Introduction

These are some of the descriptions that have been applied to Taiwan over the last five-hundred years. All of them have elements of truth, but all of them have been given to it by outsiders, rather than produced by its long-term residents, those who knew it best and understood the factors that both supported and disputed these simplistic phrases. Throughout all of these centuries, and longer, Taiwan has been a nexus of trade routes, a strategic territory sought by multiple states, a site of cross-cultural fusion, and an incubator of different political and economic systems.

Today, the island of Taiwan is associated with substantial geostrategic significance and high economic productivity, yet its history is both little known and often misunderstood. It has been a part of China, a part of Japan, an outpost of European empires, homeland of numerous Indigenous Peoples, and its residents have consistently charted their own courses, both when they lived under imperialist and authoritarian regimes and when they have had full sovereignty. Knowing its past is a key to understanding how contemporary Taiwanese see the world and their place within it. In addition, because Taiwan’s history is emblematic of important processes—globalization, colonization, democratization, industrialization, immigration, environmental protection, and transformational justice—knowing its past allows us to better understand the modern world. Taiwan’s history can help us to answer important historical questions, but only if we understand it.