User:Taiwantaffy/Qing Taiwan

Beginnings: 1683–1723
When the Qing Dynasty admiral Shi Lang conquered the Kingdom of Tungning in 1683, Taiwan came under direct rule from China for the first time in its history. Taiwan was immediately classified as a prefecture under the authority of Fujian Province, a classification which was to remain in effect for all but the last ten years of Qing rule. Taiwan had previously been divided into two counties, but the following year the Qing decided to redraw the administrative boundaries of the island.

Setting the administrative capital at Taiwanfu, modern-day Anping, the area around this center, containing most of the Han Chinese settlers, was named Taiwan County. The Pescadores, long settled by Han Chinese fishermen, were included in this county. To the south, encompassing what is now Kaohsiung and Pingdong County, the Qing created Fengshan County. The rest of the western plains and northern coast, a huge area taking up more than half the landmass of Taiwan, became Zhuluo County. The east coast, including modern-day Yilan, Hualian, and Taidong Counties, was designated the Transmontane Territory as it took in both the high central mountains and the land behind those mountains on the east coast. This last division was beyond the pale of Qing rule, and the aboriginal inhabitants there were left entirely to their own devices.