行任免官员」的权力被明命帝收回。1836年，明命帝派遣官员来到嘉定城，丈量土地并徵收丁税、田税、关税，共统计当时全国有丁970516，田土4063892亩。

明命帝在位期间，铸有「明命通宝」小平铜钱，并开始铸造美号大钱。美号大钱铜质，正面钱文「明命通宝」，背面选儒家经典四书五经中的文字为铭文，有四字和八字者，十分稀有。

另一方面，明命帝及其父嘉隆帝均大力推广越南独有的锌钱（也称白铅钱），份量沉重，价值甚低，根据当时越南官方汇率，三吊白铅钱只能换得一吊铜钱，可谓劣币中的劣币，因此明命帝宣称：「铅钱之用，富户既不敢私藏，而邻国来商者又不敢带回。此钱流通非但利于民，亦利于国，乃自然只利也」。白铅钱的铸造可说是深受中国五代南楚高郁关于铅铁钱货币政策的启发。

科举改革

明命帝在位期间，也对越南的科榜制度进行了改革。嘉隆帝在位期间，越南仅有乡试而已。明命帝继位之后，全面恢复了科榜考试。1822年，明命帝下令开会试、庭试以选拔进士，改原先六年一次的科试为三年一次。1829年，又命中格但不及分者可中副榜。

不过，明命帝也发现传统的科举制度的众多弊病。明命帝认为科举制度人为地制造了学术研究的条条框框，且使士人迂腐而功利，对国家的发展非常不利。但科举制度已经根深蒂固，且明命帝又一时无法找到解决的方法，只能逐步进行改革。

崇尚儒学

明命帝恬静好学，博览群书，擅长汉文诗，精通儒学，崇尚孔孟之道。他本人撰有诗集《御制剿平南圻贼寇诗集》、《御制诗集》两本。明命帝的儿子从善王、绥理王、襄安郡王（并称「阮朝三堂」），女儿月亭、梅庵、蕙圃（并称「阮朝三卿」），也都善于写诗。

明命帝致力于推广儒学，在位期间，文庙遍布越南各大城镇，每逢春天、秋天举行都会为孔子举行隆重的祭典。他又设立国史馆以编纂国史，并下令奖励著书立说者。明命年间，越南涌现出潘清简、黎光定、郑怀德、潘辉注、龚文曦、黄公才、阮廷正、武文镳等儒学大家。《嘉定城通志》、《历朝宪章类志》等书都是明命年间编写的。在明命帝的大力推广下，越南的儒学氛团继16世纪后黎朝儒学的黄金时代后，再一次兴盛起来。

明命帝非常重视儒学教育，他规定越南七八岁儿童就读蒙学时，塾师首先要教授忠、孝两经，以及朱熹的《小学集注》；先读四书，然后再读五经。1835年，明命帝还诏谕将四书五经和朱熹的《小学集注》等书大量印行，同时允许民间印刷销售，使这些书籍能广泛流行于越南境内。

1839年，明命帝曾以属国越南国王的身份，奏请中国清朝的道光皇帝向越南颁发《康熙字典》，以便越南人可以学习汉语，并规定学校教学、政府文书、科举考试一律要采用汉字，不准使用或混用喃字。

不过，明命帝在宣扬汉文文学的同时，也对喃字文学进行打压。这些喃字文学作品多揭露了当时社会的阴暗面，因此被知识分子认为是难登大雅之堂之作。虽然阮朝的士大夫中流传著「男不看《潘陈》，女不看《翠云翠翘》」（Đàn ông chớ kể Phan Trần, Đàn bà chớ kể Thúy Vân Thúy Kiều）之语，但这些喃字文学作品依然受到百姓的喜爱。

军事制度

明命帝时代的兵种分为步兵、水兵、象兵、骑兵、炮兵五种。

步兵分为京兵和奇兵。京兵为防守京城的兵。编制上分为营、卫、队三级。每营五卫，每卫十队，每队五十人。每卫拥有两口神功大炮、两百支鸟枪、二十一面旗。京兵有时候也会外派到各省。奇兵则是各省的军队，分为奇、队两级。

