Chapter 3 : European Colonization

 

Outline

        In the first half of the twelfth century (around the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty in 1126), there were already Han Chinese living on Penghu. They were coming to the island of Taiwan to trade or stay for short periods. From the second half of the fourteenth century (around the transition from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty in 1360), Han Chinese and Japanese increasingly used the island of Taiwan and Penghu as a base for smuggling and piracy.

        In the seventeenth century, Taiwan’s geopolitical position became more significant. Penghu was occupied by the Dutch for a short period; southern and northern Taiwan were also taken by the Dutch and Spaniards respectively for trade and missionary activities. But the Dutch soon forced the Spaniards out and thus took control of all Taiwan.

 

3-1 Before the Europeans

Han Chinese in Penghu and Taiwan Proper

        The Han Chinese gave Taiwan various names. In the Yuan Dynasty, Taiwan was called Liouciou; in the Ming Dynasty, Siaoliouciou (Little Liouciou), Dongfan, Taiguan, and also Taiwan.

        The Han Chinese came to Penghu first, reaching there as early as the end of the ninth century (around the end of the Tang Dynasty). In the first half of the twelfth century, there were Han Chinese living on Penghu and even coming to the island of Taiwan for trade and short stays. During the Yuan Dynasty, the government set up a patrol station on Penghu.

        Penghu was incorporated into the Ming Empire. In the first years of the Ming Dynasty, the founding Emperor Taizu decided to ban maritime activities in order to prevent Japanese and Chinese pirates from harassing the southeast coast of mainland China. Also, people living on Penghu were relocated to Fuchien Province. However, the ban was not effectively enforced. Fuchien is a mountainous province with limited arable land and a dense population. The people of Fuchien depend on the sea for their sustenance and livelihood. Fuchien traders kept coming to Penghu, which was now a hotspot for Han immigration and maritime activities. Penghu was a stepping stone to Taiwan, bringing Taiwan into closer contact with the mainland. Han Chinese started coming more frequently and in greater numbers to the island of Taiwan for fishing, trade, smuggling and piracy.

        Among Han pirates of the late sixteenth century, Lin Daocian and Lin Fong came to Penghu and Taiwan proper. Han merchants and fishermen also had contact with the indigenes. There are even instances of Han merchants and Taiwanese indigenes fighting together against pirates.

        At the end of the sixteenth century, warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after uniting Japan, sought to create an empire. To counter this Japanese threat, the Ming government stationed troops on Penghu to reinforce southeastern coastal defenses. It was no longer easy for smugglers and pirates to operate from Penghu and Kinmen. Smuggling and piracy came to the island of Taiwan instead. In the 1620s, leading pirate Yan Sihci withdrew from Kyushu, Japan to Taiwan and made the island his stronghold. After Yan’s death, Jheng Jhihlong[1] took over his role as pirate leader and surrendered to the Ming government, moving his base to Fuchien.

 

Japanese in Penghu and Taiwan Proper

As early as the late fourteenth century, Japanese merchants and pirates had come to Taiwan. They called Taiwan Takasago or Takayama Koku, meaning “land of high mountains.”

        In the second half of the fourteenth century, piracy expanded south, from the Kingdom of Koryo (roughly, present day North Korea) and coastal Shandong province to Jhejiang, Fuchien and Guangdong. After Ming Emperor Taizu declared the coastal ban, even more Japanese came to Penghu and Taiwan proper. Some were merchants, some pirates. At the end of the sixteenth century, the Ming sent troops to Penghu to drive pirates out of the Taiwan Strait.[2] As a result, Japanese merchants and pirates came to Taiwan proper, mainly to Keelung, Tayoun (present-day Tainan) and Takao (present-day Kaohsiung). The Japanese government even sent troops to Taiwan to protect Japanese interests. As early as the late sixteenth century, then, the Japanese had shown interest in Taiwan.

 

3-2 The Dutch and Spanish

“Ilha Formosa”

        At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Portuguese ventured to coastal China and Japan. When they sailed by Taiwan, they saw a beautiful island and named it “Ilha Formosa,” meaning “beautiful island.”

