colony · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Dutch Formosa

1624 CE – 1662 CE · capital Fort Zeelandia

The Dutch East India Company's colony in south-western Taiwan, which brought the first large-scale Chinese settlement to the island before Koxinga expelled it in 1662.

Origins

Seeking a base for the China trade, the Dutch East India Company failed to take Macau in 1622 and occupied the Penghu islands, but a Ming fleet forced them out in 1624. By agreement they moved to Tayouan on the coast of Taiwan, where they built Fort Zeelandia, within the sphere of Dutch East India Company territories in Asia.

Rule and society

The Company ruled through a governor and council, subdued indigenous villages by force and treaty, and expelled the Spanish from the north in 1642. It recruited Chinese settlers to grow rice and sugar, taxing them heavily, and exported deer skins to Japan. Reformed missionaries such as Georgius Candidius wrote the Siraya language in Latin letters. Chinese discontent erupted in the Guo Huaiyi revolt of 1652.

Decline and legacy

In 1661 the Ming loyalist Koxinga landed with a large fleet and besieged Fort Zeelandia for nine months. Governor Frederick Coyett surrendered in February 1662, and the colony became the Kingdom of Tungning.

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Dutch Formosa. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-formosa
MLA
“Dutch Formosa.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-formosa. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Dutch Formosa.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-formosa.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Dutch Formosa’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/dutch-formosa (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