Governor of Formosa explained

Post:Governor
Body:Formosa
Insignia:Flag of the Dutch East India Company (Prinsenvlag).svg
Insigniasize:200px
Insigniacaption:Flag of the Dutch East India Company
Native Name:Gouverneur van Formosa
Residence:Fort Zeelandia
Tayouan, Formosa
Appointer:Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
Formation:1624
Inaugural:Marten Sonk

The governor of Formosa (Dutch; Flemish: gouverneur van Formosa;) was the head of government during the Dutch colonial period in Taiwan, which lasted from 1624 to 1662. Appointed by the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia (modern-day Jakarta, Indonesia), the governor of Formosa was empowered to legislate, collect taxes, wage war and declare peace on behalf of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and therefore by extension the Dutch state.

The governor's residence was in Fort Zeelandia on Tayouan.

List of governors

There were a total of twelve governors during the Dutch colonial era.[1] The man sometimes claimed as the thirteenth, Harmen Klenck van Odessen, was appointed by VOC Governor-General Joan Maetsuycker only to arrive off the coast of Tayouan during the Siege of Fort Zeelandia. Klenck refused to go ashore to take up his post despite being urged to by Frederick Coyett, the incumbent governor, and finally left without ever setting foot on Formosa.[1]

Portrait Name From Until
1Martinus Sonck16241625
(died in office)
2Gerard Frederikszoon de With16251627
3Pieter Nuyts16271629
4Hans Putmans16291636
5Johan van der Burg16361640
(died in office)
6Paulus Traudenius16401643
7Maximilian le Maire16431644
8François Caron16441646
9Pieter Anthoniszoon Overtwater16461649
10Nicolas Verburg16491653
11Cornelis Caesar16531656
12Frederick Coyett16561662

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Formosa under the Dutch: Described from Contemporary Records . William Campbell . William Campbell (missionary) . 1903 .