Brief history

¡@In the 15th century, Taiwan's earliest inhabitants were simply know as aborigines - the people of Malay - Polynesian descent. From the Sui dynasty (589-618) until the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the Chinese name for Taiwan was Hsiao Liuchiu. For centuries Taiwan has been familiar to the West as Formosa, a name derived from the 16th century Portuguese sailors who were so impressed by the beautiful scenery that they named it " Ilha Formosa! " ( Beautiful Island ).

¡@The Dutch invaded Taiwan in 1624 and remained as colonists for 37 years. The Spanish invaded and occupied northernmost Taiwan in 1626, but were driven out by the Dutch 16 years later in 1642.

¡@Ming dynasty officials finally defeated the Dutch in 1661 and used Taiwan as their base in the fight to overthrow the Ching dynasty and restore the Ming dynasty. But the Ching dynasty eventually won, making Taiwan a county of Fujian province. For the next 200 years, there were numerous immigrants from Fujian province who brought their culture and language with them, and these still dominate Taiwan today.

¡@In 1894, Japan went to war with China following a dispute over Korea. China was defeated and ceded Taiwan to Japan, but regained sovereignty over Taiwan after Japan's defeat in WWII in 1945.

¡@China's last dynasty, the Qing dynasty collapsed in 1911, following a nationwide rebellion led by Dr. Sun Yat Sen, who became the first president of the Republic of China. A period of civil war ensued and unity was eventually restored when the Kuomintang (the KMT) took power. The nationalist army was led by General Chiang Kai Shek. In 1949, the Communists gained control of the Chinese from the KMT and established the People's Republic of China. General Chiang Kai Shek and his nationalist party (the KMT) with about half a million people moved to the island and governed as a leading party for 50 years.

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