Dutch Expulsion from Taiwan (1642)
- When
- 1642
- Where
- Northern Taiwan (Formosa)
- Episodes
- 1
In 1642, the Dutch expelled the Spanish from their northern Taiwan fortress after a failed 1641 attempt. Reinforced by aboriginal warriors, Dutch forces dislodged the Spanish-Filipino contingent, causing the last Spanish fortress to fall.
Episodes
Background and detail
Colonial Context. The Dutch East India Company established a presence in Formosa to interdict Spanish trade. The Spanish maintained a small colony in the north from 1626. By 1641, this northern colony had become an irritant to the Dutch, prompting a decision to take it by force.
The 1642 Expulsion. Following a failed 1641 offensive, the Dutch returned in 1642 with reinforcements and aboriginal warriors. They successfully dislodged the small Spanish-Filipino contingent from their fortress and drove them from the island, resulting in the fall of the last Spanish fortress.
People involved
- Dutch Republic · Expelling force
- Spanish Empire · Expelled colonial power
Sources
- Dutch Formosa Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-19
- Taiwan Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-16
- Spanish Formosa Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-17
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.