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The Kingdom of Middag was a kingdom located in central Taiwan. The kingdom was established by the Taiwanese aboriginal tribes of Popora, Babuza, Pazeh, and Hoanya. The kingdom occupied present-day Taichung, Changhua, and Nantou. It was established in the 16th century, before the Europeans arrived in Taiwan. It survived the rulings of European colonists and the Kingdom of Tungning led by Koxinga. However, the kingdom was conquered in approximately 1732 by Qing forces under the administration of Yongzheng Emperor.
Names
The Kingdom of Middag is the western name for the kingdom. In Taiwan, it is known as the Kingdom of Dadu (traditional Chinese: 大肚王國; pinyin: Dàdù Wángguó; Wade-Giles: Tà-tù Wáng-kuó), Dadu being the modern-day name of the historical capital Middag.
The leader of the kingdom also had different titles. The Dutch name of the title was Keizer van Middag, the German name was Keiser von Mittag, the Hoklo name was Quata Ong (pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khoa-ta Ông), and the most common aboriginal name was Lelian ("Sun King").
History
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| Prehistory 50000 BCE – 1624 CE | ||||||||
| Kingdom of Middag 1540 – 1732 | ||||||||
| Dutch Formosa 1624 – 1662 | ||||||||
| Kingdom of Tungning 1662 – 1683 | ||||||||
| Qing Dynasty 1683 – 1895 | ||||||||
| Republic of Formosa 1895 | ||||||||
| Japanese Rule 1895 – 1945 | ||||||||
| Post-War Taiwan 1945 – present | ||||||||
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Timeline • Rulers • Kaohsiung • Taipei |
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The kingdom first came into contact with the West in the early 17th century. After the Dutch East India Company established its outpost at Taoyoan in 1624, it came into armed conflicts with the kingdom on some occasions, and was able to force the kingdom into submission. The kingdom, however, maintained its semi-autonomous status, and had the authority to ban European missionary activities in its territory. Generally speaking, the kingdom maintained a friendly relation with the Dutch.
In 1662, Ming loyalist Koxinga and his followers laid siege to the Dutch outpost, and eventually established the Kingdom of Tungning. Tungning and Middag were constantly at odds due to Middag's friendly relations with the Dutch, and hostility between the kingdom's population and the Han people that constituted the population of Tungning. Furthermore, the Kingdom of Tungning was in constant need of expansion in order to realize its ultimate goal - defeat the Qing empire and restore the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the two kingdoms clashed on numerous occasions, with the territory of Tungning gradually expanded and Middag forced to retreat.
After the Qing's successful campaign that resulted in the capitulation of the Kingdom of Tungning, the Kingdom of Middag faced an even more powerful and capable enemy. During the reign of Yongzheng Emperor of Qing in the 18th century, the kingdom was constantly at war with the empire, and suffered numerous defeats. The kingdom eventually collapsed and ceased to exist, and its descendants are scattered in present day Puli in central Taiwan.
See also
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