The Architect – Spanish Colonization, Fort San Domingo, and Aboriginal Resistance
This week Leila and I traveled 45 minutes North of Taipei to visit Tamsui where the Spanish Formosa, a former Spanish colony is located. Formosa is a Portuguese name that was given to Taiwan by Portuguese sailors in 1544 meaning “beautiful”. Tamsui lives up to its name. There are mountains surrounding the convergence of the Tamsui River and the Tamsui Strait. The native plants and flowers are robust. The Spanish colonized this area of Taiwan in 1626 in an effort to bolster trade.
Marco Polo popularized the desire to trade in Asia with his accounts, Book of the Marvels of the World. In late 1400’s Spain was aggressively seeking to find a quicker route to China from Europe in search of spices. Christopher Columbus certain that if he sailed West, he would find China a shorter route to China, mistakenly ran into what is present day North America. This mistake in route delayed the exploration to China for another one hundred years. The Spanish did not reach China until 1520 when Magellan landed in Cebu in the Philippines.
In 1626, the Spanish arrival in Taiwan was met with immediate rejection by the aboriginal culture. The original Fort San Domingo built in 1628 was made from wood. Tamsui aboriginals defended the land and burned the first Spanish fort down. Just as the new Spanish Fort was being constructed, the Dutch threatened a hostile take over and eventually succeeded. The viceroy of the Philippine commanded the troops to withdraw from Tamsui. The Dutch renamed the fort, St. Anothony and began to increase trade routes and build the Dutch East India Company. Spanish Formosa is now preserved as historic site.
While walking through Tamsui, you can see evidence of European architecture. If you compare the Spanish architecture to the Vernacular architecture of the Lin Family Mansion and Garden it is quite different. Spanish Formosa is uniquely situated in Tamsui as a neighborhood that is a confined area, but stands out from the context of Taiwan. The Spanish and Dutch occupied these areas as colonizers and the British leased the site from 1868-1972 as a consulate and ambassadors residence. In each instance, the European nations transferred a style of architecture directly to Taiwan without adapting for context. The visual evidence of colonization is strong as the architecture presents a strong contrast to the architecture of Taiwan. You can see more photo documentation of the neighborhood from our visit.
The Matriarch – You can protest & complain, but you must also vote.
The process of voting absentee from Taipei for the United States election has not been so convenient in Taipei. There are a few steps before you can return your ballot and it requires in the state of New York at a minimum of two – three international mailings per election. This means a post-office visit, locating a printer, navigating a printer/computer that may be set up with settings in Mandarin, and paying for international shipping. The computer and printer in my office is set up on A4 paper and the ballot will not print as required by New York State. So, I’ve had to locate another printer on campus to print the ballots with the appropriately sized paper. There are two separate mailings required for federal and state, and the federal ballot was only made accessible since October 4. I’m a highly motivated voter, but I imagine, with the level of inconvenience, that many people will not participate in the process from abroad. I’ve mailed my ballot, but it took several steps.
I’m also embarrassed and disappointed to say that I missed the primary because it aligned with my recent arrival, and I couldn’t manage to make all of the above happen in the first week that I arrived. Voting in general should be easier. Many nights after working a full day and picking up Leila from school, I’ve had to run into the local elementary to vote in the pouring rain before making her dinner. I’ve also woken up an hour before work and tried this process in reverse. I’ve run into more than a few people, who have decided to avoid participating in this cumbersome process because (they live in a state where the election, “really” doesn’t matter”), or they think a specific candidate will already win. Or, they are still waiting for a ballot to be mailed since every state has its own process. With elections being so close, every vote does count and the absentee turnout has the power to predict some of these close elections.
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My Taipei observation this week is about the people. There have been several incidents of genuine and authentic niceness that have stood out on my visit. Taiwanese locals have join goodness to Leila and I at most every opportunity. We’ve been lost and looked at a map too long, and a stranger will walk up, declare that they speak English and offer to help. I’m in the process of learning Mandarin, and most people are very patient as I make attempts with my broken grammar and unfortunate pronunciations as I try to figure out the language. Even when I first arrived, most people were apologetic if their English wasn’t strong enough, if they couldn’t help me in a situation, where we couldn’t communicate. (I recognize that people in the United States would not offer the same courtesy for tourist or visitors.)
Taipei is a city of of over 2.5 million people, but in my neighborhood, there are local businesses and the people who work there, who interact with Leila and I daily that give you a sense that you are from a small town. Every week, Leila and I purchase fruit from the same fruit stand near our corner. As we were dumping our trash one evening, we placed our weekly fruit order, and let the group from the fruit stand know that we’d be returning to pick up the fruit on our way back home. Leila and I ended up getting sidetracked and found an art store and lost track of time. When we returned home, she had already left for the day, but gave the noodle stand on the corner to give the fruit to us when we had returned. We stopped by the next day to give her the money for the fruit, but again, this doesn’t really happen in New York. This is not an isolated incident. I left my pen at the Family Mart on National Taiwan Universities campus, when I returned the next day, the cashier gave it to me. I didn’t even realize I even left it. And, if you need an umbrella, there is a stand in the subway station with a group of umbrella that says, “please take one.”
There is an element of congeniality in everyday interactions. Even if Leila is playing with a child’s toy on the playground and is enjoying it, the Taiwanese parent insists that she take it. The people here seem to be working very hard to make sure that we feel welcome and this has been a pleasant surprise. Before we departed for Taipei, the most common prediction that I heard about our future journey is that the food would be good and the people are very nice. Even with having this expectation, the actual experience has far exceeded my expectations on both accounts.
The fruit stand next door had to close early before we returned from dumping the trash. She gave the noodle guy our fruit so that when we returned we’d have it. No one asked for money. It’s the honor system. We’ll get it tomorrow. And, if you need an umbrella, there is a stand that says, oh it’s raining and you forgot your umbrella, just take one of these.