This is a timeline of Taiwanese history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Taiwan and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Taiwan and History of the Republic of China. See also the list of rulers of Taiwan.

3rd century Year Date Event 230 Two generals of Eastern Wu lead 10,000 expedition troops land on an island known as Yizhou (suspected to be Taiwan or the Ryukyu islands) where most of them die but manage to capture and bring "several thousand" natives back to China

7th century Year Date Event 607–610 The Sui dynasty sends expeditions to an island known as Liuqiu, which possibly is Taiwan, but could also be the Ryukyu Islands

12th century Year Date Event 1171 Chinese fishermen settle on the Penghu Islands The Song dynasty stations officers at the Penghu Islands

13th century Year Date Event 1271 Chinese people start visiting Taiwan 1292 The Yuan dynasty sends an expedition to Liuqiu, which may or may not be Taiwan 1297 The Yuan dynasty sends another expedition to Liuqiu, which may or may not be Taiwan

14th century Year Date Event 1349 Wang Dayuan provides the first account of a visit to Taiwan and also notes substantial settlements of Chinese traders and fishermen on the Penghu Islands

16th century Year Date Event 1525 Some merchants from Fujian are able to speak Formosan languages 1544 Portuguese sailors passing Taiwan record in the ship's log the name Ilha Formosa (Beautiful Island). 1563 Pirate Lin Daoqian retreats to southwestern Taiwan after being chased by Ming naval forces A walled town is built in Penghu (Pescadores) on the orders of a Ming general 1574 3 November Pirate Lin Feng lands in southwestern Taiwan only to be attacked by indigenous people 27 December Lin Feng returns to Taiwan again 1582 Portuguese shipwreck survivors, the first Europeans known to have landed on Taiwan, build a raft after 45 days and return to Macau 1590 Chinese from Fujian start settling in southwestern Taiwan 1592 Japan unsuccessfully seeks sovereignty over Taiwan (Takayamakoku 高山国 in Japanese, lit. high mountain country). 1593 Ming officials issue ten licenses each year for Chinese junks to trade in northern Taiwan

