Mac dynasty reigned in 1527. The chaos of the North and the South occurred. The country was divided into the north side and the south side, leading to the serious situation in the rural areas of Ha Nam. In 1771, three brothers Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu together led a revolt in Tay Son. On December 17, 1788, Ton Si Nghi occupied Thang Long.
On December 22, 1788 Nguyen Hue led his soldiers to Thang Long. He divided his soldiers into 5 troops to strike. Tay Son army and Ha Nam people occupied Hoang Anh (Thanh Liem) entrenched fortification, Nhat Tao (Duy Tien) post. Nowadays, certain places in Ha Nam still celebrate Quang Trung’s glorious victory.
During this period, despite a lot of difficulties and changes, the traditional crafts were still maintained and developed by the local people. Some trading centers were formed.
In 1802, Nguyen Anh was crowned opening the Nguyen dynasty, however, Ha Nam’s economics still fell into stagnation although the commerce had experienced certain developments, many skilled craftsmen of Ha Nam were arrested and taken into the service of the to Hue to serve the King and the Royal family. Regarding education, from the sixteenth century to the late nineteenth century, many talented people in Ha Nam got high results in the national examination, namely Le Tung, Nguyen Khuyen, Bui Di, Bach Dong On, etc.