象兵的编制为队，每队有四十头战象。又规定当军队开往某地时，皇帝需派遣几名医生随行，以备诊治。

水兵共十五卫，分为三个营。明命帝非常重视海面的防御，因此水军经常演习，而在诸海口岛屿设立炮台。

虽然明命帝认为「治国必有武备」而十分重视军事，但朝廷重文轻武，各地官员对于军事演习往往敷衍了事。当时的军队中已经出现了兵册中人数众多、事实兵员不足的现象；且军事器械比较陈旧落后、士兵训练不足。明命帝虽知晓此情，但却无法遏止，这显现出阮朝军队逐渐衰败的迹象。

内外战事

阮朝于1802年征服北城，但北城一带仍有不少后黎朝的支持者。再加上官僚的贪污腐败，导致了百姓的不满。1822年，北城一带爆发农民起义，官军不能制。明命年间，北城地区先后爆发了大大小小的254次农民起义。其中规模较大的有潘伯鑅、黎维良、农文云的起义。而在南方的嘉定城，黎文举兵叛乱，暹罗军队和法国传教士也介入这场叛乱。这些农民起义给予了朝廷沉重打击，政权几乎陷入瘫痪。后经明命帝励精图治方才安定，但已大不如前。

对外方面，明命帝出兵攻打寮国、柬埔寨，将它们变成越南的领土。

潘伯鑅之乱

1826年，潘伯鑅、武德葛、阮幸起兵于南定，攻破茶里、麟海二守，杀死守御邓廷勉、阮忠演以及南定镇守黎茂菊。明命帝派兵围剿，杀死武德葛。但不久潘伯鑅、阮幸又联合流亡到越南的中国山贼，骚扰北城沿岸一带，攻破海阳的先明、宜阳二县。明命帝派清化参办阮公著、乂安参办阮德润率军前往北城，会同北城协镇阮有慎一起围剿。翌年，在天长府、建昌府一带擒获潘伯鑅等，全部处死。

对寮国部落的征服

1826年，万象王国国王昭阿努（阿弩）起兵反抗暹罗的统治，寮国各地的酋长也纷纷举兵响应。昭阿努率军攻打暹罗的那空叻差是玛府（呵叻府）、沙拉武里府，但被暹罗击败。翌年，暹罗国王拉玛三世派遣博丁德差攻破万象，将这座城市洗劫一空。昭阿努只得向越南求援。明命帝同意了这个请求，派遣潘文璻经略边务大臣前去救援。又派黎德禄、阮公近率兵三千，从乂安出发，经川圹（镇宁府）前去，迎接昭阿努到乂安。途中，黎德禄、阮公近派人绘制地图，送往顺化。

1828年，昭阿努声称实力已经恢复，希望收复万象之地。明命帝便派潘文璻为经略大臣、阮文春为副大臣、阮科豪为参赞，率兵三千，经川圹（镇宁）攻打万象。但事实上这三千士兵持观望态度，坐视昭阿努成败。昭阿努再次被暹罗击败，向阮朝朝廷请求支援。明命帝拒绝了他的要求，派兵防守边境。昭阿努被川圹王昭内擒获，献给暹罗。

随后，暹罗又进攻寮国各部落，寮国各部落不满，向阮朝求救。明命帝派范文典经理甘露诸事，黎登瀛为参赞军务，支持寮国各部落同暹罗对抗。范文典一面作书给暹罗统帅博丁得差斥责他，一面分兵三路进军寮国。博丁得差见越南军队强大，作书表示没有与越南作对的意思，并撤兵归国。川圹王昭内便要求内附阮朝，明命帝封其为镇宁防御使，让昭内带著人丁册及田亩册上呈阮朝。以其地置镇宁府（今寮国川圹省），下辖七县。寮国各部落为求自保，纷纷内附阮朝。明命帝又以同样手法，在这些地区设置羁縻州府，封部落酋长为土官，将边境向西扩展，一直推进到湄公河岸边。

