Dutch retain Taiwan

Would it be possible for the Dutch to defeat Koxinga and retain control of Taiwan

What would be the impact of continued Dutch Taiwan.

Would the another European power or the Qing take it at some point.
 
Doable, but difficult. I've long thought of a scenario I would have written into a TL after my Alyaska TL where this happens, and this begin by killing Koxinga off before he gets to invade Formosa (then the name of Taiwan). This would avoid his invasion and the Qings' thereafter, since they invaded to suppress the last bastion of former Ming loyalists.
So far, Formosa hadn't been considered more than a piece of mud and not worth a conquest.

Then, Dutch control won't probably be challenged until the 18th century when the Qing dynasty began clamping down on foreign trade and restricted it to Canton. A Dutch outpost so close to the coast of Fujian and harboring smugglers could be a tempting target. I don't know how advanced was the Qing navy in the 18th century, but given the Netherlands were mostly at peace until the late 18th century, they could have mustered and focus their naval power to defend Formosa.

At this point, Formosa would be probably one of the Dutch jewels of the crown since it pretty much acts as the VOC point of entry on the Chinese and Japanese markets, providing also tea and sugar from its plantation, plus minerals to exchange with Chinese merchants. Being so valuable, the British will no doubt try to conquer it like they did with Cape Colony, Ceylon, or when they invaded the Dutch East Indies. Would the Dutch be able to defend it ? Would the British return it to the Dutch in 1814?
Hard to know, even though it will probably be harder than seizing Java, since Formosa is much farther away from British bases then Java was, and they don't have Singapore or Hong Kong yet, but that doesn't mean they couldn't do it.
If Dutch Formosa makes it into the 19th century, I imagine it would separated from the administration of the East Indies (if it hasn't been done before).
Still assuming a minimal butterfly route, Formosa would unavoidably be occupied by the Japanese during WW2, though there might be some interesting action here. Indeed, Formosa being Dutch held would add strategic depth to Allies' holdings in East Asia, to British positions in Hong Kong and Americans in the Philippines, so probably a different campaign, but different how, I don't see yet.

In cultural terms, Formosa will have a more pronounced Aboriginal culture (OTL, missionaries transcribed the language using latin script), not being dissolved into the Han Chinese population, though Chinese laborers will probably remain a significant portion of the island population to make up for labor shortages. Add to this mix a strong dose of European culture, and you'd have a Dutch version of Hong Kong or Singapore I imagine. Except that the Netherlands don't have to retrocede it to China.

Post WW2, the Dutch would probably have troubles with a communist insurgency like in British Malaya, not to mention refugees from the civil war (in my TL idea, I had Hainan filling for the OTL role of Taiwan as the holdout of KMT). But I think they might retain their colony after the loss of Indonesia.
Independence is still likely to happen down the road, perhaps like Suriname, perhaps in personal union with the Netherlands (imagining a large inflow of european settlers leaving Indonesia for Formosa and exerting political influence to that end).
 
It would be a bonus if the colonizers, missionaries included, were actually descendants of exiled Protestants from Spain and Portugal.
 
I think in this scenario it wouldn't be seen as part of China and would have more in common culturally with the Ryuku Islands. In fact, the Shimuzu Daimyo who conquered the Ryukus could be used to conquer/challenge the Dutch or vice versa in the Ryukus. The latter might not annoy the Tokugawa, as the Shimuzu, while technically subordinate Tozama (outsider/potentially hostile) Daimyo were viewed with suspicion and anything that weakens them is a plus.

Considering the Shimizu were one of the two Daimyo who took down the Tokugawa during the Meiji restoration, that would be a big butterfly.
 
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It's theoretically possible, but the Dutch would have to walk a very, very narrow tightrope not to annoy the Qing.

The Dutch might be able to win a war or two with the Qing in the 18th century, but then that will drive the Qing to modernize their military (especially navy), with butterflies going to who knows where.
 
If the Dutch take before the Qing do and keep it, we might see much more Dutch influence on Japan than IOTL, and could lay the grounds for a Dutch-Japanese alliance rather than an Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
 
If the Dutch take before the Qing do and keep it, we might see much more Dutch influence on Japan than IOTL, and could lay the grounds for a Dutch-Japanese alliance rather than an Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
Wonder who the British would go cozy up with? The Qing?

Though the problem with a Dutch-Japanese alliance is that the Dutch utility to the Japanese will be gone by late 19th century at latest.
 
That was once considered ITTL.
Yeah, the Qing received Taiwan back from Koxinga's grandson, but didn't really want it.
The Kangxi Emperor expressed the sentiment that Taiwan was "the size of a pellet; taking it is no gain; not taking it is no loss" (彈丸之地。得之無所加,不得無所損). His ministers counseled that the island was "a ball of mud beyond the sea, adding nothing to the breadth of China"- Wiki
They offered it back to the Dutch, who didn't want it either. The Emperor was finally persuaded to occupy it by the argument that if it was left to its fate it would become a haven for Japanese and Chinese pirates.
 
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