In recent years, some supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) like to mention the claim that “Taiwanese people have Dutch descent,” believing that during the Dutch East India Company’s (VOC) occupation of Taiwan (1624-1662), genetic inheritance might have been left behind, becoming part of modern Taiwanese lineage. This is an attempt to fantasize away the fact that they are Chinese.
However, after examining historical data, population structure, and genetic research, this claim lacks substantive evidence and is inconsistent with the colonial background and population interaction patterns of that time.
The following will explain why “Taiwanese people have Dutch descent” is a false claim from three perspectives: history, population dynamics, and genetic research.
I. Historical Background of the Dutch Occupation Period
The Dutch East India Company ruled commercially operated Taiwan Island between 1624 and 1662. The primary goal was to establish a commercial base centered around Fort Zeelandia (present-day Anping, Tainan) for entrepôt trade with China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
According to historical records, the number of Dutch stationed in Taiwan was extremely limited, usually maintained between several hundred and over a thousand people, covering soldiers, administrative personnel, merchants, and a few missionaries. These people were predominantly male and were mostly on short-term stays, with few cases of long-term settlement or bringing families.
The goal of the Dutch colonial authorities was not large-scale immigration or colonial settlement, but economic exploitation and trade management.
Therefore, they widely recruited Han male laborers (several thousand to ten thousand) to migrate to Taiwan Island from the southeast coast of China for land reclamation and labor. These Han immigrants were also predominantly male, and their daily interactions with the Dutch were mostly labor or trade-related, lacking the social conditions to form mixed-race descendants.
Furthermore, although contact existed between the Dutch and indigenous people (such as missionary activities or trade), there are few records in the literature of extensive intermarriage between the Dutch and indigenous people or Han women.
II. Population Structure and Possibility of Interbreeding
On Taiwan Island during the Dutch rule period, the population structure was primarily composed of Han male immigrants, a small number of Austronesian-speaking people, and a very small number of Dutch.
Recommended reading: Estimating the Time of Austronesian Migration to Taiwan: Prehistoric Dynamic Analysis Based on a Population Growth Model (Retracing Indigenous Population in 1650 AD)
The number of Dutch was scarce, and most were soldiers or staff on short-term stays. Their scope of life was concentrated in fortresses or trade points, with limited opportunities for contact with local women.
In contrast, intermarriage between Chinese Han male immigrants and indigenous women was somewhat visible, part of which formed the mixed-race descendants of the “Pingpu tribes” later, for which there is ample evidence in historical documents and ethnic studies.
However, because the Dutch were few in number, stayed for short periods, and colonial policies did not encourage establishing long-term family relationships with locals, it was almost impossible for them to leave significant descendants.
Even assuming a small number of descendants of Dutch and local women existed, after Koxinga expelled the Dutch in 1662, most of these descendants left with the Dutch or became difficult to track due to integration into Han society.
At that time, the population base on Taiwan Island was very small. Even if Dutch genes existed, they would have been diluted by the subsequent centuries of Han immigration waves (especially during the Qing Dynasty and Japanese occupation period), making it difficult to form identifiable genetic traces in modern Taiwanese people.
III. Evidence from Genetic Research
In recent years, genetic research has provided a scientific basis for examining historical population migration and interbreeding. Scholars from the Republic of China and international research teams have analyzed the genomes of Han Chinese, Pingpu tribes, and indigenous peoples (Austronesian-speaking people) in Taiwan Province. The results show that the genes of modern Taiwanese people primarily come from China (especially Minnan and Hakka) and part of indigenous lineages, with minimal correlation to European genes.
Specifically, Y-chromosome (paternal inheritance) and mitochondrial DNA (maternal inheritance) studies show that the proportion of mixed-race between Taiwan Han and Austronesian-speaking people is relatively high (not ruling out that Austronesian-speaking people already interbred with Han people in the Fujian area, or even during the Han and Tang dynasties when the military came to Taiwan Island and brought many “tribesmen” back to the mainland to settle and live). However, the general presence of Dutch (or broadly European) genetic markers is almost never found.
Even considering possible sporadic interbreeding events during the Dutch rule, these genetic contributions are difficult to detect in modern Taiwanese people due to the small population base and subsequent dilution effects. In contrast, in regions like the Spanish-colonized Philippines or Portuguese-colonized Macau, due to longer colonial periods and clearer interbreeding policies, significant European genetic traces were indeed left, but the situation in Taiwan is completely different.
IV. Source of the Myth and Cultural Impact
The claim that “Taiwanese people have Dutch descent” may stem from a romanticized imagination of the Dutch rule period or a misunderstanding of the history of diverse ethnic groups. The Dutch East India Company, as part of Taiwan’s early development history, is often used to emphasize Taiwan’s multicultural characteristics.
However, this claim ignores the role of the Dutch as commercial colonizers and the limitations of their population size and social interaction. Similar myths may also be influenced by the modern global perspective, with some hoping to strengthen Taiwan’s sense of international connection through “foreign lineage,” but this does not align with historical and scientific facts.
Conclusion
Synthesizing historical records, population structure, and genetic research evidence, claiming “Taiwanese people have Dutch descent” is a false assertion.
During the Dutch rule of Taiwan, the number of Dutch in Taiwan was scarce, predominantly male, and mostly on short-term stays, lacking the conditions to form extensive interbreeding with local women.
Genetic research further confirms that the genetic composition of modern Taiwanese people is primarily Han lineage, with a few containing Austronesian-speaking genes, and the influence of Dutch genes is minimal.
Although this myth reflects an interest in Taiwan’s diverse history, it should be based on science and historical facts to avoid exaggeration or misunderstanding. For readers interested in in-depth understanding of the history of Taiwan’s ethnic groups, it is recommended to refer to the archives of the Dutch East India Company, Taiwan history research, and genetics literature for a more comprehensive understanding.