Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên (阮福源; 16 August 1563 – 19 November 1635) was an early Nguyễn lord who ruled the southern Vietnam from the city of Phú Xuân (modern-day Huế) from 1613 to 1635. During his rule, the Nguyễn established a city at modern-day Saigon. Later, his refusal to pay tribute to the court in Hanoi sparked the Trịnh–Nguyễn War. Biography Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên was the sixth son of Nguyễn Hoàng. Upon the death of his father, Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên took over the rule of the southern provinces of Vietnam. He continued his father's policy of refusing to submit to the authority of the court in Hanoi, dominated at this time by his cousin, Trịnh Tùng. Unlike his father he did not take the title Vuong but instead called himself Nhon Quoc-Cong (roughly Duke of the Southern Provinces). Encourage foreign trade Starting as early as 1615, Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên allowed Portuguese merchants to set up a trading post at Faifo (modern-day Hội An). The Nguyễn began to purchase advanced European cannons from the Portuguese and learned something of European ship design. This would help them enormously in later years. As time passed, Faifo became a major trade port for the south-west Pacific where traders in the region came to sell and acquire goods. Chinese, Japanese, Europeans, and South Asians all came to trade at Faifo. Originally the land itself did not have any high value products, nevertheless later on Nguyễn lords established various sugar cane and mullberry plantations for the sole purpose of producing goods for overseas export. Traders from Japan came all the way to Vietnam because the Ming and the Manchu Emperors forbade trade with Japan. In order to obtain the highly desirable Chinese silks and ceramics, the Japanese had to come to Faifo. Local high quality silk was also one of the primary trade for Japanese merchants, who often purchase whole batches months prior to their annual arrival. The local silk price also reflected any changes in Japanese market. In return, Đàng Trong experienced serious shortage of precious metals like gold and copper which the Japanese had abundance to export, therefore Nguyễn Lords imported massive quantity of Japanese coins, either to circulate or to use in their cannon foundries. Relation with Cambodia Vietnamese expansionism to Cambodia Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên maintained the friendly relation with Cambodia. Around 1620, Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên's daughter (Nguyễn Phúc Ngọc Vạn) married the king