400 Years of the Netherlands – Taiwan (1624 – 2024)

In the 17th century, parts of Formosa (present-day Taiwan) were in Dutch hands for a considerable time, or more precisely, in the hands of the VOC. In 2024, it was 400 years since the VOC set foot on Taiwanese soil, which has had a lasting impact on the rich, diverse culture that characterizes the island today. Little is known about this history, but this anniversary was celebrated on a grand scale in Taiwan.

Taiwan

The territory of Taiwan comprises a large island and a large number of small islets. Taiwan, the common name for the Republic of China, not to be confused with the People's Republic of China, is derived from the largest island of the Taiwanese territory.

This island, formerly known as Formosa, is also called Taiwan by its inhabitants. In 1583, a Portuguese ship sailed past the island, which was called Tapanga by the residents at the time. The ship's captain named the island Ilha. Formosa (Portuguese, beautiful island).

 

VOC (1602 – 1800)

In 1624, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) established itself on the island because this was prohibited on the mainland of China, then called Cathay. Administration in Dutch Formosa was conducted from Fort Zeelandia instead I thinkThe island was not occupied, but there was cooperation with the local village chiefs. The VOC organized education, through which the indigenous population was Christianized. Sugar plantations were established.

The indigenous population was related to the Filipinos. Due to the economic success of the VOC in the sugarcane trade, an increasing number of Chinese migrants also settled there starting in 1635. When a civil war broke out on the mainland around 1645, leading to the overthrow of the Ming dynasty by the Qing dynasty, a large army led by rebel leader Zheng Chenggong, also known as Koxinga, marched to the island and engaged in battle with the VOC. With the surrender of Fort Zeelandia in January 1662, the VOC presence on Formosa came to an end. Koxinga's descendants ruled the island as the Kingdom of Tungning until 1683. In that year, the Qing dynasty conquered the island, and administratively, it became part of the Chinese province of Fujian.  

400 years of Tainan (1624)

Tainan, officially Tainan City, is a municipality in southern Taiwan, overlooking the Taiwan Strait on the west coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and is commonly referred to as the “prefectural capital” due to its more than 260-year history as the capital of Taiwan under Dutch rule, the Tungning Kingdom, and later the rule of the Qing Dynasty until 1887. Tainan’s complex history of comebacks, redefinitions, and renewals inspired its popular nickname “the Phoenix City.” Tainan is classified as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

In 1624, the Dutch East India Company established Fort Zeelandia on the coast as its base. This connected Tainan to the entire world. Until the end of the nineteenth century, Tainan was the most important political, economic, and cultural center of Taiwan. It is notable as the city with the longest cultural history in Taiwan. In 2024, Tainan celebrated its 400th anniversary.

Sheet: The first stamp depicts the Chihkan Tower, the Koxinga Ancestral Temple, the Tainan Theological College and Seminary, and Building 1 of the Tainan Art Museum (formerly the Tainan Police Station). This stamp represents the Dutch era, the Koxinga Ming Dynasty, the Qing Empire, and Japanese rule. The second stamp depicts the Tainan Public Library (new headquarters), which represents the modern IT era.

As the oldest urban area of ​​Taiwan with a history of over 400 years, Tainan was initially founded by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a government and trading base called Fort Zeelandia during Dutch colonial rule on the island.

After To Cochin After the Dutch fort had been captured in 1662, Tainan remained the capital of the Tungning Kingdom, ruled by the House of Koxinga until 1683, and subsequently the capital of Taiwan Prefecture under the Qing Dynasty until 1887, when the new provincial capital was first moved to present-day Taichung and eventually to Taipei. Following the transfer of Taiwan, Tainan became the second capital of the short-lived Republic of Formosa from June to October 1895 until the capitulation of Tainan by the invading troops of the Japanese Empire. Under Japanese rule, the city was the seat of Tainan Prefecture. After the surrender of Japan in World War II, the Republic of China assumed power over Taiwan in 1945 and reorganized the city into a provincial town within Taiwan Province. This role would remain until 2010, when the city was merged with nearby Tainan County to form a new special municipality.

The legacy of Tainan’s long history of settlement has had a significant impact on Taiwan, and the former name, Tayouan, is considered the origin of the name “Taiwan”. It is also one of Taiwan’s cultural capitals, due to its rich folk cultures, including famous local street food and traditional cuisine, extensively preserved Taoist rituals, and other living local traditions encompassing everything from the birth of a child to funerals. The city is home to the first Confucian school temple in Taiwan, built in 1665, the remains of the eastern and southern gates of the old city, and countless other historical monuments. Tainan claims more Buddhist and Taoist temples than any other city in Taiwan.  

400 years of Koxinga (1624 – 1662)

Van Coxinga, born and initially raised in Japan, is said to have received a samurai education there. However, at the age of seven, at his father's request, he went to China, where he was educated in classical Chinese literature. Like his father, he became a prominent leader of the anti-Qing movement and strived for a restoration of the Ming dynasty, which had been ousted by the Qing dynasty. From Zhu Yujian, the Emperor of the Southern Ming, he had received the use of the imperial surname and the name 'Chenggong' ('Success'). Contemporaries called him Guoxingye ('Imperial Surname'). Chinese contemporaries pronounced 'Guoxing' as 'Kok-seng', which was corrupted by Europeans into Koxinga or Coxinga. Besides being a Ming supporter, Zheng Chenggong was also a feared pirate like his father.

After a number of tactical errors, he was cornered near Nanking. Coxinga had to decide whether to flee to Manila or Formosa. In April 1661, he launched an invasion of Taiwan, which was controlled by the Dutch East India Company (VOC). In November, his father was executed on the mainland. In February 1662, he forced Governor Frederick Coyett to surrender Fort Zeelandia. They were allowed to take their useless riches, but he confiscated merchandise worth nearly half a million guilders. He named the territory he conquered the Kingdom of Tungning.

Koxinga died four months later of malaria; according to other sources, he went insane, possibly as a result of syphilis. He was succeeded by his son Zheng Jing. The latter became involved in the Rebellion of the Three Feudal Estates, an uprising of three governors of territories in southeastern China against the rule of the Qing. Zhen Jing died in 1682. In 1683, his son Zheng Keshuang and Koxinga's grandson surrendered to the Manchus, and Taiwan was annexed by the Chinese Empire. A group of 18 Dutchmen was found, who had been held captive since 1662. In 1700, Emperor Kangxi declared that Koxinga should no longer be considered a rebel, but a defender of the Ming dynasty.

 

<strong> More info: </strong>

Tainan 400 years: https://tainan400.tainan.gov.tw/

The VOC distributed free land and made Taiwan 'Chinese':

https://geschiedenismagazine.nl/voc-deelde-gratis-land-uit-en-maakte-taiwan-chinees

Taiwan keeps the memory of the VOC era alive:

https://www.rd.nl/a/1079251-taiwan-houdt-herinnering-aan-voc-tijdperk-levend