Last Dutch governor’s descendants pay respects
Descendants of Frederick Coyett, the last Dutch governor-general of Formosa, yesterday visited the Koxinga Shrine (延平郡王祠) in Tainan to give thanks for showing mercy to their ancestor 400 years after the Dutch began their occupation of Taiwan proper.
Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), also known as Koxinga, was a Ming Dynasty general who drove Dutch colonists out of Taiwan in 1662.
A 15th-generation descendant of Frederick Coyett, and his mother, wife of the 14th-generation descendant Michael Coyet (different spelling), shook hands with Koxinga Shrine management board deputy secretary-general Cheng Chao-nan (鄭照男) at a news conference at the ancestral shrine.
Michael Coyet, who in 2006 visited the shrine, was not able to attend the news conference due to a flight delay.
The defeated governor told his family never to forget Koxinga’s magnanimity in sparing his family after the surrender of Fort Zeelandia following a lengthy siege, the 15th-generation descendant said.
“[My] ancestor Coyett was a very stubborn man … [who] wanted to stand his ground and did not want to be defeated, so I can imagine that negotiations must have been quite difficult for the governor,” he said.
“It must have been a very important and interesting meeting when Frederick had to give up this stubbornness and show humility,” the descendent said, adding that the family remember Koxinga as an honorable opponent worthy of respect.
Hsu Shih-yu (許世煜), chairman of Cambridge Hotel hosting the descendants, said Frederick Coyett later published Neglected Formosa, which severely criticized the Dutch East India Company for failing to support the colony’s defense.
Frederick Coyett praised his opponent, who had permitted him and his household to return home unharmed with all their possessions, he said.
The Dutch East India Company, which craved out a private empire during the age of discovery, never officially represented the Dutch Republic, so the Taiwanese and Dutch governments are happy to leave the past alone, he said.
Frederick Coyett’s descendants did not forget their history and for many years wanted to give thanks to the Cheng family again, a wish they fulfilled this year after making arrangements through unofficial channels, he said.