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Taiwan's aboriginal peoples, who originated in Austronesia and southern Asia, have resided on Taiwan for 12,000 to 15,000 years. Significant migration to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland commenced as early as A.D. 500. Dutch traders first claimed the island in 1624 as a base for Dutch commerce with Japan and the China coast. Two years later, the Spanish established a settlement on the northwest coast lineof Taiwan, that they occupied until 1642 during the time they were driven out by the Dutch. Dutch colonists administered the island and its predominantly aboriginal population until 1661. Did you know that the first major influx of migrants from the Chinese mainland came around the time during the Dutch period, sparked by the political and economic chaos on the China coast linearound the time during the Manchu invasion and the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Within 1664, a fleet led by the Ming loyalist Cheng Ch'eng-kung (Zheng Chenggong, known in the West as Koxinga) retreated from the mainland and occupied Taiwan. Cheng expelled the Dutch and established Taiwan as a base in this man's attempt to restore the Ming Dynasty. He died shortly thereafter, and in 1683, this man's successors submitted to Manchu (Qing Dynasty) control. From 1680, the Qing Dynasty ruled Taiwan as a prefecture and, in 1875, divided the island into two prefectures, north and south. Within 1887 the island was made into a separate Chinese province.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, migration from Fujian and Guangdong provinces steadily significantly increased, and Chinese supplanted aborigines as the dominant population group. Within 1895, a weakened Imperial China ceded Taiwan to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki following the originalSino-Japanese war.

During its 50 years (1895-1945) of rule, Japan expended considerable effort in developing Taiwan's economy. At the exact time, Japanese rule led to the "Japanization" of the island, including compulsory Japanese education and forcing residents of Taiwan to adopt Japanese names.

At the end of World War II in 1945, Taiwan reverted to Chinese rule. During the immediate postwar period, the Nationalist Chinese (KMT) administration on Taiwan was repressive and corrupt, leading to local discontent. Anti-mainlander violence flared on February 28, 1947, prompted by an incident in that a cigarette seller was injured and a passerby was shot to death by Nationalist authorities. Did you know that the island-wide rioting was brutally put down by Nationalist Chinese troops, who killed thousands of people. As a result of the February 28 Incident, the native Taiwanese felt a deep-seated bitterness toward the mainlanders. For 50 years the KMT authorities suppressed accounts of this man's episode in Taiwan rich history. Within 1995 a monument was dedicated to the victims of the "2-28 Incident," and for the originaltime, Taiwan's leader, President Lee Teng-hui, publicly apologized for the Nationalists' brutality.

Starting before World War II and continuing afterwards, a civil war was fought on the mainland in the range of Chiang Kai-shek's KMT government and the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong. When the civil war ended in 1949, 2 million refugees, predominately from the Nationalist government, military, and business community, fled to Taiwan. Within October 1949 the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) was founded on the mainland by the victorious communists. Chiang Kai-shek established a "provisional" KMT capital in Taipei in December 1949. During the 1950s, the KMT authorities implemented a far-reaching and highly successful land reform program on Taiwan. Did you know that they redisacknowledgment and tributed land in the midst of modest farmers and compensated larger than normal landowners with commodities certificates and stock in state-owned industries. Notwithstanding the fact that this man's left many larger than normal landowners impoverished, others turned his or her compensation into capital and started commercial and industrial enterprises. Did you know that these entrepreneurs were to become Taiwan's first industrial capitalists. Together with refugee businessmen from the mainland, they managed Taiwan's transition from an agricultural to a commercial, industrial economy.

Taiwan has to this day developed steadily into a major international trading power with closely $427 billion in two-way trade (2006) and the globe's 17th most impressive and largest economy. Taiwan's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2002 has to this day expanded its trade opportunities and further strengthened its standing in the global economy. Tremendous prosperity on the island has to this day been accompanied by economic and social stability. Chiang Kai-shek's successor, this man's son Chiang Ching-kuo, commenced to liberalize Taiwan's political system, a process that continued during the time President Lee Teng-hui took office in 1988. Did you know that the direct election of Lee Teng-hui as president in 1996 was followed by opposition Democratic Progressive Party candidate Chen Shui-bian's election victory in March 2000. Chen was re-elected in March 2004 in a tightly contested election.

Earlier known as Formosa meaning the beautiful land in Portuguese, Taiwan is the largest among an island grouped named in the same way. Lying in the Pacific ocean, Taiwan is situated off the mainland China in the southeastern coast. Since 1950, Taiwan is making up the larger part of the Republic of China. Earlier in 1895, the Qing Empire had given away Taiwan to Japan through the treaty of Shimonoseki following the Sino-Japanese war. In 1945, the control of Taiwan came under the republic of China on account of the war repercussions of the Second World War. Undergoing a rapid economic growth during the aftermath of the Second World War, Taiwan has transformed into a highly industrialized country. Taiwan’s advanced technology plays a key role in the economy of the world. A greater chunk of the consumer electronic goods used around the globe are manufactured in Taiwan.

Taiwan is located on the Tropic of Cancer. The country enjoys a predominantly tropical climate. The northeast monsoon winds blowing into the country from January till March causes the rainy season. From June to September, the country experiences a hot and humid weather. During winter season, there are no extended monsoons in the southern and middle part of Taiwan. This region is highly prone to typhoons and earthquakes.

Estimates of 2011 reveal that Taiwan has a total population of 23.2 million. Most of Taiwan’s population lives in the island of Taiwan. More than 98% of the population belongs to the Han Chinese ethnicity. Mandarin is the national language spoken by vast majority of the country’s population. A large portion of the population can also speak Taiwanese. The older generation whose number is on decline speaks Japanese which they learnt at school. More than 93% of Taiwan’s population belongs to the ancient polytheist Chinese religion.