A Different Kind of Fortress-The Story of the Fortifications: Taiwan's Walls in Qing Dynasty Documents and Images

:::

A Different Kind of Fortress

The era of fortress-building in Taiwan began in the 17th century, when the Dutch East India Company and the Spanish Empire constructed European-style defensive fortifications in Tainan, Keelung and Tamsui. Subsequent rulers of Taiwan continued to use these fortifications, building upon and modifying the original foundations.

Read the following for how to use your keyboard to browse the album：

An embassy from the East-India company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham, emperour of China

Olfert Dapper
1670

“城” (“fort”) refers to a defensive structure encompassing a designated area with large-scale walls. The construction of forts in Taiwan began in the 17th century with Western-style bastions. For example, the Dutch East India Company successively built Fort Zeelandia and Fort Provintia in present-day Tainan, whereas the Spanish Empire constructed Fort San Salvador and Fort San Domingo in Keelung and Tamsui, respectively. The complete view of Fort Zeelandia can be seen in An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperor of China.
Palace memorial on repairing the walls of Fort Zeelandia, Taiwan

Presented by Yilinga, Censor of Shaanxi Circuit
11 June 1750

Western-style bastions remained in use after the Zheng family and the Qing dynasty took control of Taiwan. In 1661, Zheng Chenggong arrived in Taiwan and renamed the area surrounding Fort Zeelandia as “Anping Town,” repurposing the fort as also a residential base. Fort Provintia, meanwhile, was converted into a gunpowder and weaponry depot. By the Qing dynasty, Anping Town became the naval headquarters and a government warehouse. Over time, it was increasingly referred to as “Fort Zeelandia.” Recognizing its continued use and military importance, Yilinga, an inspecting censor of Shaanxi, submitted a memorial to Emperor Qianlong in 1750 proposing the repair of the partially damaged fort.
Sketches in the Island of Formosa

From The Illustrated London News
6 September 1884

By the late 19th century, Fort Zeelandia had suffered long-term lack of large-scale maintenance. Natural disasters, including typhoons and earthquakes, further eroded the once robust bastion. While the overall outline of Fort Zeelandia remained intact, illustrations in late Qing pictorials depict it amidst thatched cottages and farmland, highlighting its dilapidated state. In response to the 1874 Japanese invasion of Taiwan, the Qing court dispatched Imperial Envoy Shen Baozhen to handle related affairs. To bolster national defense, the authorities decided to construct a new fort, Eternal Golden Castle, at Erkunshen. To save costs, bricks from Fort Zeelandia’s outer walls were dismantled and reused, accelerating its decay.