THE DUTCH IN FORMOSA, 1632荷蘭人在台灣 1632
This article presents a translated excerpt from the 1645 "Relation d’un voyage aux Indes orientales par un gentilhomme français," a rare primary source document written by an anonymous French soldier serving the Dutch East India Company (VOC). As one of only two known 17th-century French accounts of...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
October 2004
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40012/3832 |
| Summary: | This article presents a translated excerpt from the 1645 "Relation d’un voyage aux Indes orientales par un gentilhomme français," a rare primary source document written by an anonymous French soldier serving the Dutch East India Company (VOC). As one of only two known 17th-century French accounts of travel through the South China Sea in the service of the VOC, the text provides a unique non-Dutch European perspective on the company’s maritime and colonial operations. The narrative focuses specifically on the rise of the Chinese corsair and admiral Iquan (Zheng Zhilong), tracing his trajectory from a humble merchant at the Dutch fort in Formosa (Taiwan) to the commander of a formidable pirate fleet of over eight hundred junks. The author details the complex geopolitical dynamics of the region, illustrating Iquan’s shifting alliances with Dutch authorities, his eventual appointment as a Ming imperial admiral, and the subsequent diplomatic and financial tensions with VOC officials like General Hendrik Brouwer. Ultimately, this account serves as a significant historical record of the socio-political volatility and cross-cultural "encounters and clashes" that defined the 17th-century maritime frontier in East Asia. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |