History Kingdom of Middag

the kingdom first came contact west after dutch east india company established government of formosa in 1624. david wright, scottish agent of company lived on island in 1640s, listed middag among 11 shires or provinces of plains region, described follows:

third dominion belongs king of middag, , lies against north-east of tayouan, southward of river patientia. prince has seventeen towns obey him, largest being called middag, chief seat , place of residence. sada, beodor, deredonesel, , goema, 4 other of eminent towns, last-named being handsome place, , situated on plain 5 miles patientia, whereas others built on hills. king of middag had formerly twenty-seven towns under jurisdiction, ten of them threw off yoke. keeps no great state, , has 1 or 2 attendants accompanying him when going abroad. never suffer christians dwell in dominions, allowing them travel through it.

approximate location of kingdom of middag in orange; dutch , spanish territory in magenta , green.

after dutch conquered spanish colony in northern taiwan in 1642, sought establish control of western plains between new possessions , base @ tayouan (modern tainan). after brief destructive campaign, pieter boon able subdue tribes in area in 1645. kamachat aslamie, ruler of middag, given cane symbol of local rule under dutch overlordship. between 1646 , 1650, company divided lands 6 parts , leased them chinese farmers. during period kamachat aslamie died , succeeded nephew kamachat maloe, successor never referred title quata ong.

in 1662, ming loyalist koxinga , followers laid siege dutch outpost, , established kingdom of tungning. under terms of surrender, koxinga took on dutch leases. on constant war footing, , denied maritime trade hostile dutch-qing alliance, kingdom of tungning intensively exploited these lands feed vast army. resulted in number of brutally suppressed rebellions indigenous population , gradual weakening of middag.

qing period

after successful qing campaign resulted in capitulation of kingdom of tungning, transportation between taiwan , china restored, , immigration of chinese population island—albeit discouraged official edicts—resurged. consequently, kingdom of middag—as other aboriginal peoples—faced greater pressure exponentially growing chinese population seeking open more farmlands on island.

due lack of historical records , archaeological evidence, actual lineage , developments of kingdom cannot ascertained. according accounts huang shujing, qing official dispatched taiwan in 18th century, supra-tribal leadership remained in existence in dadu area @ time. however, during reign of yongzheng emperor of qing later in century, population in traditional middag territories rose oppose heavy labor imposed qing authorities, , brutally quelled qing troops , collaborative indigenous communities in 1732, year after initial uprising. after turmoil came end, supra-tribal leadership apparently ceased exist in island s central-western plains. in aftermath of this, descendants of middag either fused majority chinese population through intermarriage or migrated present-day puli, basin township surrounded high mountains in central taiwan.