Governor of Formosa


The Governor of Formosa was the head of government during the Dutch colonial period in Taiwan, which lasted from 1624 to 1662. Appointed by the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia, the Governor of Formosa was empowered to legislate, collect taxes, wage war and declare peace on behalf of the Dutch East India Company 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 claimed as 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.
№PortraitNameFromUntil
1Martinus Sonck16241625
2Gerard Frederikszoon de With16251627
3Pieter Nuyts16271629
4Hans Putmans16291636
5Johan van der Burg16361640
6Paulus Traudenius16401643
7Maximilian le Maire16431644
8François Caron16441646
9Pieter Anthoniszoon Overtwater16461649
10Nicolas Verburg16491653
11Cornelis Caesar16531656
12Frederick Coyett16561662