Not sure if it's been done before or not, but here goes:
(This is going off Wiki, so don't judge me... )
The Qing didn't really express any interest in Taiwan or the Penghu Islands "...until the 16th century...". They were obviously inhabited, but the population and the island was considered to be "...hostile tribes and... lack[ing]... in trade resources valued in that era...".
The Japanese however, had wakou / pirates raiding the Chinese coastline, dating all the way back to the 13th century. If they were able to easily raid from Tsushima and Iki Island, let's say the began setting up permanent settlements and bases of operation farther south... say, getting into occasional conflicts with native Taiwanese tribes.
Moving forward, Taiwan is thoroughly Japanese by the time the Dutch show up in 1622, with the first encounters being between the VOC and Japanese authorities, rather than Ming.
So:
Plausibility?
Possible effects on the Yuan Dynasty and Zheng He's little adventures?
Repercussions moving forward?
Thoughts?
(This is going off Wiki, so don't judge me... )
The Qing didn't really express any interest in Taiwan or the Penghu Islands "...until the 16th century...". They were obviously inhabited, but the population and the island was considered to be "...hostile tribes and... lack[ing]... in trade resources valued in that era...".
The Japanese however, had wakou / pirates raiding the Chinese coastline, dating all the way back to the 13th century. If they were able to easily raid from Tsushima and Iki Island, let's say the began setting up permanent settlements and bases of operation farther south... say, getting into occasional conflicts with native Taiwanese tribes.
Moving forward, Taiwan is thoroughly Japanese by the time the Dutch show up in 1622, with the first encounters being between the VOC and Japanese authorities, rather than Ming.
So:
Plausibility?
Possible effects on the Yuan Dynasty and Zheng He's little adventures?
Repercussions moving forward?
Thoughts?