“France went into Viet Nam to protect its control of the Rubber plantations, despite what is claimed.” In 1945, the re-conquest after the Japanese attack, yes (but coal and iron mines as well), in 18something no.
It was for opium, coal and iron and to counter the English expansion in China…

“I'm happy to say that Axum, Nubia, and Congo were black kingdoms, but no one has yet shown me the evidence for the claim that Hannibal, Cleopatra, and Socrates (who wasn't even an African) were black.” It is a typical process of Creation of Identity and representation of itself.

Our history isn’t always glorious, so we just change the perception of it.
Apologies to my English friends, but in always referring to Agincourt or Crecy, the English population (generally speaking) just don’t know England/English King lost the war. And not because the English just decided to re-embark and never come back, but because several defeat obliged them to do so…
Like the heroic charges of the French Cavalry in Waterloo can not change the fact that the French lost the battle. The fact that even if Napoleon would have won at Waterloo, he would have lost at the next one.

The creation of Heroic Myth is important in nation building process… The 300 just is one of the examples of how it works, especially when relies by movies…
Why do we relate ourselves with this?
Well, good PR from the Spartans…
But we all know that Sparta for very far for a democratic state, which it lived on a permanent state of war and the slavery of an entire population… That to be a Spartan you had to kill one of these slaves…
But the interpretation of the fact is more important that the fact.
The importance of Richard Lion heart is one of the best example of this. This guy, who just said he would happily sell London, who in fact was speaking French, probably considered himself as French (if nationality made sense at this period) if in all movies and mind seen as the English Hero and THE nice and just King… Amazing…