The inhabitants, numbering 3,612,184 in 1914, consist of Chinese settlers, some Japanese, and the aborigines. A system of colonization from Japan has been adopted by the authorities. Respecting the ethnological origin of these lat ter there exists some doubt ; they seem to con sist of several different tribes, mainly of Malayan and Negrito descent. The Chinese distribute them. into three classes, Pepohwan, a race of civilized and sinicized agriculturists; Sekhwan, settled tribes who acknowledge Chinese rule; and Chinhwan, the untamed sav ages of the mountains. The administrative headquarters were formerly at Taiwan, but on the constitution of the island into an independ ent province of the Chinese Empire in 1887 it had formerly been incorporated with Fet chien on the mainland— they were transferred to Tai-per or Bangka. The island was known to the Chinese before the Christian era, but does not seem to have, seriously attracted their attention until the year 605 or 606 A.D. In the 14th century they established several colonies in Formosa, which however, were withdrawn in the middle of the 17th century. Although Portuguese and Spanish navigators began to visit the island a century earlier, the first Euro pean people to establish themselves on it were the Dutch, who in 1624 built Fort Zealandia, near the modern Taiwan. They were, however, expelled in 1661 by a Chinese adventurer, Koxinga, who retained possession of the island for a years. Some years later a regular
Chinese colonization of the western half of the island was carried through, the colonists com ing principally from Fii-chien and Kwang-tung. Subsequently the island became notorious for the piracy of its inhabitants and the ill-treat ment they inflicted upon navigators who chanced to be wrecked on their coasts. Accordingly in 1874 the Japanese invaded Formosa; but on the Chinese undertaking to check the evils com plained of they withdrew. Ten years later the French, during their contest with China in Tongking, held for a time the coal districts of Kelung. The occupation by the Japanese troops did not take place without opposition from the natives and Chinese "Black Flags," but the Japanese were practically in full possession of the Island before the end of 1895, and set them selves at once to the work of reorganization. Consult Psalmanazar, 'Description of For mosa' (1705) ; Cordier, 'Bibliographic des ouvrages relatifs a l'ile Formosa' (1903) ; Swinhoe, 'Notes (a naturalist's) on Formosa' (1863) ; Mackay, 'From Far Formosa' (1896) ; Davidson, 'The Island of Formosa' (1903) ; Campbell, 'Formosa under the Dutch' (1903) ; Tekekoshi, 'Japanese Rule in Formosa' (trans. by Braithwaite, 1907) ; Terry, Japanese Em pire in Korea and Formosa' (1914).