 

The Dutch Occupy Penghu and Southern Taiwan

        At the end of the fifteenth century, the European discovered a new route to India. Many European came to the Far East to claim colonies. In the late sixteenth century, the Portuguese and Spanish took Macau and the city of Manila as gateways for trade with China. Later, the Dutch came to Asia. In 1604, the Dutch East India Company–also known as VOC, for Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie–occupied Penghu for trade with China. However, Ming general Shen Yourong forced the Dutch to withdraw, averting a possible war.[3] In 1622, the Dutch returned and occupied Penghu again.

        As Penghu was regarded as Chinese territory, when it was occupied by the Dutch, the Ming government ordered troops to drive the Dutch out. The Dutch had no choice but to leave, withdrawing from Penghu in August,1624. With the tacit consent of the Ming, the Dutch relocated to Tayouan, or present-day Taiwan proper, which was not yet Chinese territory. For the first time, Taiwan proper was occupied by Europeans. Taiwan was now a territory of international importance.

 

Dutch Rule of the Indigenous People

        After they took Tayouan, the Dutch built Fort Zeelandia (present-day Anping, Tainan). They also built a new town at Sakkam (Saccam), where Siraya people lived. In addition, they attacked other indigenous people and conquered or destroyed many powerful sub-tribes.[4]

        The Dutch mainly administered the indigenous people through tribal chiefs. These chiefs had to meet once a year and pledge loyalty to the Dutch and report on the areas they were in charge of. The Dutch also strengthened their governance of the indigenes through Christianity. Missionaries were appointed as administrators over the indigenes.

        To further their missionary aims, the Dutch established churches and schools. The students were indigenous teenagers or women, and the teachers were mostly missionaries. The teachers even transliterated indigenous languages using the Roman alphabet, to allow the students to understand Christian doctrine and ritual.

 

Han Chinese Under Dutch Oppression

        After occupying Taiwan, the Dutch “recruited” many Han farmers in China to come to Taiwan and boost agricultural production. They gave the farmers tools but not land ownership, and often forced them off the lands they were cultivating. The Dutch banned private trade between Han and indigenous people. They exacted all kinds of taxes from the farmers. Han farmers who married indigenous girls forced to convert to Christianity. The Han were forbidden to keep weapons or hold meetings. This severe oppression led to the Guo Huaiyi Rebellion, in which thousands of Han Chinese were killed.

 

Dutch Economic Activities in Taiwan

        The Dutch used Taiwan to grow rice and sugar cane on a massive scale. Production soared. There was more than enough for domestic needs. The surplus was exported.

        The main purpose of the Dutch occupation was to use Taiwan as a trading post, mainly with China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. In addition to cane sugar and deerskin, other commodities included silk, porcelain and Chinese medicine.

 

Spanish Occupation of Northern Taiwan

        The Spaniards in Manila felt deeply threatened when the Dutch occupied southern Taiwan. To counter this threat, they occupied Keelung in 1626. Shortly thereafter, they took Huwei (present-day Danshuei), and Kavalan (present-day Yilan). The Spaniards built a fort called Santo Domingo in Huwei. Later, the Dutch built another fort nearby called Fort Anthonij (Fort Saint Anthony), which has come to be called the “Red-Haired Barbarian Fort” by local people.

        In 1627, the Spaniards established a mission serving the Taipei region. The missionaries preached to indigenous people, Han Chinese, and Japanese. During the sixteen years of the Spanish occupation, more than thirty missionaries came to Taiwan. There were more than four-thousand converts to Catholicism.

 

The Dutch Expel the Spanish

        When the Spaniards first occupied northern Taiwan, they intended to turn Keelung and Huwei into international trading posts and use Taiwan as a springboard for missionary activities in Japan. However, they were never successful: they became indifferent to Taiwan and even decreased the number of troops stationed there. By contrast, the Dutch had planned to take Taiwan as a whole from the very beginning. In addition, the profit they derived from Taiwan was far greater than expected. As soon as the Dutch knew that the Spanish had decreased their troops, they forced them out in 1642.

        Under Dutch and Spanish rule, the indigenous people were still autonomous in many places in Taiwan, especially in central Taiwan in the area of present-day Dadu Township, Taichung County. At one time there was a common chief of about twenty villages.[5] Although in the end these indigenous people submitted to Dutch rule, much territory remained beyond the reach of the European colonizers. This territory was the home of mountain indigenes, who continued their traditional lifestyles relatively undisturbed.