During such voyages, Portuguese mariners became familiar with the prospect of Taiwan's mountaintops amid the seas, and are said to have named it the Ilha Formosa, "Beautiful Island", from which it eventually became known in Europe as Formosa.
當時葡萄牙的航海家多次經過台灣海面，由海上眺望台灣，看見島上山岳連綿、林木蓊翠，忍不住贊道：「Ilha Formosa」（美麗之島），於是將台灣取名為 Formosa，此後台灣的地理位置漸為歐洲人所知。