History of Taiwan

The people of Taiwan have had an impact on its history. Beliefs and attitudes of the public have been shaped by local experiences as well as in China and Japan.Initially populated by hunter-gatherers of Austronesian, the Tainan region was transformed by Chinese civilisation during the previous 400 years. In 1949, when the island after China declared its independence from the Japanese occupation, a new round of emigrants began arriving. Taiwanese society is predicted to become more competitive, entrepreneurial, urban-centred, and globally-minded due to the country’s increasing population density.

Taiwan’s Early Years: 1683 to the Present

In 1544, Portuguese sailors called Taiwan a “beautiful island,” referring to the island’s natural beauty. Europeans and Americans used the phrase until far after Second World War was over.

In 1624, the Dutch Company established Tainan on Taiwan’s southwest coast. The Dutch called this area Taijowan, which became Taiwan in Mandarin. Then, in Tamsui, they established a permanent outpost. They found Taiwan lucrative and would have remained longer if not for Koxing and Zheng Chenggong.

After Manchu forces ousted the final Ming emperor in 1644, Koxinga recruited Ming adherents and started a war to overturn the Qing Dynasty. The king was forced south by a devastating defeat. 

By the year 1660, Koxinga planned to be reunited in Taiwan. His surprising assault on Tainan’s Fort Zeelandia and Fort Provintia in the following year was met with praise by the Dutch. His twenty-one-year reign as Taiwan’s monarch was the longest in Taiwanese history. In 1683, the underage grandson of Koxinga was forced to capitulate to Qing forces, and the islands were ceded to China.

Taiwan as a Chinese Province 1683 – 1895,

The Qing dynasty had Taiwan in its hands but had no plans to rule over it. Since the Ming emperors were no longer a danger, some individuals were induced to give up unneeded land. From the mainland to Taiwan, migration was illegal, although poverty and food lack pushed 1000 peasants from Fujian to seek a better life in Taiwan.

During the Vietnam War, French forces took Keelung and Penghu in 1884-1885. Beijing’s imperial court developed fortifications and a railway in Taiwan in reaction to these assaults. Until 1885, Taiwan was considered a piece of Fujian.

1895-1945: Japan colonises Taiwan

The loss of China in the Sino-Japanese war of 1894 permitted Japan gaining control of Taiwan and Penghu, even though Taiwan had nothing to do with it. Some Taiwanese opposed it, and the Army of Japan lost hundreds of troops, destroying guerrilla formations. Disease, not bullets, killed most Japanese. Taiwan’s new authorities set out to eradicate diseases like cholera and malaria. During Japan’s first two decades in power, less opium use improved public health. It was decided to build roads and railroads. Anger grew due to the Japanese economy’s monopoly on coal and wood, with camphor being a particularly valuable byproduct.

Tokyo was compelled to relinquish its colonies when World War II concluded in Asia. Japan’s effect on Taiwan is even visible 70 years later. Considerable interest is in Japanese food, fashion, and culture in Taiwan and beyond.

The post-World War II History, from 1945 to 1975

After Japan’s occupation ended in 1945, Taiwan became part of the newly founded Republic of China (ROC) after Sun Yat-overthrow sen’s of the last emperor in that year. Chiang Kai-shek, KMT leader, was ROC president after WWII. Chiang’s fixation on Taiwan made problems worse. Corruption and bad management were rampant.

Meanwhile, the Communists under Mao Zedong gained control of the Chinese mainland. In 1949, Chiang left for Taiwan with his son. Taipei’s ROC was proclaimed to be the honest government of China and received support from over 1.5 million mainland Chinese. Despite this, opponents were jailed or even assassinated until the 1970s.

Since 1975: Taiwan

Chiang Died in 1975. After Chiang Ching-Kuo became president in 1978, the United States severed diplomatic ties with Taipei and established relations with the People’s Republic of China. Two years prior to Chiang Ching-death Kuo’s death in 1988, the KMT began to lose control. Political parties were allowed to form martial law (Taiwan today has over 230). Travel restrictions were eased, which led to an increase in the number of people taking international holidays (especially in China).

Conclusion:

Lee Teng-hui, a 1923-born agricultural economist, trained in the U.S. and Japan, was Taiwan’s first president. He promoted democracy on the island. Legislators above the age of 60 elected to the mainland in 1948 had to step down. Parliament and the press in Taiwan echoed the popular sentiment. In Taiwan’s first democratic presidential election, Lee Kuan Yew was elected in 1996, but the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected four years later. The DPP and KMT reconciled in 2008. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won both the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2016.

High-tech goods like computer peripherals fuelled Taiwan’s 1980s economic growth. Many social welfare programmes for the aged and disabled people of Taiwan have been launched since then, but development has stagnated.