The New International Encyclopædia/Formosa (Japan)

​Formosa. A large and important island of the western Pacific, which formed part of the Empire of China until 1895, when it was ceded to Japan by the treaty concluded at Shimonoseki (q.v.). With the adjoining group of forty-seven islands known to foreigners as the Pescadores (q.v.), ceded by China to Japan by the same treaty, it forms a province of the Japanese Empire under the name of Taiwan.

Topography. Formosa lies off the east coast of China, opposite the Province of Fu-kien, from which it is distant about 90 miles. It stretches in a general northeast to southwest direction from latitude 25° 16′ to 21° 53′ N., and extends east and west from longitude 120° 15′ to 122° 5′ E. Its length is about 235 miles, and its greatest breadth 90 miles; estimated area, 13,418 square miles. Its shape is that of a long oval running to a point known as South Cape. Forty miles east of this lies the island of Botel Tobago, and a little farther north the small island of Samasana. Formosa is regarded by some as a link in the chain of volcanic islands which form the eastern escarpment of a former Malayo-Chinese continent. Along the greater part of the west coast facing China the water is shallow, while on the east coast deep water is found at once.

Throughout almost the entire length of the island, but nearer the east coast than the west, runs a great chain of forest-clad mountains, with peaks ranging from 7000 to nearly 15,000 feet in height. The two highest are Mount Morrison, called Mu-kang Shang by the Chinese, 14,360 feet, and Mount Sylvia, 11,380 feet. East of this massive backbone the country is mountainous, abruptly terminating in a precipitous coast and a few small rocky islands. Some of the cliffs present a sheer descent of from 3000 to 6000 feet. To the west of this mountainous region lies a range of low, barren clay hills, and to the west of this is a broad alluvial plain stretching from north to south, intersected here and there with water-channels, terminating in sand-banks and long muddy spits, the whole coast presenting a remarkable contrast to the bold rocky face of the east. The land on the west side is regularly gaining on the sea, owing, no doubt, to the sediment brought down from the mountains by the water-courses, especially during the rainy season, when travel in some parts of the interior is rendered almost impossible.

Climate. Except in the north, the climate during the winter is delightful. The excessive rainfall of the north, and especially in the neighborhood of Kelung, makes it unpleasantly cold, though the temperature is generally higher than in the same latitude on the mainland of China. At Tainan the atmosphere is said to be clear and bracing. On the whole, however, the climate is very trying to many. The temperature seldom rises to 100° F., but the general humidity renders even a moderate degree of heat very enervating.

Fauna. As Formosa is included within the ‘Oriental’ zoögeographical region, formed to include the Indo-Chinese coast and the Malayan and Chinese islands, the general characteristics of its fauna will be found under the title Oriental Region. The island has not been thoroughly explored by naturalists, though Swinhoe and others have done much investigating. Its denizens are largely the same as those of the adjacent mainland, showing that there formerly was a land connection. That the separation occurred comparatively long ago, however, is probable from the fact that the island possesses a goodly number of peculiar species, though very few, if any, are of a peculiar genus. The main departures have been in small forest-keeping birds and such small mammals as moles, flying squirrels, and mice, though a special species of goat-antelope or ‘serow’ (Nemorhædus Swinhœi) has been developed in the mountains, and one of a forest deer (Cervus taëvanus), allied to Chinese and Japanese species, which the natives have half domesticated. The tiger seems never to have reached Formosa, where the largest beast of prey is the beautiful ‘clouded tiger’ (Felis macroscelis).

Mining. The interior has been but little explored, and little is known of the geology of the island. Gold is found in the streams and is worked. Bituminous coal abounds in over two-thirds of the island. The best-known mines are situated near Kelung, and are worked under foreign superintendence. Sulphur is found in great abundance, especially in the north. Petroleum and natural gas are found, but are still undeveloped. Iron and silver are also reported.

