Danshui

When the statue arrived in Danshui, however, and the Spanish captain learned how much the Senarians liked it, he dispatched men to take it back to Senar, much to the relief of the village's inhabitants.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006

Shortly thereafter the Spanish built a fortress in Danshui (淡水), and by the mid-1630s they had brought much of northern Taiwan under their control.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006

By making peace with the aborigines in Danshui, the Dutch turned an area that had once been a central part of the pax hispanica into enemy territory for the Spanish.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006

So popular were the statue and its priests that when Esquivel said that the statue of the Virgin must be returned to Danshui, the Senarians objected.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006

All of the licenses specified destinations in northern Taiwan: five for Jilong and five for Danshui, located some fifty kilometers west of Jilong. 16 Since these licenses merely recognized preexisting smuggling, we can be sure that northern Taiwan had long been a destination for Chinese junks.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006

Not long thereafter, the Dutch garrisons in Jilong and Danshui also surrendered.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006

The statue of the Virgin was moved from Senar to a new church in the old village, which missionaries called Rosario. 77 After their success in Senar, the Dominicans extended their mission along the coast west of Danshui and up the Danshui River valley.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006

A leader of a village called Lichoco, upstream along the Danshui River (eastern branch), happened to see Esquivel intercede with the Spanish governor to obtain freedom for some prisoners from Taparri.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006

The "chief of Danshui" feasted the soldiers but refused to provide rice to take back to Jilong.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006

The Council of Formosa had decided to extend the lease system to villages in the far north of Taiwan, in the area of Tamsuy (Danshui) and Quelang (Jilong), and lease bids remained, on the whole, well above those of 1649.

How Taiwan Became Chinese 2006