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400 Years: Dutch Formosa - part two:
Roughly 80% of Dutch (or other European) men settling in Taiwan as part of the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) presence on Taiwan married Indigenous Taiwanese women! Learn more about Dutch-era Taiwan through the eyes of women as a remarkable woman, National Taiwan Normal University Professor Ann Heylen, gives us a glimpse into the severely Calvinist, yet practical, VOC - the world's first multinational corporation.
Cover: The ruins of Fort Zeelandia in the background (via Wikimedia Commons). Left: A clipping from "Portrait of a Woman," which portrays a Dutch woman in 1665 (common domain). It's a bit unlikely that Dutch women in Taiwan wore such fancy gowns, however. Right: A clip from a poster for an upcoming show, details below (via ICRT).
CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON the guest expert in this episode, National Taiwan Normal University Professor Ann Heylen.
Below: This painting depicts Dutch colonists in Batavia (now-Indonesia) in the mid-1600s. Some of the Dutch in Formosa likely also wore similar attire.
The Commander of the Homeward-Bound Fleet, ca. 1640–60, oil on canvas. Photo: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) (artwork in the public domain)
Below: Young women from the Siraya Indigenous People. Via Flickr - Photo by 莊信賢
Via Wiki: The Siraya (西拉雅族;Xīlāyǎ Zú) people are a Taiwanese indigenous people. The Siraya settled flat coastal plains in the southwest part of the Taiwan and corresponding sections of the east coast; the area is identified today with Tainan City and Taitung County. At least four communities make up the group: Mattauw, Soelangh, Baccloangh, and Sinckan. The first four communities correspond to the modern-day districts of Madou, Jiali, Shanhua, and Sinshih, respectively.
WATCH: Siraya Look Forward to Official Indigenous Recognition After Court Victory | TaiwanPlus News
READ: Centuries old painting showing Dutch and Siraya arrives in Taiwan
Below: If you happen to be someone who prefers to learn history through song, check out this ICRT interview with the creator of a new musical!
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Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
