I just wanted to know-is there any chance at all that it can happen? If so, how? And what might be the consequences?
Ryukyu Kingdom has Taiwan?
- Thread starter Shtudmuffin
- Start date
Ryuku is a small nation... Probably some small concession in the northern tip....
...Size didn't stop the British from conquering India, and half of the rest of the world...
Let's not forget that Taiwan was considerably less populated before the influx of Han Chinese in the 1600's.
What time period are we talking about? There's only a short time period between roughly 1400, when the Ryukyu Kingdom appeared, and 1600, when the Ryukyu Kingdom became subordinate to the Japanese, and that doesn't seem like a lot of time to become established in a colony.
If that's the case, would it count if an expansionist Japanese leader, perhaps a more successful Toyotomi Hideyoshi, conquered Taiwan but put it under the jurisdiction of the subordinate King of Ryukyu?
Works for me, if Ryukyu somehow gains independence again with Taiwan under their jurisdiction.
It would be interesting to see how would Taiwan look after it was controlled by Ryukyuans..
Conquering Taiwan wouldn't be anything like the British conquest of India, especially if it's Ryukyu doing the conquering. Spain built a fort that lasted only 17 years. The Dutch could never extend control over more than the southern third of the western half of the island. China expanded that to maybe 2/3rds of the western plains. It took Japan more than a decade to exert control over the entire island, and that was with guns and careful manipulation of rival tribes. Only after the Japanese crushed the rebellion that began after the Wushe Incident and let rival tribes massacre the tribe that instigated the rebellion did Japan have full control over the island.
Taiwan was so sparsely populated because the natives spent as much time killing each other as they did foolish settlers. Hunting people was as much as a part of the culture in some tribes as hunting animals was. The lowland tribes were easier to displace and assimilate because they had been exposed to a constant trickle of Chinese and Japanese traders and pirates and so were less likely to decapitate foreigners. A few also had some semblance of a monarchy or local government that the Dutch and Chinese could manipulate. The mountain tribes, on the other had little experience with outsiders, and the rugged terrain only helped them maintain their isolation.
Gaining control over more than a tiny bit of the island would be impossible for a kingdom as small as Ryukyu. The best they could hope for is coexisting with one of the northern tribes. The Ryukyu kingdom has little in the way of technological or biological advantages. The Taiwanese have steel, especially after the Han migrations began, and there were no epidemic diseases that the natives didn't already have to help decimate the native population like in Australia or the New World.
My only point is that size alone isn't a good argument. If there are other reservations, fine, but size isn't one of them.
This thread has me kind of interested, actually. I've kind of been wondering if there was any way that the Ryukyu kingdom might have remained independent (beyond some Hideyoshi butterflies). Perhaps even managing to become a minor regional power?
FDW
Banned
Not really, it's too small and in the middle of things (Being a potential flashpoint between Korea, Japan, and China).
The Taiwanese, for lack of a better term, seem to be very industrious, and adaptable. I don't think thats only a testament to Sino-Japanese colonization. I seem to recall that they may have been the jump off point for the Polynesians, but a fair bit of the original..(?) Culture still endures. Ok it was a discovery thing..js
But Britian has the Industry, Government, Military, and Population to do such things. Plus it`s conquests helped it take more and more.
PhilippeO
Banned
sorry about necro, but it less than six months.
How small actually Ryukyu at this time ? How many people actually live on Ryukyu Kingdom and Taiwan at 1400-1600 ?
my guess is Ryukyu have between 10% to 20% of current (1.400.000) population; between 140.000 to 250.000 people at that time. is this correct ?
How small actually Ryukyu at this time ? How many people actually live on Ryukyu Kingdom and Taiwan at 1400-1600 ?
my guess is Ryukyu have between 10% to 20% of current (1.400.000) population; between 140.000 to 250.000 people at that time. is this correct ?