A short history of Taiwan and China, in maps

JUST 12 STATES recognise Taiwan’s authorities. Others all have relations with the Chinese language authorities in Beijing, and so a minimum of tacitly settle for its argument that there’s just one China, of which Taiwan is part. To check with Taiwan they use purposely imprecise language, corresponding to “self-governing island”. Even the Taiwanese tread carefully across the topic of their independence—in spite of everything, China has warned {that a} declaration of independence could be grounds for invasion. Our seven maps beneath clarify the muse of Taiwan and its altering relationship with the mainland.

Begin with the sixteenth century, when swashbuckling Europeans first got here throughout the island on their travels. Legend has it that Portuguese sailors yelled out “ilha formosa!”, or “lovely island!”, when passing by within the late 1500s. Though the Portuguese by no means established a base on the island, Europeans who finally colonised it adopted the title Formosa.