Republic of Formosa
The Republic of Formosa survived for only five months. The Japanese landed near Keelung on the northern coast of Taiwan on 29 May 1895, and in a five-month campaign swept southwards to Tainan. During the night of 4 June, on the news that the Japanese had captured Keelung, President T'ang and General Chiu fled to Tamsui, and from there sailed for the mainland on the evening of 6 June. The Japanese entered Taipei shortly afterwards.
Dutch Formosa
The Tayouan "factory" (as VOC trading posts were called) was to become the second-most profitable factory in the whole of the Dutch East Indies (after the post at Hirado/Dejima), although it took 22 years for the colony to first return a profit. Benefitting from triangular trade between themselves, the Chinese and the Japanese, plus exploiting the natural resources of Formosa, the Dutch were able to turn the malarial sub-tropical bay into a lucrative asset. A cash economy was introduced (using the Spanish real, which was used by the VOC) and the period also saw the first serious attempts in the island's history to develop it economically.