Formosa. Country of success. Самсон Хохотов
with a demand to compensate for the losses.
Responding, the Qing Dynasty Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that although Taiwan belongs to China, the Taiwanese aborigines are southern barbarians who do not recognize the Qing emperor's supreme power.
Therefore, the latter is not responsible for their actions.
We should note, that until 1895, that is before the transfer of the island to Japan under the Shimonoseki Treaty, the island was divided into two zones:
– the western plains, where the main population was made up of migrants from mainland China; here also lived the indigenous agricultural population – “plain settlers” (pinbu);
– the eastern mountainous zone, where since the 17th century there were restrictions on Chinese migration (the so-called fenshanming – a decree on the closure of the mountains). There was no Chinese administration there, and the local population (Shenfan or Gaoshan – "highlanders") was ruled by elders.
Meanwhile, in Japan, public discontent was growing fuelled by political crisis, unpopular reforms and the outbreak of the Saga uprising.
Encouraged by the Americans, the Japanese government decided to use the recent incidents as an excuse to relieve social tension within the country and carry out a punitive expedition.
In April 1874, the Imperial Adviser Okumu Shigenobu, was appointed head of the Taiwan appanage office, and Lieutenant General Tsugumichi Saigo was appointed the commander of the troops of this office. In addition to the ground forces, impressive naval forces were also involved, including the armoured corvette Ryujo, built in England not long before these events. But at the last moment, the government halted preparations due to protests from the British and US ambassadors, who said the invasion of Taiwan "would destabilize peace in the Far East."
Despite international pressure, in mid-May 1874, the 3,000-strong contingent of the Imperial Japanese Army under the command of Tsugumichi Saigo unauthorizedly set off to Taiwan. A little later, the Japanese authorities were forced to recognize the legitimacy of the campaign. On 22 May 1874, the Japanese gathered their troops in the Taiwanese port of Sheliao and began punitive action against the Paivan aborigines.
The natives reacted to the Japanese in a quite unfriendly manner, and they gave rise to the opening of hostilities by killing several Japanese soldiers, who carelessly went for a walk away from the camp. The next day, General Saigo sent a detachment of troops into the mountains, which, having destroyed the village and massacred most of the male population of the village, returned to the camp with very few casualties. After that, many tribes laid down their arms and voluntarily surrendered to the Japanese. Just a few mountain villages remained hostile.
The desire to weaken the enemy with a decisive blow prompted Saigo to direct his power against them, as the most powerful and stubborn of all his opponents. On June 13, the Japanese army, divided into three groups, entered the hostile territory from different directions. The Japanese moved without encountering strong resistance. But their situation was not easy. Natural conditions seriously complicated their path: torrential rain, typical for this time of year, flooding of rivers and their rapid flow, lack of roads and unfamiliar area entailed many hardships and difficulties.
And the health of the members of the expedition was adversely affected by constant dampness, intense heat and exhausting work. Many fell ill with fever.
The highlanders avoided open combat, which was unequal for them, while firing at the Japanese with impunity from behind the inaccessible rocks, and disturbing them with unexpected attacks. The combat losses of the Japanese were rather small – only 12 men. But 561 Japanese soldiers died of malaria. The Qing dynasty demanded the immediate withdrawal of Japanese troops from Taiwan.
Terashima, who succeeded Soejima as foreign minister, fearing diplomatic complications, sent Japanese Ambassador Okubo Toshimichi to Nagasaki to suspend the expedition.
In August 1874, Okubo arrived in China, where he began negotiations with Zongliyamen (Foreign Ministry).
The parties were irreconcilable, and these negotiations came to an impasse. Eventually, a compromise was agreed upon with the mediation of the British ambassador to China, Thomas Wade.
China was preoccupied with preparations for war with Yettishar (a Muslim state in Xinjiang that emerged following the Dungan uprising).
On October 31, Japan and Qing concluded a truce, under which Japan had to withdraw its troops from Taiwan, and the Chinese had to pay compensation to injured Japanese sailors and relatives of the victims. It was the first international treaty to recognize Japan's sovereignty over the Ryukyu archipelago. The inhabitants of Ryukyu were now subjects of Japan.
They had to pay approximately 18.7 tons of silver to Japan as an indemnity plus twice as much again to compensate the families of the dead sailors.
In addition to this, they had to pay 75 tons of silver for expenses incurred by the Japanese government for laying roads and erecting buildings on the island.
From that time, the Qing authorities were responsible for policing all cases of sea robbery both on the island and in Chinese waters.
Japan provided Formosa to the Chinese and had to leave the island by December 20, 1874.
One day after the departure of the Japanese expedition, the camp was reduced to ashes, the Chinese burning everything they had bought, considering it to be humiliating to use.
In 1875, Taipei became the capital of northern Taiwan. In 1886 Taiwan was singled out as a separate province of China. The defeat in the war with the Japanese forced the Qing government to cede Taiwan to Japan in 1895.
Under the terms of the Shimonoseki Peace Treaty, Taiwan came under the control of the Japanese administration. Having settled on the island, the Japanese first began to study the local tribes.
They call these tribes "takasago" (as the Japanese read "gaoshan"). The Japanese conduct scientific research and classifications and took control of the island.
Following the outbreak of World War II, some villages were converted into paramilitary camps by the Japanese.
Thus, they prepared the local population for service in the Japanese army. Two raid companies were formed from the Aborigines under the command of Japanese commanders, who took part in the battles in the Pacific Ocean, New Guinea, and the Philippines.
They also took part in raids on the American airfield at Browen. During this raid, a Taiwanese suicide squad named "Kaoru Group" was supposed to blow up American planes. The task was only partially completed.
Generally, these Takasago units were distinguished by their good training and excellent fighting qualities.
Local patriots tried to organize Taiwan, as an independent state, “the Republic of Taiwan ". However, this attempt failed. The new Qing government was defeated in the war with the Japanese and ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895.
The intention of the Chinese to keep Taiwan for themselves by establishing the independent state " the Republic of Taiwan " was quickly suppressed by the Japanese. Taiwan, aka Formosa, was seized by the Japanese. For some time they were heroically resisted by both the Chinese and the aborigines, but modern firearms did their job. Rumour has it that the Japanese made an action movie on this event. Taiwan fit well with the Japanese concept of accretion by islands.
They tried to do everything to make the locals feel like subjects of the Empire of the Rising Sun. Some even believed in this, for example, Teruo Nakamura, one of those who had been hiding out in the jungle for many years after the war.
When he was discovered and captured, it turned out that nobody knew what to do with him. The Japanese patriot spoke neither Japanese nor Chinese. Eventually, he was granted a Japanese pension but was sent to Taiwan to live out his days.
From 1895 to 1945, there was a special period in the life of Taiwan.
At this time, the island was part of the Japanese Empire and was divided into several prefectures: Taihoku, Shinchiku,