The History of Taiwan Timeline
A Concise History of Taiwan: Taiwan has a rich history that takes us more than 10,000 years back in time. The geographic location of the island has had a significant impact on history as we know it today. The more so because the island was far away from civilization, but also because it was easily accessible from sea for traders. The nearby countries of China and Japan have also had a great influence on Taiwan’s history.

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History About Taiwan
The Total Land Area of Taiwan is 32,260 km 2 (12,456 sq mi)
Taiwan Capital Taipei
Currency of Taiwan New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT)
Language of Taiwan Taiwanese (Hokkien) and Standard Mandarin Chinese
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Religion of Taiwan
Religious Beliefs In Taiwan
Rank | Belief System | Share of Population in Taiwan |
---|---|---|
1 | Buddhism | 35.1% |
2 | Taoism | 33.0% |
3 | Atheism or Agnosticism | 18.7% |
4 | Yiguandao | 3.5% |
56 | Protestant ChristianityTiandism | 2.6%2.2% |
7 | Roman Catholic Christianity | 1.3% |
8 | Miledadao | 1.1% |
9 | Zailiism | 0.8% |
10 | Xuanyuanism | 0.7% |
Other Beliefs | 2.4% |
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Where Taiwan Is Located
Where Taiwan is Located: Taiwan is located north of the Philippines and the South China Sea, about 180 km from the southeast coast of China, separated from the mainland by the Taiwan Strait. The island shares maritime borders with China, Japan and the Philippines.
Ancient Times
Ancient History of Taiwan: Research has shown that there must have been habitation on the island more than 10,000 years before the era. Remains of utensils and art have been found, which must have come from various cultures. The population consisted of Taiwanese Aborigines. Their habitat was mainly west of Taiwan on the low plains. The Taiwanese Aborigines could be divided into several tribes. The Rukai, Paiwan and the Tsou are just a few examples. History of Taiwan.
Taiwan was already in contact with the surrounding areas of the island during this time. In particular with China. When Fukien in China faced a shortage of food and famine around the 15th century, more and more people came to Taiwan from this Chinese province. The Taiwanese aborigines were dispersed, so that in fact two population groups arose. Their habitats were also adapted as a result. While one population group mainly lived in the mountains, the other group of Chinese Aboriginals mainly settled more centrally on the island
After all, the soil here was much more nutrient-rich than it was in the mountains.
In the centuries that followed, Taiwan was increasingly visited by the Chinese and immigrants from northern China also sought refuge on the island. This population group was also called the Hakka. This group took on its own identity and for that reason were persecuted in their home country of China. History of Taiwan.
A History of Taiwan in the 16th and 17th Centuries
History of Taiwan: As early as the 16th century, Taiwan first encountered Europeans. Although it was the Portuguese who discovered the island, they let an occupation pass them by. The VOC made its appearance in the early years of the 17th century. They saw the island as the perfect base for trading with neighboring Japan. Subsequently, in 1622 a settlement took place in southwestern Tainan. However, the stay of the Dutch in Taiwan was short-lived. In the same year they were relieved by Koxinga. He built a kingdom in the southwest of the island but died that same year.
Son Zheng Jing came to power. He took a number of coastal towns in 1676. However, these towns in Fujian returned to the Manchus a year later. In 1678 Jing tried this again with more than 30,000 men. Quemoy and Xiamen were successfully taken for 2 years. After the forced eviction, Jing died, after which his son had to surrender to the ruling Manchus a year later. The island became part of the Qing dynasty, which was also called the Manchu dynasty. History of Taiwan.
Taiwan in the 19th century and after World War II
19th Century history of Taiwan: The 19th century Taiwan comes under considerable fire. The island was characterized by violent crime and lawlessness. This was due to the lazy attitude of the Chinese government towards the island. In 1894 Japan invades Korea. As a result, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out. The quarrel over the Empire of Korea lasted only one year. Japan was declared the victor and the Treaty of Shimonoseki came into effect. That meant that China had to give the island of Taiwan to Japan. Japan held sway over the island throughout World War II. History of Taiwan.
History of Taiwan and China: Taiwan came into Chinese hands in 1948 through the peace treaty between China and Japan. The Japanese influences had made Taiwan a good economy. The Taiwanese were not really happy with the takeover. Riots broke out when the owner of a tobacco shop was liquidated for resisting the Chinese regime. More than 20,000 civilians were killed in the unrest that broke out after this case. Chinese nationalists took refuge in Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War in 1949. They claimed authority over the Republic of China with the aim of unifying Taiwan and China. However, the mission was unsuccessful.
In 1950, the United States relocated its fleets to the Taiwan Strait. American warplanes also took their place on the island. This gave America a good base from which they could explore Asia. By trading with Taiwanese products, the United States ensured that the economy picked up again. America even donated 1.5 billion dollars to Taiwan in 15 years. The roads and infrastructure could be improved with this.
At the end of the 1980s, Taiwan gained independent status. It became an independent country after a complex amendment of the law. Under the watchful eye of Lee Teng Hui, the island becomes a democracy. In the 2000 elections, Chen Shui Bian is chosen as his successor. This human rights lawyer would make the island even more independent than it already was. 8 years later, the Kuomintang again took over in Taiwan. President Ma Ying Jeou was re-elected again 4 years later. Partly because of his promise to seek rapprochement with China. In 2016, Taiwan continued its independence by electing DPP leader Tsai Ing Wen.

Contemporary Taiwan
A new illustrated history of Taiwan: Today Taiwan is a popular island among vacationers and lovers of cultural history. You can also enjoy beautiful beaches, culinary delights and of course the friendly locals. With the most diverse and special temples, Taiwan also has a lot to offer in the religious field. History of Taiwan.
Taiwan Not A Historical Part Of China
Since its inception in 1949, the People’s Republic of China has never had sovereignty over Taiwan. From 1895 to 1945 it was a colony of Japan. Before that, it had a long line of rotating directors, including the Dutch East India Company.
Did Taiwan Ever Belong To China
Did Taiwan ever belong to China? Reports and reports from the European Union and the United Nations on developments in and around Taiwan often reiterate that Beijing regards the island as a ‘renegade province’ and that it must be ‘reunited’ at all costs. With military force if necessary. If we look at the history of the island, a completely different picture emerges.
The Beijing government maintains that Taiwan has always been an “inseparable” part of China, since the Ming Dynasties (1368-1644) and Manchu Dynasties (1683-1911). That is simply a piece of falsification of history. The facts show otherwise: when the Dutch East India Company arrived in Taiwan in 1624, it found no indication of any rule by the Ming dynasty; only Malay-Polynesian natives.
In fact, in 1622 the Ming Emperor Tianqi sent a message to the Dutch, who had built a small fortress in the Pescadores Islands near Taiwan, that we should keep “out of Chinese territory.” And so they went to Taiwan, which was then called Formosa. The VOC ruled there for 38 years and built a prosperous colony there.
VOC rule ended in 1662, when Ming General Cheng Chen-kung (aka Koxinga) was driven out by the advancing armies of the new Manchu dynasty. With 400 ships and 25,000 men, he sought refuge on the island. He besieged the Dutch Fort Zeelandia, which had to surrender after nine months. The Dutch withdrew to Batavia. History about Taiwan.
Beyond Our Realm”
Koxinga became lord and master of the southwest corner of the island, where he established an independent Kingdom of Tungning. That too was short-lived: in 1683 his grandson was defeated by the Manchus. History about Taiwan.
The new Manchu emperor really didn’t want to do the island at all: his main goal was to defeat the last remnants of the Ming dynasty. In fact, in 1683, Manchu Emperor Kangxi stated: “Taiwan is outside our empire and doesn’t mean much.” He offered the Dutch to buy it back. So Beijing’s statement is not correct there either.
From 1683 to 1895 the island was governed from the province of Fukien, but it was largely a free-spirited, loose-hanging area, where more than a hundred armed uprisings took place during that time. The people regarded the Manchu as a colonial regime and in no way saw themselves as “part of China”. It was not until 1887 that Taiwan was formally made a “province of China,” but that lasted only eight years. Another bit of inconvenient truth for Beijing.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the Manchu dynasty continued to weaken. Japan was an emerging nation. China lost out in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Under the Peace of Shimonoseki of 1895, China formally renounced sovereignty over Taiwan “forever.” It became a Japanese crown colony.
Occupation
Press reports often use the phrase that Taiwan “split off” in the late 1940’s. This implies that it is more or less right for China to strive for “reunification.” That is an erroneous view, which is, of course, fueled by the propaganda from Beijing. History about Taiwan.
When Japan lost the war in 1945, the Allies decided that Taiwan would be temporarily controlled by the troops of the Chinese General Chiang Kai-shek until a permanent solution was found. The idea was that at some point a referendum would take place under the auspices of the UN.
However, things turned out differently: Chiang Kai-shek lost the civil war in China (so Taiwan had not been involved at all) and fled to Taiwan in 1949 with his government and the army top. There he declared martial law (which lasted until 1987) and set up a repressive regime. The native Taiwanese (85 percent of the population) had little input. Taiwan thus did not split off, but was occupied by the losing side from the mainland. History about Taiwan.
Freely Elected Government
Thus, since its inception in 1949, China has never had sovereignty over Taiwan. The island was always governed separately. But since its transition to a vibrant democracy in the early 1990s, the country has had a freely elected government that represents the people of Taiwan and no longer pretends to represent China.
