The Japanese Invasion of Taiwan: The 1874 'Mudan She Incident' Used to Abduct the Ryukyu Kingdom and Invade Taiwan

The article recounts the history of the 1874 Japanese invasion of Taiwan Province, using the 'Mudan She Incident'—where Ryukyuans were killed by Indigenous people in Langqiao (now Manzhou Township, Pingtung)—as a pretext. Japan first conferred a title upon the Ryukyu King to forcibly establish a relationship as a basis for the invasion and sent spies for intelligence gathering. Although the Japanese forces suffered heavy losses due to Indigenous resistance and environmental factors, they ultimately forced the Qing court through diplomatic negotiations to pay an indemnity of $500,000$ taels, and to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Japanese military action, causing China to lose its suzerain status over Ryukyu.