Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Taiwanese believe they have a distinct society, and that is largely because
of their history. Primarily aboriginal until the 17th century, Taiwan later saw
centuries of immigration (coupled with colonisation by multiple empires),
which resulted in localised arts, cuisine, religious worship patterns and so-
cial structures. The country's long road from authoritarianism (which
sought to destroy that localisation) to democracy is another key part of the
distinction people feel, and understanding this is essential for grasping the
issues of the day.
Early History
Archaeological sites on the east coast, in particular the Baxianshan Caves, show humans
existing in Taiwan as early as 50,000 years ago, as part of what is known as the Changbin
Culture.
The ancestors of today's aboriginals likely came to Taiwan by sea from southeast China
around 6000 years ago, landing in such places as Bali on the north coast and various spots
down the west coast. They brought agriculture and advanced forms of culture (such as
pottery) and quickly spread all over the island. Around 2000 BCE they even began to
move off the island and there is good linguistic and archaeological evidence that this dia-
spora was the source of all of today's Austronesian peoples.
In 1603, Ming troops landed in an attempt to root out piracy and illegal trade. From this
came the first personal Chinese record of Taiwan: Dong Fan Zhi's
An Account of the
Eastern Barbarians
.
The Dutch Colonial Era
Though Chinese fisherman began to settle in Penghu around 1000 years ago, until the 16th
century Taiwan was isolated and almost exclusively aboriginal. Official Chinese records
were even unclear if it was one island or many until the late Ming dynasty. What
happened to change the status quo? Trade. This was the era of increasing maritime com-
mercial activity throughout East Asia and Taiwan quickly became a critical link in the
routes between China (mostly Fujian), Japan, Manila and Macau.
Of particular importance were the routes established by the Dutch East India Company
(abbreviated VOC). In 1602 the VOC was given a trade monopoly in the East. Unfortu-
