The governor of Formosa (; ) was the head of government of Taiwan during the Dutch colonial period, which lasted from 1624 to 1662. Appointed by the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia), the governor of Formosa was empowered to legislate, collect taxes, wage war and declare peace on behalf of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and therefore by extension the Dutch state.
The governor's residence was in Fort Zeelandia on Tayouan.
List of governors There were a total of twelve governors during the Dutch colonial era. The man sometimes said to be the thirteenth, Harmen Klenck van Odessen, was appointed by VOC Governor-General Joan Maetsuycker, only to arrive off the coast of Tayouan during the Siege of Fort Zeelandia. Klenck refused to go ashore to take up his post despite being urged to by Frederick Coyett, the incumbent governor, and finally left without ever setting foot on Formosa.
№ Portrait Name From Until1Martinus Sonck16241625(died in office)2Gerard Frederikszoon de With162516273Pieter Nuyts162716294Hans Putmans162916365Johan van der Burg16361640(died in office)6Paulus Traudenius164016437Maximilian le Maire164316448François Caron164416469Pieter Anthoniszoon Overtwater1646164910Nicolas Verburg1649165311Cornelis Caesar1653165612Frederick Coyett16561662
See also Dutch Formosa Governor-General of Taiwan (1895–1945) Governor of Taiwan Province (1994–present)
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