明命年间，侵占了寮国三分之二的领土，在寮国设置有七个府，分别是镇靖府（今万象）、镇蛮府、镇边府（皆在今华潘省）、镇定府（今甘蒙省）、乐边府（今沙湾拿吉省）、镇宁府（今川圹省）。其中镇边、镇定两府隶属乂安，镇蛮府隶属清化。又设置甘露九州，划归广治管辖。明命帝派兵驻守镇宁等地，把乂安的罪犯流放到这里进行开垦。

1829年，明命帝以昭内不朝贡为由，派谢光巨领兵前往镇宁，擒获昭内，送往顺化处死。谢光巨随即接管了镇宁府事务，推荐土官昭况、钦撅担任自己的副手。1830年，谢光巨被召回，但阮朝仍驻军镇宁。1832年，昭况被封为镇宁防御使，赐名峤贶；钦撅被封为镇宁防御同知，赐名钦阙。暹罗派人招诱二人。1834年，二人率部投降暹罗。在此后暹罗与越南爆发的战争中，川圹是双方长期争夺的对象。但直到1850年代的时候暹罗才彻底控制川圹。

黎维良之乱

1833年，又有后黎朝子孙黎维良在宁平起兵，自称大黎皇孙。土司郭必功、郭必济、丁世德、丁功郑等举兵响应，攻陷乐土、奉化、安化三州县，围攻兴化城。安静总督谢光巨、清化总督阮文仲奉命围剿，擒杀黎维良，郭必功等土司联军亦溃散。经过这次叛乱之后，明命帝下令将北城的后黎朝子孙流放到广南、广义、平定一带，由朝廷发放钱财和土地供其谋生。

黎文𠐤之乱

1831年黎文悦逝世后，明命帝施行废镇建省的改革，废除了总镇之职，以总督、巡抚、布政使、按察使、领兵分其权。朝廷派往藩安省的布政使白春元知道明命帝久对黎文悦不满，便搜罗黎文悦的不法证据，大肆治其旧部之罪。黎文悦在任期间，曾迁大量罪犯至嘉定镇垦荒，白春元的举动引起他们的极大不满。1833年，黎文悦的养子黎文发动叛乱，逮捕了白春元并将他点天灯处决，又杀死其全家。藩安总督阮文桂领兵平叛，战败被杀。黎文自称大元帅，在藩安城设立百官，并派蔡公朝攻陷了嘉定城六省。巴黎外方传教会教士若瑟·玛尔香（Joseph Marchand）号召天主教徒起兵响应，并声称要将阮福景的儿子阮福美堂拥上皇位，谋求令越南成为天主教国家。华侨麦进阶、刘信也举兵响应。这是明命年间最大规模的叛乱。

明命帝闻变，派遣宋福梁为讨逆左将军、阮春为参赞，潘文璻为讨逆右将军、张明讲为参赞，会同平寇将军陈文能一起，率水步之军前去镇压。蔡公朝的叛变使黎文被迫据守藩安城对抗官军。黎文派人向暹罗求救，暹罗国王拉玛三世派水陆军队分兵五路攻打越南。一路以水军战船100艘攻打河仙；一路经柬埔寨攻打朱笃、安江；一路进攻甘露；一路进攻甘吉、甘门；一路进攻镇宁。其中前两路的军队兵力较多。

明命帝派张明讲、阮春前往安江，黎文瑞守甘露，范文典守乂安，又派阮文春进兵镇宁。张明讲在柬埔寨击败暹罗军，安江巡抚黎大纲驻守南荣城（今柬埔寨金边），挟持柬埔寨国王安赞二世（匿螉禛）对抗暹罗。张明讲、阮春自南荣城进兵，击败暹罗军队，夺取了菩萨城。1834年，阮朝基本成功抵抗了暹罗的入侵。翌年黎文逝世，子黎文鸲嗣位。不久藩安城被攻陷，起义便失败。1831名起义者被阮朝军队处决，并将尸首集中掩埋，称为「伪墓」。主犯黎文鸲、麦进阶、刘信、若瑟·玛尔香等六人被押往顺化，于当年十一月以大逆罪被凌迟处决。

