The Manchu
Soldiers Are Said To Have Been Given Spoil To The Extent Of Nearly Ten
Million Dollars, And The War Which Witnessed The Final Assertion Of Manchu
Power Over The Chinese Was Essentially Popular With The Soldiers Who
Carried It On To A Victorious Conclusion.
A very short time after the
final overthrow of Wou Sankwei and his family, the Chinese regime in
Formosa was brought to an end.
Kanghi, having collected a fleet, and
concluded a convention with the Dutch, determined on the invasion and
conquest of Formosa. In the midst of these preparations Ching, the son of
Koshinga, died, and no doubt the plans of Kanghi were facilitated by the
confusion that followed. The Manchu fleet seized Ponghu, the principal
island of the Pescadore group, and thence the Manchus threw a force into
Formosa. It is said that they were helped by a high tide, and by the
superstition of the islanders, who exclaimed, "The first Wang (Koshinga)
got possession of Taiwan by a high tide. The fleet now comes in the same
manner. It is the will of Heaven." Formosa accepted the supremacy of the
Manchus without further ado. Those of the islanders who had ever
recognized the authority of any government, accepted that of the Emperor
Kanghi, shaved their heads in token of submission, and became so far as in
them lay respectable citizens.
The overthrow of Wou Sankwei and the conquest of Formosa completed what
may be called the pacification of China by the Manchus.
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