Agriculture and Industries. So far, agriculture is the chief industry of the island, and is carried on principally by the Chinese. The natural conditions are favorable to the development of that industry. Camphor, tea, and sugar are the staples of the island; but there are also produced rice, millet, corn, wheat, barley, yams, sweet potatoes, indigo, hemp, jute, peanuts, etc. The forests which cover the mountainous parts are rich in bamboo, camphor, banyan, betel-nut, and other trees. The camphor-tree, which is the most important asset of the island, as it gives to Japan a virtual control of the camphor-supply of the world, is found principally in the eastern part and in some parts of the interior. These regions are occupied chiefly by the wild tribes, and it is the policy of the Japanese Government to exploit the camphor forests without interfering with the inhabitants of the region. Since the monopolization of the camphor industry in 1899, steps have been taken for the elimination of the wasteful methods of production, which, under the old régime, had threatened the complete exhaustion of the camphor-supply of the island. Tea is grown chiefly in the northern part and sugar in the southern part of the island. The manufacturing industries are few, and confined principally to the production of sugar, camphor, mineral oil, etc.

Commerce and Transportation. Formosa has been open to foreign commerce since the Treaty of Tien-tsin (1858), which provided for the opening of the four ports of Tainan, Takow, Anping, and Tamsui. There are at present altogether thirteen ports in the island, of which those of Tamsui and Kelung get nearly three-fourths of the total commerce. The two safest harbors are those of Kelung, in the north, and Takow, in the southwest. The total value of merchandise ​exported from the island in 1901 was about $7,800,000, composed principally of tea, sugar, rice, camphor and camphor oil, hemp, jute, etc. The imports of merchandise for the same year amounted to nearly $10,800,000, and consisted chiefly of fruit products, opium, textiles, metals and metal manufactures, lumber, saki, cigarettes and tobacco, etc. Over 50 per cent. of the total trade is with Japan, whose imports from the island have doubled during the period of 1899–1901; next comes China, with about one-third of the total, and Great Britain and the United States, with about $1,000,000 each. The trade is carried on principally by a Chinese and a few European firms, while the commercial influence of Japan is confined to the trade in camphor, opium, and salt—all Government monopolies. The total shipping amounted in 1900 to about 210,000 tons, mostly in British and Chinese bottoms. The island has only one bank, the Bank of Formosa, a private corporation under Government supervision, with a capital of about $2,500,000, and the right of issuing notes, whose circulation, however, is confined to the island. The construction of means of transportation and communication is being pushed by the Japanese Government with great rapidity. A trunk line, from Takow in the southwestern part of the island to Kelung in the north, has been more than half completed. In 1900 the two lines connecting Kelung with Sin-chu or Tek-cham (60 miles), and the line from Takow to Tainan (26 miles), were open for traffic.

Government and Finance. The island is under the administration of a military Governor-General, who is responsible to the Cabinet at Tokio. He is assisted by a council. The civil Governor, who resides at Tai-pei, is responsible for the civil administration. Formosa and the Pescadores are divided, for administrative purses, into seven districts, of which three are known as kens, or prefectures of first rank, and the other four as chos, or prefectures of the second class. The judicial code of the island is different from that of Japan. The finances are still in an unsatisfactory condition, owing to the unsettled state of the island, which necessitates the maintenance of a large military force. The budget of the colony for 1900–01 balanced at about $11,000,000, and the subvention from the mother country was estimated in that year at about $4,500,000. The revenue is derived chiefly from monopolies. Japanese schools are being established all over the island. In 1902 there were over 16,000 native pupils in Japanese schools.

Population. According to the census of 1897 the population of the whole province numbered 2,797,543 persons, of whom 52,405 were in the Peacadores; 16,321 were Japanese. In December, 1898, the figures were 2,729,503, exclusive of resident Japanese and the aborigines.

Ethnology. The population consists of three elements: (1) The Japanese, who, apart from the garrisons, are mostly officials, teachers, traders, and fishermen; (2) the aboriginal tribes and clans; and (3) the Chinese settlers, chiefly from the provinces of Fu-kien and Kwang-tung on the mainland. These occupy the plain which borders the west coast, and the regions of the north. The Hakkas (q.v.) form an important feature of this part of the population. They live in villages of their own, and carry on the greater portion of the barter trade with the aborigines. Until comparatively recent times no official was allowed within their inclosures.

