Tonio Andrade,Lost Colony: The Untold Story of China’s First Great Victory over the West

Reviewed by: Chia-Lin Huang, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK

Tonio Andrade’s Lost Colony is an impressive and creative book – one that addresses the fundamental debate as to why the Europeans conquered Asia in the pre-industrial period. This is a continuation of Andrade’s earlier work, How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century (2007), which examined the Dutch colony on Taiwan between 1624 and 1662. His new book revises his original argument that the development of colonialism in East Asia was influenced more by political motivation than by military advancement. Andrade extends the scope of this previous work to illustrate the development of the Zheng family and how Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) came to rule over Taiwan from the 1620s until 1662. Inspired by recent advances in military history (including work by Geoffrey Parker and Jeremy Black), the monograph starts by discussing the axiom that Europe expanded globally due to its superior civilization. Andrade the Revisionist, however, posits that political will was the most important factor. Thus, he locates his account within the context of global history by re-examining China’s and Europe’s military evolution up to the eighteenth century. As influential as technological prowess in the process of warfare, Andrade argues, were the vagaries of nature, in particular the weather.

The story that Andrade portrays is a well-known one to Chinese historians. His narrative is vivid and detailed, and the copious sources are carefully analysed through the lens of the unprecedented war between the Dutch East India Company and Koxinga. The author depicts the process and impact of war by drawing on official journals, administrative communications, and private letters and diaries, as well as personal accounts by Koxinga, Thomas Pedel and Jacob Valentine. Andrade divides his narrative into three stages. In Part 1, he examines the rise of the Zheng clan and its connections with the Dutch and the Chinese governments before Koxinga sailed towards Taiwan. He indicates that the primary factor for Koxinga’s endeavour to take over Taiwan was the military defeat by the Qing on mainland China as well as the need for a new base.

Part 2 explores how Konxiga attacked the Dutch in Taiwan and the negotiation between the two parties before the Dutch fleet arrived at Anping from Batavia. Through the detailed description of this progressing war, the author analyses the various aspects that influenced the development of the wars, such as military technology and strategies, the forces of nature, and leadership. He argues that their abilities in utilizing weaponry were in many ways equal to each other.

In Part 3, Andrade describes how the situation further developed after the Dutch warships joined the war and how Koxinga learned to adopt European military technology in order to acquire a crucial advantage over his rivals. Through an analysis of the conflict between Koxinga and the Dutch East India Company, Andrade comes to the conclusion that the innovation and adaptability of the Chinese made their arms no less powerful than their European counterparts. The story ends with a discussion on the relative advantages of European military technology, of Renaissance fortress architecture and broadside sailing ships, which were significant factors in delaying Koxinga’s success by nine months.

Andrade’s approach is not confined to conventional historical representation. He displays a vivid portrait of characters, negotiations, conflicts and deceptions. As a result, his book will be of interest for both specialist historians and general readers. Yet, it contains some frustrations for scholars looking for a more profound scrutiny of the complex network produced during the years of war. Focusing on the links between Koxinga and his subordinates on the mainland, as much as between the Dutch in Taiwan and their superiors in Batavia, he conveys little about the attitudes and influences of the neighbouring countries, such as Japan and the Philippines, which would place the event in a broader context. Also, Andrade’s book has some omissions, to an extent perhaps the inevitable result of trying to produce a coherent and structured story. For example, it would have been helpful to elaborate more on the political attitudes adopted by the Qing towards Koxinga’s military action against the Dutch, in particular before the accidental arrival of the Dutch force on the Chinese coast in 1661.

This is an intriguing book with remarkable and lively accounts written in accessible prose and with engaging humour. It also offers valuable information and insight about Europe’s first war with China as well as Chinese history in general, and provides a welcome and much-needed addition to our understanding of military and maritime history more specifically.