Lord of Formosa
Lord of Formosa
Lord of Formosa is a historical fiction novel by Dutch author Joyce Bergvelt. The Dutch edition, titled Formosa voorgoed verloren, was published in 2015 by Conserve, and the English edition followed on 26 April 2018 from Camphor Press. A Chinese translation appeared in 2023 as 福爾摩沙之王.
The story is set in Taiwan during Dutch rule and centers on Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong). It traces his life from being taken from Japan to China, through two naval battles against the Dutch, and toward the eventual defeat of the Dutch and the fall of his estate under the Manchus. The second half ends with his death from illness. Much of the action takes place around the forts the Dutch built in Taiwan, with portions also occurring in Batavia (modern Jakarta). The novel includes episodes of rape, murder, and sex.
reviewers describe Koxinga as a flawed but driven warrior, not romanticized or easily sympathized with. Hilton Yip of the Asian Review of Books gave the book four out of five stars, praising its pace and how it links events and places, while noting that some characters feel one-dimensional and that the story covers fewer details about areas away from the Dutch forts. Bradley Winterton of the Taipei Times called the English version excellent and commented that Koxinga is not a heroic figure, but generally keeps his word.
Most of the book’s characters are Dutch, with relatively few Taiwanese figures.
Author background: Joyce Bergvelt was born in the Netherlands and grew up overseas, studying Chinese at Durham University in the United Kingdom. Her father worked for Philips and lived in Taiwan, Japan, and the UK. Bergvelt first visited Taiwan in 1982 to study Chinese at National Taiwan Normal University, and she returned to research Dutch rule and Koxinga. She spent about three and a half years writing the novel.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:05 (CET).