柴嵮罗奔王之乱

在黎文𠐤之乱爆发的同时，原顺城镇境内也爆发了占族的叛乱，要求恢复自治。

顺城镇是占族的自治领地，由阮朝册封的占族领袖世代统治。1832年，在黎文悦逝世后，阮朝决定对顺城镇进行「改土归流」。明命帝以顺城镇正镇守阮文承主动请求归附为名，撤销顺城镇建制，改为平顺镇，以其地设宁顺府绥定、绥丰二县。自此占婆作为一个国家正式灭亡。然而，阮朝任命的越族「流官」不尊重占族人的风俗习惯，强制推行越南化政策，引起占族人的普遍不满。1832年，占族的伊玛目自吉兰丹归来，号召穆斯林对越族人发起圣战，但很快被镇压。

1834年，就在阮朝官军围剿黎文𠐤之乱的同时，另一场由柴嵮、罗奔王领导的起义爆发。这场叛乱就是柴嵮罗奔王之乱，阮朝称其为「乙未顺匪」。西原的拉格莱族、格贺族、斯丁族都举兵响应。富安、庆和、平顺三省西部的山区被叛军占领。平顺提督裴公喧、赞襄黎德渐领兵镇压，对反叛的占族和高地民族进行屠杀。1835年，柴嵮、罗奔王被杀，叛乱被镇压。不久，明命帝以「暗通藩安贼」为藉口，将占婆领袖阮文承、阮文元诛杀，并强制占族人搬迁到沿海与越族人混居。

农文云之乱

黎文之乱爆发后，阮朝朝廷搜捕叛乱者的亲属。这些嘉定城的叛军中有不少是来自北城的罪犯，他们留在北城的亲属们多被追捕。这些亲属中也包括了黎文的内兄农文云。农文云是岱依族人，担任保乐州（今属高平省）知州。1833年，当得知黎文在嘉定城发动叛乱之后，农文云便在保乐州举兵反抗，攻破高平省城，自称节制上将军，铸元隆通宝。农文云发兵攻打北城各省，七泉州知州阮克和举兵响应。明命帝派山兴宣总督黎文德为三宣总督军务，派海安署理总督阮公著为参赞，会同宁太总督阮廷普前去镇压。由于农文云围攻谅山甚急，又派安静总督谢光巨为总统大臣，前去高平平叛。

农文云联合芒人、僈人，依靠崇山密林的地势，对前来清剿的官军展开游击战。官军损失惨重。谢光巨解除了谅山之围并收复了高平。黎文德、阮公著攻破保乐州，农文云剃发易服，逃往中国境内避难，留女婿云光总和堂弟农文仕、农文硕抵抗官军。官军见农文云逃往中国后便班师回朝。农文云又回到保乐州，势力再次强大。

1834年，黎文德、范文典从山西进兵宣光，谢光巨、阮进林、胡佑自高平出发，阮廷普、阮公著自太原出发，三路大军围攻保乐州。阮朝方面照会清朝，要求防备农文云再次逃往中国。中国遣返了逃往贵州境内的农文仕、农文硕等五人，农文云被迫逃到宣光，匿于丛林之中。范文典包围丛林放火烧山，将农文云烧死。农文云之乱遂被平定。

禁止天主教传播

1825年，法国传教士罗热洛（Rogerot）乘坐泰蒂斯号（Thétis）来到沱㶞港（今岘港），在各地传教。这引起了明命帝的高度关注。不久，明命帝下达禁教令，声称：「西方之道为左道，迷惑人心，败坏风俗，故应严禁之，以使吾民信奉正道。」又命令各地官员严格盘查入境的外国船只。嘉定总镇黎文悦上书明命帝，希望放宽对基督教的政策；明命帝便将全国各地的传教士召到顺化，将他们禁锢在顺化皇城里，让他们翻译法国书籍，以防止他们外出传教。同年，又下令全国天主教徒必须放弃信仰，并奖励捕获传教士的人。

