| Formosa Expedition | |||||||
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 Flag of New Spain. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kingdom of Middag |  Spanish East Indies | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 200 Spaniards and 400 native Filipinos | |||||||
The Spanish expedition to Formosa was a campaign mounted by the Spanish based in Manila, Philippines in 1626. It was the Spanish response to Dutch settlements being built in Formosa, now known as Taiwan. In cooperation with the Portuguese, this venture was made to attract Chinese traders and curtail the expansion of Dutch power in Asia.
As part of its campaign in Asia, the Dutch East India Company attempted to establish a trading outpost on the Penghu Islands (Pescadores) in 1622, but were driven off by the Ming authorities. [1] In 1624, the Company established a stronghold called Fort Zeelandia on the coastal islet of Tayouan, which is now part of the main island at Anping, Tainan. [2] David Wright, a Scottish agent of the Company who lived on the island in the 1650s, described the lowland areas of the island as being divided among 11 chiefdoms ranging in size from two settlements to 72. Some of these fell under Dutch control while others remained independent. [3] The Company began to import laborers from Fujian and Penghu (Pescadores), many of whom settled. [1]
On 5 May 1626, the first Spanish landing on Formosa, as ordered by Governor-General of the Philippines Fernándo de Silva, was at Cape Santiago, but they decided that the area was not suitable for defense. [4] So, the Spanish continued westwards along the coast until they arrived at Keelung. A deep and well-protected harbor, including a small island in the mouth of the harbor, made it the ideal spot to build the first settlement, which they named Santisima Trinidad. Forts were built, both on the island and on the harbor itself. It was garrisoned by hundreds of Spaniards (Spanish Filipino) and native Filipino soldiers from the Philippines. The colony was designed to protect Spanish and Portuguese trade from interference by the Dutch base in the south of Taiwan.
Fort Santo Domingo was built by the Spanish in 1629 at Tamsui after which the present site of the Fort was named in order to bolster the success of establishing Spanish power in Formosa. [5] On a night in 1636, a group of local people, angered by the taxes that the Spanish governor had imposed, successfully attacked the fort and demolished it. In 1637, the Spanish rebuilt the fort using stone and raised the height of the walls to twenty feet or more.
However, in August 1642, the Dutch returned to Keelung with four large ships, several smaller ships, and with approximately 369 Dutch soldiers. [6] A combination of Spaniards, aboriginals, and Pampangos from the Philippines held off troops for six days, they eventually returned to Manila defeated, and gave up their flags and what little artillery remained with them. [6] Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera, governor of the Philippines, was originally to blame for the loss of the Formosa and was eventually tried in court for his actions, [7] and was imprisoned for five years in the Philippines. Historians since Corcuera's time have chastised him for the loss of the Formosa, [6] but other factors, such as the continuing rise of the Dutch Empire in Southeast Asia, and financial troubles within the Spanish Empire, were also contributing factors.
The history of the island of Taiwan dates back tens of thousands of years to the earliest known evidence of human habitation. The sudden appearance of a culture based on agriculture around 3000 BC is believed to reflect the arrival of the ancestors of today's Taiwanese indigenous peoples. People from China gradually came into contact with Taiwan by the time of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) and Han Chinese people started settling there by the early 17th century. Named Formosa by Portuguese explorers, the south of the island was colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century whilst the Spanish built a settlement in the north which lasted until 1642. These European settlements were followed by an influx of Hoklo and Hakka immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong.
The Penghu or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately 50 km (31 mi) west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Channel, covering an area of 141 square kilometers (54 sq mi). The archipelago collectively forms Penghu County of Taiwan and is the smallest county of Taiwan. The largest city is Magong, located on the largest island, which is also named Magong.
Keelung, Chilung or Jilong, officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area with neighboring New Taipei City and Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport, and was the world's 7th largest port in 1984.
Fort Zeelandia was a fortress built over ten years from 1624 to 1634 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), in the town of Anping on Formosa, the former name of central island of Taiwan, during their 38-year rule over the western part of the island. The site had been renamed several times as Fort Orange, Fort Anping, and Taiwan City ; the current name of the site in Chinese is Chinese: 安平古堡; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: An-pêng Kó͘-pó; lit. 'Anping Old Fort'.
