CHINA / Backgrounder
Development during Ming and Fighting Dutch
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2003-07-21 19:03
In 1620, Yan Siqi from Haicheng, and Zheng Zhilong from Quanzhou, Fujian
Province, in defiance of official oppression, migrated to Taiwan,
bringing with them huge numbers of people aboard 13 ships. They landed at
Northern Port (present-day Jiayi) on the central Taiwan coastline, where
they built ten forts, and lived by farming and fishing. In 1628, Zheng
Zhilong accepted amnesty from the emperor. At this time, Fujian had been
stricken by a severe drought, and, at Zheng's suggestion, the governor of
Fujian expedited planned migration of famine victims to Taiwan. Tens of
thousands were each given three taels of silver, and one ox between
three, and arrived in Taiwan to open up and cultivate its wasteland. This
was the first planned mass migration from the mainland to Taiwan, which
contributed greatly to its later development.
In 1624, the Dutch invaded and occupied southern Taiwan, and in 1626, the
Spanish invaded and occupied northern Taiwan. The Dutch subsequently
drove the Spanish out of northern Taiwan and colonized the entire island
in 1642. The Dutch carried out systematic economic plunder of the island,
seized all its land and claimed it on behalf of the Dutch East India
Company. The people of Taiwan were forced to work on the "King's Field"
under a feudal serf system.
In February 1662, the Ming general Zheng Chenggong, who was against the
rule of the Qing, liberated Taiwan from the Dutch, who had been in
occupation for 38 years, and implemented new policies to promote
development of the island. He encouraged people from the mainland to
migrate to Taiwan, stressed the need for land cultivation, forest
preservation, irrigation construction, trade development, education,
Confucian doctrine, and the promotion of government officials through
imperial examinations. During Zheng's reign, 120,000 to 150,000 troops
and civilians from the mainland migrated to Taiwan. This was the second
large-scale mainland migration to Taiwan, migrants being mostly Han
Chinese, who from that time onwards constituted the main body of Taiwan's
population, and contributed to a period of rapid economic and cultural
development on the island.
Zheng Chenggong's Marine Battles to Regain Taiwan
On April 21, 1661, 200-strong warships carrying 25,000 troops, led by
Zheng Chenggong, left Liaoluo Bay, Quemoy for Taiwan. They arrived in
Penghu the next day. On April 29, Zheng's army headed for Taiwan, braving
strong winds and high seas, and the following day they launched a sudden
attack on Lu'ermen. Part of Zheng's troops prepared to fight the Dutch
from Beixianwei,while the main force landed at Heliao the same night. On
May 1, Zheng's army defeated three divisions of Dutch troops, on land and
at sea, sinking the Dutch ship Hector and killing more than 160 Dutch
soldiers at Beixianwei. On the May 4, Zheng's troops captured Fort
Providentia. The next day, he deployed troops to take Fort Providentia
(City of Taiwan). Zheng's army began its attack on May 26, and laid siege
to the fort. On September 16, Zheng's troops defeated Dutch
reinforcements - more than 700 men on ten ships or more -- from Batavia.
On the January 25, 1662, Zheng's army captured Fort Fort Ronduitutreecht.
On the 1st February, the Dutch administrator of Taiwan, Fredreick Coyett,
signed the deed of surrender. Taiwan was thus reunited with the
motherland.
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20071123 Extracted from http://www.hellomandarin.net
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