Before continuing Zheng Zhilong’s story, we take a moment to look at piracy in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding seas, briefly discuss two unlikely samurai and get an understanding of the Chinese concept of the Mandate of Heaven.

For those interested in reading more about former Dutch colonies in Asia,
read more here.

For those interested in reading more about foreigners who became samurai,
read more here (but ignore the picture of Tom Cruise).

The Summer holidays are here and as a teacher this means I have free time, so I’m going to visit family – some of whom I have not seen in ages. This means I will be away for about six weeks, give or take a week.
Not to worry, though. I have books and will get a lot of reading done, so I can jump back into recording upon my return.

Born in Fujian Province (like Li Dan) and having spent his teenage years working abroad in European settlements in Asia (like Li Dan), Zheng Zhilong was constantly getting into trouble (like Li Dan) and angled his life toward piracy (like Li Dan). It seems inevitable that these two would meet and become the closest of allies.

The man, the myth, the legend.

Li Dan was arguably the greatest of the pirate princes that operated within the Taiwan Strait. He single-handedly built an empire, uniting the pirate bands from Japan to Java into a coalition – the first Asian mulitnational congolmerate – and he did it all through the cunning use of multiple personas, crafty underhanded dealing and sheer charisma.

One name mentioned in conjunction with pirates and Taiwan is Yan Shiqi. As there is limited information on him and his background parallels Li Dan’s remarkably, some scholars have suggested that they are one and the same. Shiqi apparently also went to by Christian name Pedro. Here’s a link to a short article on him.

After the Dutch were forced off the Penghu Islands (Pescadores), they established themselves on Taiwan’s southwest coast. The Chinese authorities were happy with this, as the Dutch were now outside of Chinese territory.
The Dutch would continue to try open trade negotiations with the Chinese. They also began to explore their new surroundings, getting into conflicts with locals, while also making new friends. They were expanding their empire – but what exactly is an empire?

The Alliance of Throne and Altar
For those interested in learning more about the connection between organised religion and governmental control, take a listen to this podcast from Prof. C.J.

Prior to the Dutch arrival, the Taiwan indigenous peoples had no written language. For this reason, we have little in the way of records of these people before the 1600s. In order to understand the impression they would have of the newly arrived Dutch, we take a look at how European hygiene habits changed from the Dark Ages to the Enlightenment era.
We also take a brief look into cultural diets.

Kurzgesagt video on milk
Ted Ed video on Cheese (a continuation of the milk theme)

In this episode we take a brief overview of the history of the Southern Asia and the Far East, paying particular attention to trade and the spreading of religion. This will give us at understanding of the world that the Dutch were stepping into.

The Dutch begin to challenge the Portuguese in the Far East. Here is a link to a site that shows the rise and fall of the Portuguese colonial empire.

The second part of this brief overview of Japan looks at the three great unifiers of Japan, the introduction of arquebus muskets, the Japanese attempt to invade Korea and their mild interest in taking control of Taiwan.

The Extra History episodes on the Sengoku Jidai link.

Link to John Lothe’s reading of Eric Frank Russell’s story, And Then There Were None.
(Note, this reading is around 3 hours long)

As some of you may have known, I appeared as a guest aboard the Cold War podcast produced by Cameron Reilly and Ray Harris aptly named A Cold War. To be fair, I was a bit nervous being interviewed by these giants in the podcasting world and ended up going off on far too many tangents; something which I warned them I was prone to do. Also the slight lag in response time made social cues a little more difficult. Still, I feel the interview went well. They must have concurred as they released the interview.
My interview came out in parts to fit their release schedule and I am happy to announce that all episodes are now out. I have linked to them below.

Taiwan during the Cold War, Part 1
Taiwan during the Cold War, Part 2
Taiwan during the Cold War, Part 3
Taiwan during the Cold War, Part 4

Here is a link to the first episode of Cam and Ray’s A Cold War podcast. If you find it intriguing, perhaps consider signing up for the show.

To understand Taiwan we also need to understand the other political players in the region. So far we have largely ignored Japan, save to say that there were Japanese pirates operating in the area.
As we are currently in the 1500s, we will take a slight detour into the past to catch up on what has been happening in Japan from the Heian Period (794-1185 CE), the rise of the Fujiwara clan, the Hogan and Heiji Rebellions leading to the rise of the Minamoto family and the rise of the position of shogun over that of the emperor, the Kenmu Restoration and rise of the Ashikaga Shogunate and its demise, leading to the start of the Sengoku Jidai.

Akira Kurosawa’s use of movement in Samurai Seven.

Prof. CJ’s Gain and the State Episode and his Dangerous History Podcast.