由于在1833年的黎文之乱中，越南的天主教徒公然参与叛乱，并且还声称拥立故太子阮福景的儿子阮福美堂为越南国主，使明命帝更加深切感受到天主教徒对其皇位的威胁。自1834年至1838年，明命帝取谛天主教的情况越见严厉。据教宗利奥十三世于1900年5月7日公布的公函《最强壮的勇士们》（Fortissimorum virorum），在明命帝在位期间，越南天主教殉道者名单人物，多在1838年被越南阮朝政府处决。

纵观越南阮朝诸君主中，以明命帝及其孙嗣德帝阮福时对禁绝天主教的态度最为严厉。正因为禁教的严厉态度，明命帝在西方世界常常以暴君的形象登场，被称为「东方的尼禄」。

黎文悦案和黎质案

黎文之乱被平息之后，明命帝下令捣毁了黎文的据点藩安城，易地重建。同年，都察院官员潘伯达上奏嘉定总镇黎文悦生前存在众多不法行为。此后，大臣何宗权、阮知方、黄炯等纷纷奏称黎文悦生前图谋不轨。明命帝派武春谨铲平了黎文悦的坟墓，在其原址上竖立「权阉黎文悦伏法处」的石碑。没收财产，其亲族判斩监候。

次年，又有吏部左侍郎黎伯秀追参北城总镇黎质生前不法之事，声称黎质在北城期间专行不法，并阴谋推翻明命帝。明命帝命人铲除了黎质墓，在其原址上竖立「奸臣黎质伏法处」的石碑。没收家产，其亲族亦判处斩监候。

征服柬埔寨

在阮朝建立前，柬埔寨已受到暹罗和广南阮主政权两者多年的蚕食，国弱民贫，正步向和占城国一样沦亡的后尘。

1834年，明命帝乘黎文叛乱之机，以「保护」柬埔寨为名，派遣大将张明讲侵占柬埔寨。此后张明讲驻守南荣城（今柬埔寨金边），以监督柬埔寨内政，安江巡抚黎大纲又建立安蛮堡以驻守军队。

同年，柬埔寨国王安赞二世病死。因其无嗣，张明讲于1835年奏请立安赞二世之女安眉（越南史料称「玉云」）为「高绵郡主」，以荣龙、罗坚代掌国印，张明讲、黎大纲权监国事。安眉仅为傀儡，实权完全由张明讲、黎大纲掌握。此后，越南在柬埔寨地区实施「改土归流」，将柬埔寨首都金边改称为镇西城，设置了32府2县，委派越南文官直接管治柬埔寨地区。

由于越南阮朝一直视柬埔寨、暹罗等国为未开化的蛮夷，因此阮朝首先援引占城国旧例，在柬埔寨厉行越南化政策。

高棉人首先要改汉姓，写汉字，将柬埔寨各地方换上汉字名字。将柬埔寨的军队按越南编制改制，军官全由越南人担任。在以高棉人为主的守备军中，又安插装备先进的越南籍官兵。每当发生战争，便让高棉士兵冲在前面，由配备枪支的越南籍士兵在后面压阵。

此外，越南阮朝亦逼使柬埔寨百姓易服蓄发，以及采用越南百姓的风俗习惯，包括柬埔寨百姓需要穿著褐色或黑色的交领布衣和长袍，柬埔寨本地官员必需穿戴越南官员的纱帽圆领，并强制柬埔寨男子梳越南人的发式，像越南男人般蓄发绾髻。

另一方面，对于柬埔寨百姓信奉的上座部佛教（亦称南传佛教），越南阮朝亦对其不抱好感，下令逼使当地僧侣还俗，也下令毁坏上座部佛教的寺庙。

1840年，阮朝更是派遣黎文德为钦差大臣，尹蕴为副大臣，在柬埔寨徵收税收、丈量土地、监督贸易，协助张明讲直接统治柬埔寨。大量越南人涌入柬埔寨耕田，驱逐并侵占了高棉人的土地。1841年，张明讲为断绝柬埔寨王室的人望，又将安眉掳往嘉定（今越南胡志明市），荣龙、罗坚流放到北圻。

