The unique island of Taiwan
In the 19th century, maps had not only political, economic, and military uses, but were also made for scholarly purposes. One example is the Physikalischer Atlas, published in 1839 by the German geographer Heinrich Berghaus.
On one of the maps in the atlas, a map of major agricultural crops, Taiwan is considered to be a rice-producing area. On a map of the distribution of ethnic groups, Taiwan is included in the area inhabited by the “brown” or “Malay” race. In his book Wang points out that in those days Malay people were considered representative of the “brown” race, but it would be more accurate to say that the “Proto-Malay” peoples were one of the Austronesian ethnic groups.
Taiwan is the northernmost location in the distribution of Austronesian languages, and in recent years many studies have indicated that Taiwan is where this group of languages originated. More than 300 million people in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands speak Austronesian languages, and they share much in common in terms of vocabulary and syntax. Nine of the ten major branches of the Austronesian language family are found in Taiwan, which boasts the greatest diversity of these tongues. Studies have also found that the paper mulberry tree of the Western Pacific region, which was closely integrated into the lives of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, originated in Taiwan, indirectly supporting the hypothesis that Taiwan is the birthplace of the Austronesian languages.
After perusing so many old maps, has Abel Wang found Taiwan’s place in the world? He says with a laugh: “The more I see, the more I feel that Taiwan should not sell itself short. On one hand it is the northernmost extent of the Austronesian languages, and on the other Taiwan has proven very resistant to conquest. Even the powerful Yuan Dynasty, which conquered parts of Europe, could not successfully attack Taiwan. So Taiwan is a very special place, and deserves to be treasured by us all.”
On this 1635 map of The East Indies and Adjacent Islands, Taiwan is labeled as “Formosa.” The depicted location and shape are quite close to reality, and the numerous navigation routes that pass close by show that Taiwan was becoming increasingly important in international trade.