The Butterfly Campaign: "Whelp, there goes the neighborhood!"

And right back to Anping we go!

In case you don't remember, Anping is where my lovely little Nurse Marion (I think that's my new nickname for her) took me to see the temple of Mazu, which I have since discovered is the oldest temple to that deity on this island. I was so absorbed in the beautiful temple, I guess I never really took the time to notice what was behind it! So, here's a little history lesson for you:

Way back in the day when China was still too busy being seclusive to notice little Taiwan, individuals with sizable investments in the international trade department started seeing some real possibilities for Taiwan. (This is where you're going to want to locate a map) You see, Taiwan has a pretty prime location; it has the ability to serve as a perfect trade center for all of Pacific Asia, just across the Taiwan Straight from China. (See first Taiwan post for more info) To the Dutch East India Trading Company, looking at Taiwan was like looking at a large green island - and I'm not talking about the foliage. So, they did what Europeans seem to be best at: Came and took the darn thing over! They also built a fort. Fort Zeelandia, to be exact. Lovely name, no?

Not bad, eh? Very pretty, and against the swords, spears, and primitive guns of the native Taiwanese, invincible.

Or at least, that's what they thought. They had never heard of this guy.

Koxinga is his English name. This guy was a real beast. Maybe one of the original beasts. Over here, he's regarded as a national hero and sometimes a god, and you'll see why in a minute. You see, this guy was a king. A pirate king. Some estimates say that pirate king Koxinga had over 3000 ships at his command. Quite a formidable enemy, and for a while, China was really bugged by this guy. But lo and behold, along comes a war. Big war. War that would eventually end legendary Ming Dynasty. As the aforementioned Ming Dynasty is trying to get some rebels in the north under control, they start noticing that the Dutch are really profiting from their little island! (China has, for some weird reason, always thought of Taiwan as theirs. I would go into the politics on this, but I'll spare you. It's a mess.) This, along with the pirate king, is really buggin. So someone comes up with a genius plan: Why not kill two birds with one stone? In return for some super high-ranking title in the Ming government, hire the pirate king to get rid of the dutch! Perfect! Brilliant! And it was.

So this pirate king, now a Ming loyalist, does exactly what he was commissioned to do; He rocks that fort.

This is part of the wall that Koxinga literally tore down

Even with their inferior weapons and positions, the Chinese fought with such ferocity - inspired by a ferocious leader - that the Dutch forces eventually crumbled (despite a very heroic and moving effort on their part).

And voilà! Ming dynasty problem solved! Wrong. Sadly, Koxinga didn't get to enjoy his new government position for very long, as the Ming dynasty fell shortly after his Taiwanese victory. So, Koxinga settled for the next best thing and made himself king of Taiwan, since he apparently loved the whole king title. Taiwan served as a Ming loyalist hide out for many years afterwards, and prospered quite a bit under Koxinga's direction.

Here are some awesome pics of the fort and our time in Anping! Enjoy!