So little is known regarding the aboriginal inhabitants of Formosa that the question of their relationship is very obscure. When the early Chinese settlers arrived in Formosa, some time after the year 1430, they approached it by the west coast, where they found many tribes of savages. Those first encountered they designated Pepohwan, ‘Barbarians of the level plain.’ These were gradually dispossessed and driven eastward to the low hills which flank the mountains on the west. They have acquired a certain amount of civilization, and speak Chinese. The males for the most part dress like the Chinese, and in religious matters follow the Chinese, though they still retain many of their original notions and practices. Inheritance is through the mother. By the Chinese they are now designated Sek-hwan, ‘cooked’ or ‘tamed barbarians,’ as distinguished from the Chi-hwan, ‘raw’ or ‘untamed barbarians,’ whose habitat is in the mountains beyond, and in the south. These are divided into many tribes and clans, with a great variety of languages and dialects, and preserve in their wild independence their ancient customs and institutions—bodily ornaments and mutilations, tattooing, head-hunting, spirit and nature worship, etc. They live in villages, have houses of stone roofed with great slabs of slate, and are remarkably neat and clean. Those living on the hillsides build houses of bamboo, grass, and mud. Order prevails everywhere, and in marriage matters they are very strict. Often a large house is provided outside the village where the unmarried men sleep. They cultivate millet and other crops.

History. Chinese records speak of an expedition against Formosa undertaken as early as the year 603. Japanese adventurers are said to have landed and made conquests in it in the twelfth century, and we are told that from the fifteenth century the eastern or aboriginal half was officially considered by the Japanese as a part of their empire. The first Europeans to visit the island were Portuguese. This was in 1590. The Spanish attempted to hold a part of the island, but were driven out by the Dutch, who had gained a footing in the Pescadores in 1621. In 1624 the Dutch occupied a point near Taiwan, where they built a fort and a town which they called Zeelandia, began commercial operations on a great scale, opened schools, and inaugurated mission work. When in 1620 the persecution of native Christians broke out in Japan, large numbers of them fled to Formosa and formed a colony, but later dwelt with the Dutch until the latter were forced in 1662 to withdraw, as the result of many conflicts with the Chinese settlers, and with Koxinga (q.v.), the famous pirate, who succeeded in making himself King of the island. After a brief and stormy reign his successor was dethroned by the Manchu Emperors. The opening in 1858 of Formosa to foreigners was an important event in the history of the island. Roman Catholic missions were established in 1859, Protestant missions in 1860, and by 1864 a prosperous foreign trade had been established. The aborigines, however, continued to give trouble. As the result of the murder of a number of Japanese sailors by the natives, China was appealed to for redress, but disclaimed ​responsibility for the acts of the savages. In 1874 the Mikado sent a punitive expedition under General Saigo. On the protest of the Peking Government, however, the Japanese retired, but only on conditions secured in Peking by the Japanese envoy—Soyeshima (q.v.)—that China should reclaim and govern eastern Formosa, and pay the expense incurred by Japan. In 1884 Kelung was taken by the French under Admiral Courbet and held until June, 1885.

One result of the Chino-Japanese war over Korea, in 1894–95, as specified in the Treaty of Shimonoseki (q.v.), was the cession of Formosa to the Mikado’s officers, June 2, 1895. The Chinese officials on the island, summoning the Black Flag General, Liu, to their aid, declared a ‘republic.’ Forthwith the Japanese Imperial guard of 7000 men was dispatched, the rebellious republic was duly crushed, and the natives were chastised. Then began the costly occupation and development. Outbreaks have been frequent, but order is being rapidly evolved from the complicated conditions of races and interests.

Bibliography. This is extensive, but it may be simplified by consulting Henri Cordier’s Bibliographie des ouvrages relatifs à l’île Formose (Chartres, 1803). The works of the early annalists contain much that is both useful and curious. See Imbault-Huart, L’île Formose (Paris, 1893). For those who can read French, this is an excellent work to refer to. Other general works on Formosa are: Campbell, Missionary Success in Formosa (London, 1889); Mackay, From Far Formosa: the Island, Its People and Missions (New York, 1896); Geschichte Formosa bis Anfang 1898 (Bonn, 1898); Swinhoe, Notes on the Island of Formosa (1863). Mr. Swinhoe was a naturalist. Le Gendre, “Account of a Visit to the Southern Tribes,” in United States Commercial Relations for 1868–69; House, The Japanese Expedition to Formosa (Tokio, 1875). The astonishing literary imposture may also be consulted: Balmanazar, Description of Formose (London, 1705). Davidson, The Island of Formosa (1902), is the most recent work on the subject.