Taiwan Roads > History of Taiwan

History of Taiwan

Long unknown to the greatest civilizations, the island of Taiwan has been the object of much envy over the centuries, particularly since the second half of the second millennium (from the 16th century). Successively crossed by different peoples, first aboriginal, then European, Chinese and Japanese, Taiwan has seen a unique identity forged within itself, constantly evolving. Few countries have had successive waves of population influence their history to such an extent.

From the origins to 1683

The earliest human remains found on Taiwan date back nearly 30,000 years, a time when the present-day island was accessible by land from the mainland. Since then, sea levels have risen, isolating the few peoples who have emerged on the island since 3000 BCE. Until the 16th century, contact between these populations and the rest of the world was sparse, if not nonexistent. It was in 1544 that Portuguese sailors navigating the region gave it its first nickname, Ihla Formosa, meaning “the beautiful island.”

But it was only 80 years later, in 1624, that the Dutch East India Company, always on the lookout for new territories, founded a colony on the southwest coast of the island, where present-day Tainan is located, and later a base in present-day Tamsui. The trade there was very profitable for the Dutch: silk, porcelain, sugar, rice… But it would prove short-lived.

In the first half of the 17th century, the Ming dynasty, which had been in power in China since 1368, had to face numerous crises: epidemics, droughts, famines, etc. Many provinces were abandoned, quickly leading to numerous revolts in which the Manchus (from Manchuria, in the northeast of the country) participated. The latter, highly organized, quickly managed to conquer the rest of the country and found the Qing dynasty (1644-1912).

Among the Ming loyalists was Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), a general who launched a military campaign to overthrow the newcomers ruling China. After a series of crushing defeats, he was pushed south, and around 1660 he saw Taiwan as the ideal place to regroup his troops. The following year, he took the Europeans there by surprise, surrounding them and forcing them to surrender. They were allowed to move their headquarters to Indonesia.

Unfortunately for him, Konxinga died of malaria in 1662, shortly after founding the Dongning Kingdom, which lasted 21 years. It was his grandson who surrendered to the Qing armies, who took control of the island in 1683, annexing the territory to the Chinese Empire.

Chinese Empire 1683-1895

Taiwan clearly did not fit into the plans of the Qing, who saw the island as a territory that would bring nothing good to the empire, so much so that the Chinese were forbidden to settle there. This ban was not respected, however, particularly by the inhabitants of Fujian (Southeast China), who, facing food shortages and growing poverty, decided to go to Taiwan in the hope of finding a better life there. Thus, until 1885, Taiwan was considered part of Fujian, before being named a province in its own right.

It was in the 18th century that the island began to see the emergence of medium-sized towns and temples. But this was without taking into account the growing corruption, which led to clashes between migrants from Fujian and the aborigines of Taiwan in particular.

By the early 19th century, the island had a population of over 2 million. Ethnic differences blended easily, giving rise to a completely new and unique identity, unique to Taiwan. As the political and economic situation stabilized, the island of Formosa began to attract the attention of outside forces, including Japan, the British Empire, and Russia. The latter made no secret of their interest and established commercial ties, particularly in the island’s ports.

It was not until the conflict with France in Vietnam and the latter’s rapprochement with Taiwan that China finally decided to act and invest more resources in the island, building defensive positions on the territory.

Japanese Occupation 1895-1945

Following China’s defeat by Japan in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95), the Qing were forced to cede Taiwan to the latter. The Japanese spent the first six months of the occupation crushing local resistance, losing thousands of men to diseases that ravaged the island. Improving sanitation was therefore a priority for the Japanese, and they developed a highly reliable railway network.

But the Aboriginal population suffered greatly from the occupation, and watched helplessly as their land was taken over by the Japanese. This led to revolts, which were quickly extinguished by the island’s new occupants.

Taiwan was an important military base for Japan during World War II, with nearly 200,000 Taiwanese serving in the Japanese army. Although Japan returned Taiwan to China in 1945, its presence on the island will remain forever etched in its memory.

After World War II 1945-1975

The ruling party in China, the Kuomintang and its leader Chiang Kai-Shek, decided to integrate Taiwan into the regime established in mainland China. However, it didn’t take long for the Taiwanese to rise up against this new regime, which was deemed unfair by the locals: poorly managed economy, corruption, etc. When Chinese troops intervened, tragedy was inevitable: thousands of Taiwanese died during a massacre now known as the 228 Incident (February 28).

In late 1949, Chiang Kai-shek fled the rise of Mao’s communism and settled in Taiwan, bringing with him China’s finest treasures, the majority of which are now buried in the bowels of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. More than 1.5 million Chinese followed Chiang Kai-shek into exile in Taiwan, which declared the Republic of China the legitimate ruler of all Chinas, and that any opposition there was forbidden.

The new government then launched a series of reforms to modernize the territory, where a large number of factories emerged.

Having become more prosperous, Taiwan saw its population double between the 1950s and 1970s, reaching nearly 15 million inhabitants.

From 1975 to the present day

In the late 1970s, following Chiang Kai-Shek’s death in 1975, Taiwan saw the United States sever diplomatic ties in order to establish new ones with the People’s Republic of China. This signaled the end of the Kuomintang, which then decided to lift martial law on the island and authorize the founding of new political parties (more than 200 today). New freedoms were then granted to Taiwanese people, such as the ability to travel abroad.

Taiwan’s first president, Lee Teng-hui, pushed the democratic process even further: the media gained freedom, the population saw itself better represented in parliament, and the health and social security system became more efficient, taking into account all sections of society. He was succeeded by the new Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2000, which lost the 2008 elections to the Kuomintang, which thus regained power until 2016, the year in which the DPP regained presidential and parliamentary power.