Fort Santo Domingo is a historical fortress in Tamsui District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. It was originally a wooden fort built in 1628 by the Spanish Empire, who named it in Spanish: el Fuerte de Santo Domingo, lit. 'the Fort of Saint Dominic'. However, the fort was then destroyed by the Spanish themselves for economic downsizing and withdrawal, which their rival Dutch Empire soon found out and later invaded and won by the Second Battle of San Salvador in 1642. After the battle, in 1644, the Dutch rebuilt a fort in the original site and renamed it in Dutch: Fort Antonio. Since the Dutch were called in Taiwanese Hokkien Chinese: 紅毛; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Âng-mn̂g; lit. 'Red-haired (people)') by the Han Chinese immigrants during the time, the fort was then nicknamed in Taiwanese Hokkien Chinese: 紅毛城; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Âng-mn̂g-siâⁿ; lit. 'Red-hair fort'.
Anping District is a district of Tainan, Taiwan. In March 2012, it was named one of the Top 10 Small Tourist Towns by the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan. It is home to 64,408 people according to the 2020 census.
The island of Taiwan, also commonly known as Formosa, was partly under colonial rule by the Dutch Republic from 1624 to 1662 and from 1664 to 1668. In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presence on Formosa to trade with the Ming Empire in neighbouring China and Tokugawa shogunate in Japan, and also to interdict Portuguese and Spanish trade and colonial activities in East Asia.
The Kingdom of Tungning, also known as Tywan by the English at the time, was a dynastic maritime state that ruled part of southwestern Taiwan and the Penghu islands between 1661 and 1683. It is the first predominantly ethnic Han state in Taiwanese history. At its zenith, the kingdom's maritime power dominated varying extents of coastal regions of southeastern China and controlled the major sea lanes across both China Seas, and its vast trade network stretched from Japan to Southeast Asia.
Santísima Trinidad was a bay on the northeast coast of Taiwan at Keelung, where in 1626 the Spanish established a settlement and built Fort San Salvador. They occupied the site until 1642 when they were driven out by the Dutch. The Dutch re-shaped the Spanish fort, reduced its size and renamed it Fort Noort-Holland.
Fernándo de Silva was a Spanish diplomat and colonial official. From July 1625 to June 28, 1626, he was interim governor of the Philippines.
The Siege of Fort Zeelandia of 1661–1662 ended the Dutch East India Company's rule over Taiwan and began the Kingdom of Tungning's rule over the island.
The cultural history of Taiwan can be traced back to prehistoric Stone Age. Later the development of written languages made it easier to maintain traditions of the Taiwanese culture.
Paulus Traudenius was the Dutch Governor of Formosa from 1640 to 1643.
Martinus or Maarten Sonck was the first Dutch governor of Formosa from 1624 to 1625.
Spanish Formosa was a small colony of the Spanish Empire established in the northern tip of the island now known as Taiwan, then known to Europeans at the time as Formosa or to Spaniards as "Isla Hermosa" from 1626 to 1642. It was ceded to the Dutch Republic during the Eighty Years' War.
Tamsui District is a seaside district in New Taipei City, Taiwan adjacent to the Tamsui River and overlooking the Taiwan Strait. The name of the district means "fresh water" in Chinese. Although modest in size, Tamsui plays a significant role in Taiwanese history and culture.
Fengguiwei Fort is a former Dutch fortification located in Magong, Penghu, Taiwan. The fort sat atop a small hill on a peninsula across the bay from Magong Harbor. As of today, little of the original structure remains.
The Battle of San Salvador (1642), also known as the Second Battle of San Salvador, was a military assault launched by the Dutch on a small fortified Spanish settlement and its aboriginal allies in northern Formosa 1642. After six days, the battle ended in defeat for the Spanish. The Spanish defeat secured complete island control for the Dutch.
The Battle of San Salvador (1641), also known as the First Battle of San Salvador, was an expedition launched by the Dutch and their aboriginal allies in Taiwan against the Spanish in 1641.
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