Europe Meets Formosa

Download or read book Europe meets Formosa, 1510-1662 written by Paul Kua and published by Propius Press. This book was released on 2024-03-20 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains two parts, each covering some aspects of East-West encounters on Formosa, better known today to many as Taiwan. Part I investigates Portuguese “discovery” and “naming” of the island as Formosa, in the context of conflicting claims and recent scholarly debates in Taiwan which challenged the conventional wisdom on this matter. Part II deals with Dutch efforts to educate and convert native Formosans, examining motives of the coloniser for pursuing this “civilising” project, identities of the colonised such as race (tribal village), age, gender, language, and faith which had influenced school policies, and responses of the tribes ranging from partnerships to conflicts. The two studies reconstruct historical events in the 16th and 17th centuries, drawing on many primary sources. But, as shall be shown, Portuguese “naming” of the island and Dutch “civilising” of its indigenes both retain some relevance for the Aboriginal minority and the Chinese majority in Taiwan to this day, hundreds of years later.