Spanish Formosa

Spanish Formosa was a Spanish colonial possession in northern Taiwan from 1626 until Dutch forces expelled the Spanish in 1642. Its main strongholds were in Keelung and Tamsui.

Fort San Salvador: A Spanish fort built on Heping Island in Keelung in 1626. This stronghold anchored Spanish control of the northern port and became the colony’s principal base.
Spanish East Indies: The Spanish colonial territories and administration in the Asia-Pacific, centered on the Philippines. Spanish Formosa was governed from the wider imperial network based in the Philippines.
Siege of Fort San Salvador: The Dutch assault that captured the Spanish stronghold at Keelung in 1642. Its outcome ended Spain’s effective control of northern Taiwan.
Dutch Formosa: The Dutch colonial possession in southwestern Taiwan, established in 1624 and lasting until 1662. Unlike Spain’s northern outposts, Dutch Formosa became a more durable and expansive colonial administration.
Fort Santo Domingo: A Spanish fort built near Tamsui in northern Taiwan in 1629. It extended Spanish presence southward from Keelung along Taiwan’s north coast.
Spanish Philippines: The Spanish colonial archipelago centered on Manila from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Manila supplied the expedition that established Spain’s northern Taiwan foothold.
Peter Nuyts: A Dutch colonial governor and diplomat active in Taiwan and Japan in the early seventeenth century. His earlier conflicts with Japanese authorities influenced Dutch strategy toward the Spanish position.
Kingdom of Tungning: A state established by Zheng Chenggong in southwestern Taiwan in 1661 after defeating the Dutch. Its takeover replaced European rule with a Chinese-led regime across much of Taiwan.
Keelung: A port city in northern Taiwan, historically known in Western sources as Kelang or Jilong. Its harbor and Spanish fort made it the colony’s main point of entry and defense.
Manila: The capital of the Philippines and a major Spanish colonial port from 1571. Spanish authorities organized the Taiwan expedition from their Philippine capital.

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History of TaiwanBroader topic: Spanish forts and missions briefly made northern Taiwan part of imperial rivalry in East Asia.