Dutch graffiti in Taiwan

The Dutch East India Company had a trading post in southern Taiwan near modern-day Tainan from 1624 to 1662. They were eventually forced to leave the island after a siege by the Chinese warlord-cum-merchant Zheng Chenggong (國姓爺) (Koxinga) (1624-1662). However, a couple of years later, in 1664, they returned to the island, this time to Quelang (now Keelung City), in the north of Taiwan, where first the Spanish and then the Dutch had previously built fortifications. The Dutch had hoped to build a ‘New Taiwan Factory’ to resume their former trade. However, this proved difficult and so in 1668 the Dutch decided to abandon Taiwan for good. Nevertheless, they left their mark on the island in several ways. As I mentioned in a previous blog, one of these ways was in Taiwanese placenames. Another way was in Dutch graffiti. Some of the Dutch fortifications at Quelang were on the island now known as Heping Island (和平島 Hépíng Dǎo). Nineteenth-century visitors to Heping, such as the French-American diplomat Charles le Gendre, recorded the names of Dutchmen, possibly soldiers, that had been carved into the walls of a cave there. Two such names were Marcus Eeckman and Jacob Bosch. Were they bored soldiers using the cave as a place of resort? Currently, we do not know, but the possibility is there. The cave still exists, known locally as the ‘Dutch cave’. Sadly, the waves of the Pacific Ocean have now washed the names away. But for over two hundred years these graffiti were silent reminders of the Dutch presence on this beautiful tropical island.

The Dutch cave on Heping Island