It was one time or the Basin of the Black River, a Tai country and a mosaic of ethnic groups, enjoyed de facto independence from the Vietnamese empire to which he belonged. In a century, this mountainous area bordering the Chinese and Laotian borders has been the subject of rapid integration into the national space. He enjoyed controlled autonomy under the colonial ferule and was then organised in an autonomous area by independent Vietnam, which was succeeded by a direct administration more in line with the current principles of the Nation State. This book shows this accelerated process of reducing regional particularisms, where traditional leaders lose their power and customary law. Once inaccessible and living in autarcia, this border march, now organised in provinces, is then folding to the needs of common development, as shown by the Black River, which is the domped river and is minced of energy-supplying dams.