The Dutch Period in Taiwan’s History 1624-1662

The Dutch Period in Taiwan’s History 1624-1662 Gerrit van der Wees Taiwanese PEN Club of NJ September 22nd 2012

Outline of Taiwan’s special history • untilapprox. 1600, only aborigines • 1624-1662 Dutch in Zeelandia • 1662-1683 Koxinga, Kingdom of Tungning • 1683-1887 Ruled from Fukien by Ch’ing Dynasty • 1887-1895 province of China • 1895-1945 colony of Japan • 1945-1987 authoritarian KMT rule

The population before approximately 1600 • Aborigines of Malayo-Polynesian race: • approximately 14 different tribes • Mainly hunting and fishing • Strong relation with the Maoriesand Polynesians No sign of influence or presence of the Chinese, except some individual traders along the coast

Europeans looking for the Orient: Exploration in the 16th Century • Late 1400s – early 1500s: • Portugese explorers Magelhaens and Vasco da Gama explored African and South American coast and crossed Atlantic • Spain sent Columbus to the East, and he accidentally discovered America • Late 1500s – early 1600s: • Spain dominant world power • Trade in spices (Moluccas) and silk (China)

Europeans looking for the Orient: Exploration in the 16th Century

Europeans looking for the Orient: Exploration in the 17th Century • The decline of the Spanish empire • The rise of the Dutch, why? • Dutch were fighting for their independence from Spain (1568-1648) • Dutch technology: windmill power to cut wood for shipbuilding • Dutch were a seafaring nation: experience with navigation and mapmaking

Europeans looking for the Orient: 17th Century, the Dutch Golden Age • 1602 Establishment of the Dutch East India Company • Aggressive expansion via Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, East Indies • Beyond that: trade with China and Japan • 1619 Establishment of the Dutch West India Company • Expansion into Caribbean, Surinam, and a rocky place called New Amsterdam, which lasted from 1625 until 1664

Europeans looking for the Orient: Dutch trade with China and Japan • 1622 Attempt to have settlement on the Chinese coast near Macao: Chinese emperor refused • The Dutch went to the Pescadores and established a fortress there • The next year, the Chinese emperor came back and told them to go “beyond our territory” – so the Dutch went to Taiwan

Europeans looking for the Orient: Dutch trade with China and Japan

Taiwan’s history Dutch period 1624 - 1662 • Fort Zeelandia (安平古堡)became prosperous East India Co. post for trade with China and Japan (Decima) • Population: some • 2,000 Dutch • 20,000 Chinese • and 200,000 aborigines

Taiwan’s history Dutch period 1624 - 1662 • Administration • Upon arrival, the Dutch established Fort Orange in An-ping, later changed to Fort Zeelandia (安平古堡) in 1627; and a commercial district Provintia(赤崁樓) across the river. • Establishment of local government (landdagh) under the Dutch governor • Dutch population initially approx. 1000, soldiers and missionaries. Later growing to some 2,000.

Taiwan’s history Dutch period 1624 - 1662

Taiwan’s history Dutch period 1624 - 1662 Picture of Fort Zeelandia, taken during the Japanese period:

Dutch period 1624 – 1662Mercantilistic Trade • Valuable goods: Chinese silk, Japanese silver, Southeast Asia spices, deer hide, and later sugar • Heavy taxation. Net profits increased dramatically between 1640 and 1653, making Taiwan the second most profitable trading house in Asia after Japan • After 1644, trade with China and Japan declined because of Chinese civil war and Japan’s isolationism.

Dutch period 1624 – 1662 From hunting to cash crop agriculture • The Dutch provided land, capital, and technology (imported 121 water buffaloes from Dutch East Indies); constructed irrigation system • Adopted “pacht” (lease) system to manage the land cultivation for sugar and rice, and trade with the aborigines (Bak She.) • Started sugar plantations in 1630. By 1658, sugar production was more than enough to supply Japan and Persia.

Dutch period 1624 – 1662 From hunting to cash crop agriculture • Fishing and hunting used the same “pacht” system to auction off the rights to fish and hunt. Export of dear hides to Japan reached 110,000 pieces by 1634. But stocks were quickly depleted. • Rice production increased quickly. Dutch imported seasonal laborers from China. By 1655, the Han population reached 20,000

Dutch period 1624 – 1662Missionary work, schools, hospitals • Rev. GeorgiusCandidiusand Rev. RobertusJunius arrived in 1627 and worked with Pinpu tribe, especially Sinkan community. • Introduced Latin alphabet. Translated the • New Testament into Sinkan language. This writing system continued to be used for 150 years. • By 1640, some 4000 to 5000 aborigines were converted to Christianity.

