After a quick recap of the Spanish and Dutch influence in Taiwan (as well as taking a broader look to encompass the ongoing Eighty Years War), we look at how changes weakened the Spanish position in Taiwan. The Dutch would take advantage of this to try push the Spanish off Taiwan and claim control over the whole island for themselves. This culminated in the battle for San Salvador, the Spanish fortress in Keelung (Jilung).
The mendicant religious orders within the Catholic church, started in the 13th Century, were products of the highly religious and meant to rebuild the church’s failing image. Over the centuries rivalries grew between these orders and, although they had generally the same goals and often worked together, they also vied with one another for power and influence.
The Order of St. Dominic led the Catholic charge into Hermosa, partly to counter the protestant Dutch in the south, but mostly with an eye to forging new pathways to China and Japan. Here we look at a few of the most prominent of these Dominicans and their actions in Taiwan.
LINKS
The Catholic Church in Taiwan (extract)
The Catholic Dominican Missionaries in Taiwan (1626-1646)
La Isla Hermosa (How Taiwan Became Chinese, Ch. 4)
Peter Kang (Academia Sinica)
From 1624 the Dutch were encamped in southern Formosa (their name for Taiwan) and heavily disrupting trade in the region for the Spanish and Portuguese. By 1626 the Spanish had decided to take action and sent an expedition to form a colony in northern Hermosa (their name for Taiwan). After finding an apparently perfect place, complete with a village ready and waiting for them to occupy, they began experiencing difficulties. Supplies were in short demand, as Hermosa was the most distant outpost of the Spanish empire.
(above left) an image of Keelung Bay from 1626 showing what is today known as Heping (Peace) Island in the north.
(above right) an image of Taiwan from the late 1630s showing the Dutch in the south and the Spanish in the north.
Taiwan Through Time 