虽然阮朝官方编纂的《大南实录正编》宣称：「自此腊人衣服器用多慕汉风、蛮俗渐改革矣」，但事实上，阮朝对柬埔寨的侵略和压迫导致柬埔寨人的不满。僧侣、贵族、百姓等也纷纷起兵争取复国，张明讲、黎文德不时领兵讨伐柬埔寨境内叛民，但柬埔寨人的起义仍此起彼伏。在得知安眉被掳到嘉定之后，流亡暹罗的王子安东（匿螉），在暹罗军队的支持下回到柬埔寨，发动反对阮朝的起义。明命帝又派遣阮公著、阮进林率大军进入柬埔寨，但仍无济于事。

对西方列强态度

与父亲嘉隆帝阮福映不同，明命帝对西方列强的态度，从开始只是表面上的热情，到晚年逐渐持排斥态度。

阮福映在位期间，出于对法国传教士百多禄援助阮朝的回报，阮福映允许法国人在越南境内通商传教，并且聘用援阮的法国军官为大臣。不过，虽然阮朝复国很大程度依靠法国人的力量，但阮福映仍然对法国人存有戒心。早在1815年的时候，嘉隆帝之所以选择明命帝阮福晈为王位继承人，而不是故太子阮福景的儿子阮福美堂，就是看中明命帝思想上比较排斥天主教，并且对入境西洋人的动机存有疑虑。阮福映也发现了阮福晈有强烈地排斥西方的倾向，故而在临终前嘱咐明命帝，要求他尊重欧洲人特别是法国人，但不要给予他们任何优待。可见阮福映在提防法国人之馀，亦提醒明命帝避免彻底得罪法国人。

1818年，担任「掌奇」的法籍大臣让-巴蒂斯特·沙依诺（越南名阮文胜）获准归国休假。1821年，沙依诺被法国政府委任为法国驻顺化的领事和法国的全权钦差大臣，带著法国国王路易十八的国书回到越南，求见明命帝，洽谈通商之事。明命帝热情地接见了他，表示愿意缔结通商条约，但前提条件是前来贸易的法国人必须遵守越南法律。

1822年，法国军舰「克丽奥佩特拉」号（La Cléopâtre）驶入沱㶞港（今越南岘港），舰长埃里奥（Courson de la le Héllio）携带礼物，委托沙依诺说情，要求面见明命帝，但遭到明命帝断然拒绝，认为一个舰长要求面见自己并不符合身份。沙依诺对自己未能跟越南签订通商条约感到灰心失意，于是与另一法籍大臣菲利普·瓦尼埃一起在1824年辞职，经嘉定搭乘商船归国。

沙依诺与瓦尼埃走后，明命帝对法国的态度逐渐冷淡。1825年，法国派遣海军上校布甘维勒（Bougainville）率领「泰蒂斯」号（Thétis）、「希望」号（Espérance）军舰来到沱㶞港，再次要求进行通商。明命帝派人赐予他礼物，并以朝中无人通晓法语为由，拒绝接见他。1826年，法国派遣让-巴蒂斯特·沙依诺的侄儿欧仁·沙依诺（Eugène Chaigneau）法国驻顺化领事一职，但明命帝不予承认。1829年，欧仁归国，法越两国变相中止了邦交。此后一直到1858年，越南境内几乎没欧洲人的踪影。

1832年和1836年，美国总统安德鲁·杰克森派遣艾德蒙·罗伯特（Edmund Robert）两次来到顺化，希望同越南建交。不过都被明命帝拒绝。

不过明命帝也对欧洲的科技事物表现出了极大好奇之心。1825年，嘉定总镇黎文悦上书明命帝，希望放宽对基督教的政策；明命帝便将全国各地的传教士召到顺化，将他们禁锢在顺化皇城里，让他们翻译法国书籍。1834年，明命帝得知西方发生工业革命之事，又下令开设「水火记济车厂」，成功制造越南历史上第一批蒸汽机车。明命年间，越南的资本主义进入萌芽阶段。