This new situation is thus fundamentally different from that of the 1970s, when we deployed our current “one China policy”. A good reason to change our policy and base our relations with Taiwan on our own merits: Taiwan is a mature democracy that wants to contribute to the international community as a full member. Only then is a sustainable and peaceful coexistence of China and Taiwan possible.

Taiwan History And Culture
Indigenous culture, How did Taiwan get its name?: Taiwan has been in a cultural area separate from mainland China since ancient times. Its indigenous people were the Austronesian language family, which spread from the islands of Southeast Asia to the South Pacific, and were divided into many tribes, engaged in their own hunting, fishing, and shifting cultivation. History of Taiwan.
They are not Han Chinese, and appear in Chinese historical sources under various names, and are not constant. There is a place called Taiowan in the outer port of Tainan in the south, and it seems that the place name later became the name of the whole island and the character of Taiwan came to be applied. Mr. Chung Prospered as a relay point for the East Asian trading sphere.
Taiwan History Timeline
The History of Taiwan Timeline as below:
1 Before the Dutch era (-1624)
Indigenous people of Malay Polynesian descent lived.
1544 Portuguese sailors praise Taiwan as ” Ilha Formosa “.
1593 Toyotomi Hideyoshi urges Taiwan to make a tribute.
2 Dutch era (1624-1661)
1624 The Netherlands occupies Taiwan. Build Zelanja Castle and Provincia Castle.
1626 Spain occupies Keelung. Build the San Salvador Fortress.
1628 Spain occupies freshwater (Tansui). Build the Santo Domingo Fortress.
1642 The Netherlands expels Spain from northern Taiwan.
1652 Guo Hui’s uprising to resist the Netherlands.
3 Chung’s administration era (1661-1683)
1661 Successful Chung expels the Netherlands from Taiwan.
1683 Chung’s administration collapsed.
4 Qing dynasty (1684-1895)
1684 Taiwan becomes a Qing Dynasty territory and becomes Taiwan Prefecture of Fujian Province.
1854 US Perry Fleet calls at Keelung.
1871 The peony company incident of the murder of Ryukyu drifters occurs.
1874 Sends troops to Japan and Taiwan.
1885 Taiwan, independent of Fujian Province, to Taiwan Province.
1894 Moved from Tainan to Taipei.
5 Japanese era (1895-1945)
1895 Concluded the Treaty of Shimonoseki (Treaty of Shimonoseki) and ceded Taiwan to Japan.
1895 (May) Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Formosa. Japanese army landed in Taiwan.
(June) Escaped to Xiamen, the Tang dynasty of the President of the Democratic Republic of Formosa.
1930 Musha Incident. Japanization policy.
1940 Taiwanese name change begins.
6 Republic of China era (1945-)
1945 End of World War II, surrender of Japan. Returned to Taiwan and the Republic of China.
1945 Chen Yi is appointed as Chief Executive of Taiwan Province.
1947 February 28 Incident
1948 Chiang Kai-shek becomes the first president.
1949 The People’s Republic of China was established on the continent.
1952 Signed the Japan-China Peace Treaty.

1971 Kissinger visits China. He returns to China and the United Nations. Taiwan withdraws from the United Nations.
1972 Inaugurated as President of the Executive Yuan (Prime Minister) in Chiang Ching-kuo.
1972 Normalization of diplomatic relations between China, abolition of the Japan–China Peace Treaty, and severance of diplomatic relations between Japan and Taiwan.
1978 Chiang Ching-kuo was elected the 6th president.
1979 US diplomatic relations cut off, China-US diplomatic relations normalized.
1979 Kaohsiung Incident.
1986 Democratic Progressive Party formed.
1987 Martial law lifted.
1988 Chiang Ching-kuo died, Lee Teng-hui was promoted to president.
1989 Cheng Nan-jung, editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine “Free Age”, self-immolates in protest of the Kuomintang government.
1991 All members of the 1st Diet retired.
Lee Teng-hui was elected in the first direct presidential election in 1996.
Read Also History of North Korea
References
https://sobrechina.com/2012/11/23/breve-historia-de-taiwan/
https://www.ecured.cu/Segunda_guerra_chino-japonesa_(1937-1945)
https://dondeesta.net/donde-esta-isla-de-taiwan/
https://www.lhistoria.com/china/segunda-guerra-sino-japonesa
http://www.y-history.net/appendix/wh0801-118.html
https://idamisunet.com/eastasia/taiwan/history/
https://tenki.jp/suppl/shigematsu/2020/10/25/30035.html
https://www.komazawa-u.ac.jp/~kobamasa/reference/nenpyo/taiwanhs.html
https://diamond.jp/articles/-/97304
https://www.rd.nl/artikel/959821-taiwan-geen-historisch-onderdeel-van-china
https://www.landenweb.nl/taiwan/geschiedenis/
https://www.taiwanvoorbeginners.nl/de-geschiedenis-van-taiwan/