Fort Zeelandia (Taiwan)
Fort Zeelandia (热 兰 遮 城Chinese, Pinyin rèlánzhē chéng, W.-G. Re -lan che -ch'eng ) was a fortress, which the Dutch East India Company (VOC ) on the island of Formosa (Portuguese Ilha Formosa, today, Taiwan) was built from 1624 to 1634. The village is in the catchment area of the later city of Anping, now a district in the city, Tainan.
1622 the Dutch had tried to the nearby Pescadores Islands (Chinese澎湖 群岛, Pinyin Penghu Qúndǎo, W.-G. P'eng -hu Ch'ün -tao ) to fix, but they had to give way to the 1624 Chinese pressure. " Zeelandia " was the ship of Martinus Sonck, the last commander of the Pescadores.
For the new vertex you chose a promontory on the bay "Taiwan", from which one in case of siege could maintain access to the sea and thus to Batavia. However, you had to install the fresh water from the land.
While you could save the building materials used on the Pescadores for the most part, but were needed extensive supplies of bricks from Batavia. As mortar was used a mixture of sand, shells, glutinous rice and sugar.
Fort Zeelandia served as the seat of the governor and the head office. Close to a settlement arose. In addition, we chatted smaller bases in the region include Fort Provintia, Fort Utrecht and Fort Zeeburgh. Located on the northern tip of the island at " Keelung " (Chinese基隆, Pinyin Jilong, W.-G. Ji -ment ) built Fort Noord -Holland signaled the long- term expansion plans of the company.
The raging in the Chinese empire fighting between the advancing from the north of the Manchu troops and the forces of abgedrängten south Ming Dynasty were not without effect on Formosa. On April 30, 1661, the Chinese commander Zheng Cheng -gong began ( Koxinga ), a follower of the Ming, the siege of the fort Zeelandia. In the following nine months, around three-quarters of the defenders died, relief of Batavia remained and eventually also the drinking water ran out. On February 1, 1662 Governor Frederick Coyett signed a surrender document, presented on 9 February the fortress with all the goods, and in return received free passage for his troops and all civilians. So after 38 years ended in the Dutch control over the southwestern Formosa.
The plants fell rapidly. The Chinese names changed repeatedly in the sequence: Fort Orange (Orange ) (Chinese奥伦 治 城), Fort Taiwan (Chinese台湾 城), and finally Old Fort Anping (Chinese安平古堡, Pinyin Anping gǔbǎo ).
Located in the North Fort Noord -Holland was occupied again in 1664. Although the home side's 300 -strong crew, two years later, repulse a Chinese attack of 6000 men, but gradually became clear that a trade in the former circumference was no longer possible. On October 18, 1668 it was decided, therefore, definitely leave Formosa.