此外，当他知道欧洲人已经开始使用种痘的方法来预防天花后，立即让法国籍家庭医生让·马里·德斯皮奥为皇室宗亲接种疫苗。明命帝有意藉著以上举措，了解当时欧洲的发展。

1839年，明命帝得到「红毛谋侵广东」的奏报之后，认为这是由于清朝内政衰微、官僚阶层懒惰懦弱造成的，以此预言清朝必将逐渐走向衰败：「清人懦弱，我知之矣。」但仍保持与清朝的朝贡关系。

1840年中英鸦片战争爆发。中国的战败给明命帝很大震动，越南上下都担心英国会借海上的优势入侵越南。明命帝于是派遣由两个普通越南官员和两个翻译组成的「越南使团」前往法国，寻求与法国建立外交关系以与英国抗衡，并希望同西方商讨基督教之事。明命二十一年十二月二十八日（1841年1月20日），心力交瘁的明命帝逝世，享年50岁。临终前，明命帝将大臣张登桂、武文解、阮知方、林维浃召入榻前，要求他们辅佐皇太子阮福绵宗。阮福绵宗改名阮福暶并继位，是为绍治帝。给明命帝上庙号圣祖（）、諡号体天昌运至孝纯德文武明断创述大成厚泽丰功仁皇帝（），葬之于孝陵。

越南代表团到达法国首都巴黎，求见法国国王路易·菲利普。但是由于明命帝在西方世界的恶劣形象，许多法国人对这个越南使团不抱好感。巴黎外方传教会呼吁路易·菲利普不要接待，最终越南使团无功而返。

评价

• 阮朝维新年间编纂的《国朝正编撮要》，对明命帝作如是评价：「帝以上圣之资，承大定之后，励精图治，粉饰太平。稽古典，修礼乐，谨权量，审法度，设科取士，耕藉劝农，举辰巡以省方，定京察以课吏。春阅详于讲武，邱审谨于用刑。规模宥密，品节备具。至若抑禁近之权，严阉宦之戒，与夫皇亲国戚不得干预外事，其防微杜渐之意尤深。二十一年忧勤庶，政常如一日，凡一切丝纶、批示、谕旨、制诰皆自创。始文教被于蛮土，威震于暹、牢，圣德神功，莫可名状。且于万几之暇留意艺文，御制诗五集、文二集，天机预兆、古器铭文诸作，皆所以发妙道而弘至教。惟大圣人制作迥出寻常。尽革黎、李以前简陋之风，开我大南万事文明之制，猗欤盛哉！」

• 越南历史学家陈仲金认为明命帝「是一位资质明敏的国君，性好学且勤于政事」，「政绩有许多好的，也有不少坏的；他知刚而不知柔，他有威权而少肚量，他知有民有国而不知时势进化。所以说他是位英君明主则有过份，而说他是位暴君亦觉有失公允」。他在位期间进行法律、制度的改革，确立国家的纲纪。但他思想保守复古，杀害天主教教民，并与西方国家绝交，致使越南陷入了外交孤立状态。

• 越共学者对明命帝的评价不佳，他们认为明命帝改革的目的是竭力恢复落后的封建秩序，他们又认为明命帝的外交政策是「鼠目寸光」的，他「主动拒绝与西方资本主义国家的一切关系」，「只想用把身子缩在护身壳内的蜗牛式的方法来进行自卫」，「不可能阻止日益逼近的外国侵略的危险」。对寮国、柬埔寨的战争不仅「劳民伤财」，而且制造了越南与邻国之间的仇恨，此后法国殖民者便利用了这一点对印度支那三国进行侵略和奴役。

• 中国学者郭振铎、张笑梅认为明命帝是一位颇有作为的君主。他施行了一系列有利于社会发展的改革政策，使得越南封建社会再次出现鼎盛时期。随其改革初衷并非为劳动者谋利，但客观上却对社会进步作出了一定贡献。不过晚年时的他专横暴戾、奢华腐败，对劳动者课以重税、镇压人民起义、对外发动侵略战争，因此既是一位明君，又是一位昏君。

家族

后宫

子女

明命帝有七十八子、六十四女，为阮朝历代皇帝中子嗣最多的一位皇帝。

注释