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Capital (and largest city) |
Fort Zeelandia[1] | |||||||
Other Cities | Providentia, Fort Noort-Holland/Keelung, Tamsui and Favorolan | |||||||
Language Official |
Dutch | |||||||
Others | Chinese (Cantonese, Hokkien and Mandarin), Formosan languages, Tay-tals (Formosan-Dutch creole), French, Spanish and English, Tamil, and Javanese and Sumatran languages | |||||||
Religion Main |
Netherlands Reformed Church | |||||||
Others | Other Protestant denominations, native animistic religion, Chinese folk religion, Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam. | |||||||
Ethnic Groups Main |
Taiwanese aborigines | |||||||
Others | European (Dutch, English, French, Spanish), Chinese, Tamil, Javanese and Sumatran | |||||||
Demonym | Formosan | |||||||
Government | Colony of the Dutch Republic administered by the Dutch East India Company | |||||||
Legislature | Council of Formosa (Raad van Formosa) and States General of the Dutch Republic | |||||||
Stadholder | ||||||||
Governor | ||||||||
Area | 35,883 km² | |||||||
Established | 1624-1662, 1668- to date | |||||||
Currency | Spanish real, chinese silver tael, Netherlands Indies gulden and Formosan gulden |
Dutch Formosa (Nederlands-Formosa), known historically as Formosa, is an island colony under Dutch rule from 1624-1662, 1668 and to date. In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presence on the Island to trade with the Ming Empire and Japan, and also to interdict Portuguese and Spanish trade and colonial activities in East Asia.
Considered the Parel van China (The Pearl of China) due to its lucrative economy and strategic sea connection to Dutch Ceylon, China, Japan and the East Indies (Batavia).
History[]
The Dutch initially were not universally welcomed in Formosa and uprisings by both aborigines and recent Han arrivals were quelled by the Dutch military on more than one occasion. The colonial period was almost brought to an end by the 1661 invasion of Koxinga's army.
Koxinga's lived Kingdom of Tungning was at odds with the ruling Manchu Qing dynasty of China. part of Koxinga's plan was to recapture the Chinese mainland from the Manchus by using the island as a base of operations to settle and train his troops.Fo llowing the death of Koxinga in 1662 due to malaria, his son Zheng Jing took over the Zheng regime, leading the remaining 7,000 Ming loyalist troops to Taiwan.
The Dutch allied with the new Qing dynasty in China against the Zheng regime in Taiwan. Following some skirmishes the Dutch retook the northern fortress at Keelung in 1664. Zheng Jing sent troops to dislodge the Dutch, but they were unsuccessful. The Dutch held out at Keelung with the help of the Chinese navy and army starting a campaign that ended in the recovery of Formosa for the Dutch and its full territorial control (the Dutch-Zheng War 1664-1670) and the subjugation as protectorate and later full integration (1676) of the Kingdom of Middag.
The recovered Dutch rule over Formosa keep some of the reforms of the Zheng regime such as the provincial division, part of the Chinese style administration and civil service exams, keep the state monopoly of the production of salt, settlement of the issue of the lands confiscated to the Dutch and restriction on Han migration from China. A Better integration of the local landowners and natives chief to the administration and the return of missionaries. The need of manpower relatively soon ended the restriction of Chinese workers but also opened the migration of Tamils, Sumatran and Javanese people.
Pax Neerlandica was restored and native warfare ended, along a stronger support of the work of religious missionaries.
Government[]
The Governor of Formosa (Gouverneur van Formosa), appointed by the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia, is the head of government. The Governor is empowered to legislate, collect taxes, wage war and declare peace, on behalf of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and therefore by extension the Dutch state. He is assisted by the Council of Formosa integrated by ex officio members and locals.
Pressured by the colonists a partially elected Council of Formosa (Raad van Formosa) met in 1702 representing the Dutch population of the island. It would be a long time before the Chinese of the island, or the native population had any representation
Aboriginals are allowed to continue their lives relatively freely, but are required to make annual tribute to the Dutch in in addition to a number of taxes, including export duties, sales tax and hunting taxes. They also laid down laws governing every aspect of life, including the organisation of markets, production of alcohol, construction of houses and observation of Sunday services.
The process of converting indigenous peoples to Christianity also helped to increase the literacy of aboriginals, as clergymen sent by the Dutch East India Company were involved in translating the Bible from Dutch into Romanized versions of indigenous languages. The clergy were also involved in setting up schools, as well as serving as interpreters and tax collectors, playing a key role in the administration of Formosa by the Dutch. This was largely due to the fact that they were heavily involved with the aboriginal tribes, and understood their cultures and the various dialects.
Adminstraly Formosa is divided in districts and territories each under the direction of an appointed Landdrost. Below the districts there exist the townships (following the Dutch city organization) and native village and tribe leaderships. The Kingdom of Middag was briefly a Dutch protectorate (1664-1676) before its transformation into a district.
Economy[]
The Fort Zeelandia factory is the fourth-most profitable factory in the whole of the Dutch East Indies (after the post at Batavia, Malacca and Hirado/Dejima). Benefitting from triangular trade between themselves, the Chinese and the Japanese, plus exploiting the natural resources of Formosa, the Dutch were able to turn the malarial sub-tropical bay into a lucrative asset. A cash economy was introduced (using the Spanish real, which was used by the VOC) and the period also saw the first serious attempts in the island's history to develop it economically.
Economic development in Formosa, including both large-scale hunting of deer and the cultivation of rice and sugarcane by imported Han labour from the Ming Empire. The Dutch convert the majority the aboriginal inhabitants to Christianity, and suppress aspects of traditional culture that they found disagreeable, such as headhunting, forced abortion and public nakedness.
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- ↑ Tayouan, modern-day Anping)