Formosa

Formosa Taiwan, some say it’s a country and some say it is a part of China. To me, I don’t really care whether it’s a country or not. To me it’s a fun little island I call home. This little island sits in Southeast Asia and not too far off the coast of China; apparently it’s possible to go from Taiwan to China by swimming. This particular island is interesting to me not only because it’s where I’m from but also the history that it has endured. It’s unique history sets Taiwan apart from the other Southeast Asian countries. Archaeologists say that there is evidence proving human activity in the early Stone Age roughly ten to fifty thousand years ago. The first evidence of aboriginal clans however, wasn’t discovered until the 12th century. This is also when the Chinese Han people started to move to islands that currently belong to Taiwan, including Ponghu. Ponghu is a small island right between Taiwan and China. This island was where it all started. In 1171, the Chinese monarch started putting troops on neighboring islands slowly moving towards the main island of Taiwan. This was a tactical strategy because the Chinese Emperor at the time wanted to conquer Japan. Then about early 16th century, Taiwan became the pirate cove. Many pirates used the island as a base to do their thing. This lasted about 80 years until the Dutch came and cleared the island. The Dutch had a significant impact in Taiwan because they set up schools and started the first massive commercialized trade on the island. Even now, a lot of the older generation knows how to speak Dutch. Between 1626~1642, Taiwan served as a colony of the Dutch. Later the Spanish came along and wanted this island as well. Real conflict didn’t happen until 1655 because the Dutch occupied southern Taiwan whereas the Spanish occupied the northern half. In 1655, because of the competition in trade, the Dutch felt that they had to take out the Spaniards and they did exactly that. Then, in 1885, Taiwan became part of