chiefdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Kingdom of Middag

1540 CE – 1732 CE (approx.)

A multi-village alliance of indigenous peoples on Taiwan's central plain, called a kingdom by the Dutch, which kept its autonomy until the Qing crushed it in 1732.

Origins

The alliance, centred among the Papora, Babuza, Pazeh and other plains peoples around modern Taichung, is known chiefly from Dutch East India Company records of the 1640s. Its origins are obscure; it is traditionally said to have formed in the mid-16th century.

Rule and society

The Dutch described a chief they called the King of Middag, Kamachat Aslamie, who presided over some fifteen to twenty-seven villages. Villages kept their own leaders, while the paramount chief led in war and diplomacy. In 1645 the Dutch forced him to accept a treaty acknowledging their authority, though the alliance stayed largely self-governing.

Decline and legacy

Middag kept its autonomy under the Kingdom of Tungning and early Qing rule. Rising Chinese settlement and labour demands provoked the Dajia-Shalu revolt of 1731, which Qing forces suppressed in 1732, ending the alliance.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Middag. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-middag
MLA
“Kingdom of Middag.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-middag. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Middag.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-middag.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Middag’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-middag (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