1661 Guoxing Laixi

Also known as: 1661國姓來襲, Koxinga Z - 1661

by Lung-Chieh Li

At the end of the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company extended its influence across half the globe, leaving a bloody trail wherever it encountered resistance. However, in 1661, a force arrived in the south of the paradise island of Formosa (the Dutch name for Taiwan). Frederick Coyett, the last Dutch governor of Taiwan, faced 25,000 Chinese soldiers. Across the battle lines from him stood Koxinga, the young Ming loyalist and son of a pirate who would eventually found his own kingdom in Taiwan. Tempers flared and blood was shed as a war for resources turned into a struggle for self-determination and liberation from oppression. (Source: Nazca, translated)