Colonialism and the Dutch East India Company/Qing Dynasty Incorporation and Administration/Japanese Colonial Rule, 1895-1945

Colonialism and the Dutch East India Company

Taiwan represented still greater promise, and from the early 17th century onward, it enticed a number of European colonial powers which now moved to extend their influence across Asia. The Dutch East India Company seized control over the island in 1624 and used it as a strategic base for trade and military operations throughout East Asia. Dutch domination was concentrated in the central and southern parts of Taiwan, including Fort Zeelandia near modern-day Tainan.

The Dutch period had enormous influences on the development of Taiwan. They introduced new agricultural technology, improved the infrastructures, and tried to Christianize native populations. In this regard, the VOC maintained a trade monopoly and exploited natural resources by cultivating sugar, rice, and deerskin for export. However, they faced opposition from indigenous tribes and Chinese settlers who would not live under colonial rule.

The Ming Loyalists and the Kingdom of Tungning

In 1662, however, the Dutch colonial period in Taiwan was abruptly ended when a Ming loyalist, Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), expelled the Dutch and set up the Kingdom of Tungning. Loyal to the fallen Ming Dynasty, Koxinga was a military leader that used Taiwan as his base in continuing his resistance against the Qing, who had overthrown the Ming in China. So, this situation brought the first formal Chinese rule over Taiwan: the Kingdom of Tungning.

Koxinga and his heirs continued with the Sinicization policy for Taiwan, opening Taiwan to Han Chinese immigration while simultaneously imposing Confucian orthodoxy and Chinese cultural influence on Taiwan. The Chinese population grew significantly in this period, and agriculture and trade improved on the island. The Kingdom of Tungning also enhanced the defenses and infrastructures of Taiwan to prevent possible invasions by both the Qing and the European colonies.

Qing Dynasty Incorporation and Administration

In 1683, the Qing Dynasty dealt a crushing blow to the Kingdom of Tungning and then ruled Taiwan for the first time. This territory was classified as part of the Fujian province and then became a fully ranked province of the empire in 1887 because of its great strategic importance. The beginning of Qing rule saw a range of reforms by the authorities, including land surveys, rules for taxes, and policies toward the incorporation of native tribespeople.

Despite these efforts, Taiwan was a frontier province, full of clashes between Han settlers and indigenous tribes, as well as local authorities. The Qing government regarded Taiwan as practically a semi-autonomous entity, with very little intervention in the administration of governance. In addition to that fact, this helped further the continued culture and social growth of the island, but it also brought on periods of instability and uprisings when settlers usually fought against both the indigenous groups and the officials for land and natural resources.

Japanese Colonial Rule, 1895-1945

The development in Taiwan's history took another new turn in the year 1895 when the Qing Dynasty lost to the First Sino-Japanese War and ceded the island to Japan. This marked the beginning of Japanese colonial rule over Taiwan for half a century through the Treaty of Shimonoseki. During this period, Taiwan continued to undergo great modernization and industrialization. The Japanese government invested a lot in infrastructure formation like roads, railways, ports, and public health facilities.

They also started centralized educations and prompted industrial development by only mentioning agriculture and manufacturing.

The Japanese rule brought about many changes in Taiwanese society. While the Japanese did promote economic growth, they also implemented assimilation policies wherein the Taiwanese were forced to speak the Japanese language and practice Japanese culture. This was a period of economic development juxtaposed with cultural suppression, but the Japanese legacy ultimately laid the foundation for Taiwan's later prosperity and modernization. The Return to China and the Civil War in China.

In 1945, with the close of World War II and Japan's defeat, Taiwan was retroceded to Chinese sovereignty under the Republic of China. The change in regime was a welcome liberation for many Taiwanese from Japanese colonialism, which pretty rapidly soured due to perceived corruption, mismanagement of the economy, and other cultural affronts by the ROC government.

This came to a head in 1947 in what became known as the 2/28 Incident, an anti-government uprising in Taiwan cruelly put down by the government of the Republic of China, with the result of thousands of casualties. This incident began the era that came to be known as the "White Terror," during which martial law was declared and ROC political opposition was banned. The event engendered a deep scar in the collective memory of Taiwan and fostered a greater sense of Taiwanese identity, separate from that of the mainland.

The Chinese Civil War and the establishment of the Republic of China on Taiwan. The Kuomintang, or the Chinese Nationalist Party defeated in the Chinese Civil War by the Communist Party of China, retreated to Taiwan in the year 1949. Under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, the KMT established the government of the Republic of China with Taipei as the ROC's provisional capital.

The KMT continued, even in retreat to the island before advancing forces of the PRC established in the same year by the CPC, to claim itself as the legitimate ruling government of all China. The KMT introduced rapid socio-economic changes in Taiwan, instituting land reforms, processes of industrialization, and an export-oriented economic policy. With all these policies, together with ample economic and military aid from the U.S., it came to be termed the "Taiwan Miracle" because unprecedented economic growth and modernization took place in Taiwan. Taiwan has developed from an agrarian society to one of the important players in the global economy, with focus on technology and manufacturing.