Spanish Formosa
Encyclopedia
Spanish Formosa was a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....

 established in the north of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 (discovered by Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 in 1544 and known to Europeans as Formosa) from 1626 to 1642. Designed to protect Spanish and Portuguese trade from interference by the Dutch base in the south of Taiwan, the colony was short-lived due to the unwillingness of colonial authorities in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 to commit men and materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

 to defending it. After seventeen years the last fortress of the Spanish was besieged by Dutch forces, and eventually fell, giving the Dutch control over most of the island.

Background

In the early seventeenth century Catholic Spain was in competition with Protestant Holland for trade and influence in East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

. With the establishment of a Dutch colony at Tayouan (present-day Anping) in the south of Taiwan, the Dutch gained the ability to effectively threaten Spanish trade in the region. As a counter to this threat, the Spanish decided to establish their own colony in the north of the island.

The early years (1626–1629)

After landing at Cape Santiago (now Sandiao) in the north-east of Taiwan but finding it unsuitable for defensive purposes, the Spanish continued westwards along the coast until they arrived at Keelung
Keelung
Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...

. A deep and well-protected harbour plus a small island in the mouth of the harbour made it the ideal spot to build the first settlement, which they named Santissima Trinidad
Santissima Trinidad (Taiwan)
Santissima Trinidad was a location on the northeast coast of Taiwan at Keelung, where in 1626 the Spanish established a settlement and built Fort San Salvador, which they occupied until 1642 when they were driven out by the Dutch...

. Forts were built, both on the island and in the harbour itself.

In 1629 the Spanish set up their second base, centred around Fort San Domingo in Tamsui.

First battle with the Dutch

In 1641 the Spanish had become such an irritant to the Dutch in the south that it was decided to take northern Taiwan from the Spanish by force. In courteous terms, the Dutch Governor
Governor of Formosa
The Governor of Formosa was the head of government during the Dutch colonial period in Taiwan, which lasted from 1624 to 1662. Appointed by the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia , the Governor of Formosa was empowered to legislate, collect taxes, wage war and declare peace on...

 Paulus Traudenius
Paulus Traudenius
Paulus Traudenius was the Dutch Governor of Formosa from 1640 to 1643.Traudenius was a descendant of a family of teachers in Gouda. His grandfather, also Paulus Traudenius, was in 1573 the first rector of the local Latin school after the reformation and had Latinized his original name Trudens to...

 informed the Spanish governor of their intentions.

The Spanish governor was not inclined to give in so easily, and replied in kind.

Subsequently the Dutch launched an assault on the northern regions, but the Spanish positions were well-defended and the attacking troops were not able to breach the walls of the fortresses. They returned, thwarted, to the Dutch base at Fort Zeelandia
Fort Zeelandia (Taiwan)
Fort Zeelandia was a fortress built over ten years from 1624–1634 by the Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, in the town of Anping on the island of Formosa, present day Taiwan, during their 38-year rule over the western part of it...

.
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