WI: Koxinga invades the Philippines

A interesting aspect are the religion and culture. The Spanish had been there for a century, I would think the Ming would have a hard time getting rid of Catholism after such a periode (not impossible, but really hard). We also have the Jesuit universities on Phillipines.

Koxinga's own relationship with Christianity is interesting. While he persecuted the Dutch missionaries on Taiwan, several of his family members converted and there was a shrine to the virgin mary in his home.\

Edit: In fact, one of Koxinga's confidants was an Italian Dominican. So...
 
Koxinga's own relationship with Christianity is interesting. While he persecuted the Dutch missionaries on Taiwan, several of his family members converted and there was a shrine to the virgin mary in his home.\

Edit: In fact, one of Koxinga's confidants was an Italian Dominican. So...

So he didn't like the Reformed church but tolerated Catholics? :p
 

Valdemar II

Banned
Koxinga's own relationship with Christianity is interesting. While he persecuted the Dutch missionaries on Taiwan, several of his family members converted and there was a shrine to the virgin mary in his home.\

Edit: In fact, one of Koxinga's confidants was an Italian Dominican. So...

The latter could explain why he persecuted Dutch missionaries

If he did convert, Catholism would more or less be the best Christian branch to convert to at this point. He could ally with the local clergy to set up local adminstration, get access to the Catholic intelligensia and make the Spanish save face (so they would keep trade up, and wouldn't try to reconquer the Phillipines).
It would also be interesting with non-European Catholic state, which was equal to the Europeans.
 
Why? The conquest of Taiwan didn't affect the view of the Chinese did it?

And besides, the Europeans already viewed the Chinese as highly civilized and worthy interlocutors. The Macartney Embassy in particular shows how badly the British wanted China to think well of them, which they wouldn't if they thought of the Chinese as being merely heathens and savages. I've got a paper somewhere that argues one of the European ideas for the nation-state came from China, with its one people, one language thing. It was basically the ideal model of how a nation-state should look.
 
The latter could explain why he persecuted Dutch missionaries

I think this is a bit too simple. Koxinga had no problem also making offerings to Mazu, the goddess of the seas, during his raid on Nanjing, for instance. My guess without looking into it more (I will when home, as I have a book on Koxinga there from back when I wanted to do a TL on him) is that the Dutch missionaries were viewed as being strongly tied to the Dutch East India Company and so a threat. The Jesuits, in contrast, were neutral arbiters; recall that there were also Jesuits in the Qing court.
 
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