That Time a Frenchman Pretended to be Taiwanese in 1704

Dear Reader,

Happy new year!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season as we kick off another year of stories about Taiwan here on Island Folklore.

And guess what? You're in for a treat. We are kicking off 2023 with one of the weirdest stories we've ever come across!

It's a wild one as we head to early-18^th-century England and learn all about That Time a Frenchman Pretended to be Taiwanese in 1704. It's a great story—keep scrolling to check it out!

Enjoy!

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You’re in for a treat. This has got to be one of the weirdest stories we’ve ever come across about Taiwan. It is wild!

In 1704, a fantastical book was published in London, England titled An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa. It got off on the wrong foot right from the start. The book’s subtitle called Taiwan (Formosa) “an island subject to the Emperor of Japan.”

For your information, Taiwan was annexed by the Manchurian empire (Qing dynasty in China) in the late 1600s and was held by the Chinese until the late 1800s. So when the book was published in 1704, no, Taiwan was not (yet) a subject of the Japanese. But obviously, this minor inaccuracy didn’t bother the book’s 18^th-century British readers one bit. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Briton who knew the difference in those days.

Despite its faulty subtitle, the book aimed to give “an account of the religion, customs, manners, etc. of the inhabitants.” And, boy, did it ever.

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Island Folklore: Taiwanese Tales & Traditions, an online repository of Taiwan's folktales, history, legends, myths and traditions, is published and managed by the Island Folklore Club.

Our mission:

• To collect and preserve Taiwanese folk traditions for future generations.
• To explore and showcase Taiwan's diverse and unique blend of cultures.
• To educate and enable Taiwanese communities worldwide to take pride in the shared Taiwanese heritage.