In the late Qing dynasty, after the forcible opening of five Chinese ports to foreign commerce in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanjing, Presbyterians (whose denomination is that of the Church of Scotland, and who therefore were mainly Scotsmen), established missions in Shantou and Xiamen. Naturally, the Presbyterian Church also took notice of Formosa, which was just a strait away from Xiamen.
清末，南京條約開放五口通商後，英國長老教會便在汕頭、廈門設立宣教據點，與廈門僅一水之隔的台灣，自然也引起長老教會的注意。