Dutch period 1624 – 1662Missionary work, schools, hospitals • The Dutch established some 40 villages, and set up schools, churches and hospitals. • One of those was called “Brouwershaven” • on the coast South of Tainan, after the village my ancestors in Zeeland are from • Drawing of a church in Anping

Dutch period 1624 – 1662 Prosperous trading post • Taiwan at the cross-roads between SE-Asia, Japan, China ...... and America • Here is where the Spanish come in. Why was Spain there? • Major settlement in Manila, established in 1581

Spanish period 1626 – 1642 Why was Spain there? • To protect its China trade with the coastal provinces: silk, silver etc. • As a staging post for trans- Pacific galleons from Acapulco to Manila

The Dutch rise and Spanish fall • In 1642the Dutch drove the Spaniards out of Tamsui and Keelung

Dutch period 1624 – 1662 Prosperous trading post • Lively trade with Japan, and Chinese coast, main water highway to Batavia in Dutch East Indies • Continuing competition with the Spanish in Manila • 1644 Civil War in China: Ch’ing replacing Ming

Dutch period 1624 – 1662 1650s the turning tide • Civil War started to affect trade: fewer products to and from the Chinese coast • New Ch’ing emperor took Beijing and Nanjing • Ming follower Cheng Ch’eng-kung (Koxinga) controlled coast

The fall of Fort ZeelandiaThe Dutch side • Dutch governor Frederick Coyett , appointed by East India Company, governor of Formosa 1656 - 1662 • Almost the same time as Peter Stuyvesant in New York (1647-1664) • Coyett had about 1,200 Dutch soldiers + several thousand dispersed aborigines

The fall of Fort ZeelandiaWho was Koxinga? • Son of Chinese pirate father, Cheng Chi-long and a Japanese mother, named Tagawa. Koxinga (Cheng Ch’eng-kung 國姓爺) was born in Nagasaki in 1624 • When the Ch’ing dynasty took over in 1644, his father surrendered, but the son continued resistance along the coast

The fall of Fort Zeelandia Koxinga’s exploits • 1658-1659 tried to capture Nanking, but was beaten back by Ch’ing Dynasty forces • 1660 under increasing pressure from the Ch’ing • 1661 sailed to Taiwan with 400 boats and 25,000 men

The fall of Fort Zeelandia The siege of the Fort • April 2nd 1661 Koxinga’s fleet landed across from the Dutch fortress, outside the reach of the Dutch cannons • Attacked the smaller fort Provintia, and cut off supplies on both land and seaside • The siege lasted nine months, until surrender on February 10th 1662

The fall of Fort Zeelandia The siege of the Fort • In total some 630 Dutch and 9,000 Chinese combatants were killed, in addition to several thousand aborigines, fighting on the side of the Dutch • In addition, Koxinga killed several hundred missionaries and teachers in surrounding villages

The fall of Fort Zeelandia The siege of the Fort • Coyett, the Dutch governor sent a small ship, the Maria, to Batavia to ask for help • But the governor- general in Batavia sent only a small fleet with 700 soldiers • Later Coyett was tried and banned for 10 years for the loss of Formosa

The fall of Fort Zeelandia The aftermath • After his trial and 10 years of being banned, Coyett returned to The Netherlands and wrote a stinging rebuke of his superiors, titled ’tVerwaerloosde Formosa = Neglected Formosa or Formosa Betrayed

Kingdom of Tungning (1662-1683)Koxinga’s brief reign • After the Dutch defeat, Koxinga established his reign of Taiwan, but only ruled the area directly adjacent to the old Dutch fortress • In 1663 he died of malaria, and his son Cheng Ching (鄭經)took over, bringing more Ming loyalists from the Chinese coast to Taiwan • In 1677 he tried to recapture some coastal cities, but failed

Kingdom of Tungning (1662-1683)Koxinga’s brief reign • The continued Ming activism prompted the Ch’ing emperor Kangxi (康熙帝) to take action. In 1681 he ordered Admiral Shih Lang (施琅) to attack the Ming remnants • Shih Lang had been a captain in the fleet of Koxinga’s father, but had defected to the Ch’ing • In 1683 Shih Lang defeated Koxinga’s son in the battle of Penghu and took Taiwan

Koxinga’s Kingdom (1662-1683)Different interpretations • PRC Chinese see Koxinga as the Chinese cultural nationalist “fighting to take Taiwan from the foreign colonizers.” • He was “the great nationalist who restored Taiwan to its proper place in Chinese territorial domain.” • Shih Lang is name of new aircraft carrier

Koxinga’s Kingdom (1662-1683)Different interpretations • For the Kuomintang (ROC) Koxinga was a symbol of Chiang Kai-shek whose key slogan was “recover the mainland.” • Chiang was defeated by Mao Tse-tung, and had to retreat to Taiwan. Like Koxinga, Chiang vowed to retake China and restore his dynasty as the rightful govern-ment of all of China

Koxinga’s Kingdom (1662-1683)Different interpretations • For Taiwan independence supporters Koxinga was the first one to create an inde- pendent nation-state in Taiwan • At the Memorial Hall in Tainan it says: “Before him there were no Chinese in Taiwan. He brought them over making it a safe place for them.”

The EndFurther references: Taiwan Communiqué: http://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/ History page: http://www.taiwandc.org/history.htm

The Dutch Period in Taiwan’s History 1624-1662