Republic of Formosa | Formosa (Taiwan)
1895short-livedrepublicontheislandofTaiwanTheRepublicofFormosawasashort-livedrepublic[1][2]thatexistedontheislandofTaiwanin1895betweentheformalcessionofTaiwanbytheQingdynastyofChinatotheEmpireofJapanbytheTreatyofShimonosekianditsbeingtakenoverbyJapanesetroops.TheRepublicwasproclaimedon23May1895andextinguishedon21October,whentheRepublicancapitalTainanwastakenoverbytheJapanese.ThoughsometimesclaimedasthefirstAsianrepublictohavebeenproclaimed,itwaspredatedbytheLanfangRepublicinBorneo,establishe...
1895 short-lived republic on the island of Taiwan
The Republic of Formosa was a short-lived republic[1][2] that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and its being taken over by Japanese troops. The Republic was proclaimed on 23 May 1895 and extinguished on 21 October, when the Republican capital Tainan was taken over by the Japanese. Though sometimes claimed as the first Asian republic to have been proclaimed, it was predated by the Lanfang Republic in Borneo, established in 1777, as well as by the Republic of Ezo in Japan, established in 1869.
Etymology[edit]The name Formosa dates from 1542 when Portuguese sailors sighted an uncharted island and noted it on their maps as Ilha Formosa ("beautiful island").[3] The name Formosa eventually "replaced all others in European literature" and remained in common use among English speakers into the 20th ...