17th century Year Date Event 1603 Chinese scholar Chen Di spends some time at the Bay of Tayouan (which Taiwan takes its name from) during a Ming dynasty anti-pirate mission and provides the first significant description of Taiwanese indigenous people 1604 Sino-Dutch conflicts: Dutch envoy Wijbrand van Waerwijck and his army are ordered to occupy Penghu (Pescadores) in order to open trade with China 1609 The Tokugawa Shogunate sends feudal lord Arima Harunobu on an exploratory mission to Taiwan. 1616 Nagasaki official Murayama Tōan leads troops on an unsuccessful invasion of Taiwan 1622 August The Dutch start building a fort at Penghu (Pescadores) 1623 Chinese population in southwestern Taiwan reaches 1,500 1624 26 August Sino-Dutch conflicts: Ming forces evict the Dutch from Penghu (Pescadores) and they retreat to Taiwan, settling near the Bay of Tayouan next to a pirate village There are two Chinese villages in Southwestern Taiwan, on a long thin peninsula on the Bay of Tayouan, and on the mainland in what would become Tainan Chinese laborers start building the Fort Zeelandia at the Bay of Tayouan for the Dutch 1625 The Dutch clash with 170 Chinese pirates in the Madou and are forced to retreat; later the pirates are driven away 1626 July The Dutch force the Chinese inhabitants of Taiwan to obtain a permit of residence Spanish expedition to Formosa: The Spanish arrive at Santissima Trinidad (Keelung) and build a fort 1627 Chinese trade with Spanish Formosa picks up after the Spanish manage to ingratiate themselves with the governor of Fujian by defending him from attacks by the indigenous people 1628 The Dutch sign a trade treaty with Zheng Zhilong The Spanish establish a settlement at Danshui and build Fort Santo Domingo in an attempt to attract Chinese merchants. 1629 summer Madou ambushes and kills 35 Dutch soldiers 1630 February Madou signs a nine-month truce with the Dutch 1631 Spanish Formosa uses sulphur in Taiwan to trade for Chinese goods 1633 7 July Battle of Liaoluo Bay: Hans Putmans' fleet sails into the harbor of Xiamen and fire on Zheng Zhilong's fleet without warning 22 October Battle of Liaoluo Bay: Hans Putmans' fleet is defeated by Zheng Zhilong off of Kinmen 1634 October The Dutch forbid Chinese trade of deerskins to anyone but them 5 November Dutch forces rout Taccariang's forces Liu Xiang attacks Fort Zeelandia in retaliation for their refusal to aid him against Zheng Zhilong, but fails Chinese start planting sugarcane near Fort Provintia 1635 winter Dutch pacification campaign on Formosa: The Dutch defeat Madou 1636 The Dutch declare a pax hollandica in the plains around the Bay of Tayouan The Chinese start conducting large scale commercial hunting in Taiwan with assistance from the Dutch East India Company 1637 The Spanish withdraw half their forces from Taiwan 1640 The Dutch force Chinese people in Taiwan to pay a residency tax 1641 The Dutch attempt to oust the Spaniards from Keelung but fail 1642 August The Dutch oust the Spaniards in Keelung; so ends Spanish Formosa The Dutch forbid Chinese from settling outside of areas of company control 1645 The Chinese are forbidden from hunting deer in Taiwan 1651 Reports of violence and extortion of the Chinese by the Dutch are reported 1652 7–11 September Guo Huaiyi rebellion: Chinese farmers rebel against the Dutch and are defeated; considered to be the first Chinese anti-western uprising Chinese population in Taiwan reaches 20,000 to 25,000 1654 May Locusts, plague, and earthquakes greatly damage Taiwan 1655 August Ming loyalist Zheng Chenggong declares sovereignty over Chinese citizens in Taiwan 1656 9 July An edict from Zheng Chenggong arrives at Fort Zeelandia declaring all Chinese trade of foreign products to be illegal and punishable by death, and Chinese merchants start leaving Taiwan as a result 1660 March The Dutch receive news of Zheng Chenggong's plans to invade Taiwan Albrecht Herport notes that even in their depleted state, there are an abundance of deer in Taiwan 1661 21 April Zheng Chenggong departs from Kinmen Island for Taiwan 30 April Zheng Chenggong arrives on the shores of Dutch Formosa near Fort Provintia where three Dutch ships attack them, but one sinks, and the other two retreat; two subsequent Dutch attacks are also defeated 1 May Fort Provintia surrenders to Zheng Chenggong 3 May Aboriginals around the Bay of Tayouan surrender to Zheng Chenggong 16 September Fort Zeelandia launches an attack on Zheng Chengong's army and is defeated 1662 1 February Siege of Fort Zeelandia: Fort Zeelandia surrenders to Zheng Chenggong and the Dutch depart from Taiwan; so ends Dutch Formosa 23 June Zheng Chenggong dies and is succeeded by Zheng Xi November Zheng Jing defeats Zheng Xi and renamed his realm the Kingdom of Dongning 1663 February Zheng Jing returns to Xiamen July Zheng Jing imprisons his brother Zheng Tai, and as a result their relatives surrender to the Qing dynasty November The Qing dynasty conquers Xiamen and Kinmen Island 1664 July The Dutch occupy Keelung September Qing commander Shi Lang leads a fleet of warships to invade Taiwan but is turned back by bad weather Chinese population in Taiwan rises to 50,000 1665 May Shi Lang attempts to invade Taiwan but his fleet is scattered by a storm 1666 May Chinese troops attempt to dislodge the Dutch from Keelung but fail 1668 The Dutch abandon Keelung after alienating local indigenous villages 1674 Zheng Jing re-enters Xiamen (Amoy) 1678 Zheng Jing's forces under Liu Guoxuan attempt to conquer Zhangzhou but fail 1680 26 March Zheng Jing departs from Xiamen 1681 March Zheng Jing dies and his son Zheng Kezang succeeds him, only to be ousted by Zheng Keshuang 1683 12 July Battle of Penghu: Qing commander Shi Lang leads an attack on the Zheng fleet near Penghu (Pescadores) but fails 17 July Battle of Penghu: The Qing fleet returns and defeats the Zheng fleet, occupying Penghu (Pescadores) The Qing dynasty conquers the Kingdom of Dongning; Zheng Keshuang is given a non-hereditary position in Beijing 1684 Taiwan is made a prefecture of Fujian, governed by a prefect, under which are magistrates of three counties, Zhuluo, Taiwan, and Fengshan Total population of Taiwan is around 100,000 Shi Lang estimates that half of Taiwan's Chinese population has left for the mainland 1685 Lin Qianguang writes an account of Taiwanese indigenous peoples 1699 Taiwanese indigenous people rebel in northern Taiwan

18th century Year Date Event 1711 Annual arrivals in Taiwan reach tens of thousands despite official restrictions 1712 The first regulations on a permit system are recorded 1721 19 April Zhu Yigui and a group of 80 rebels attack a military outpost at Gangshan, south of Tainan, and rob its weapons; Du Junying also rebels 30 April Zhu Yigui's rebels attack Tainan but fail 1 May Zhu Yigui takes Tainan and Zhuluo 3 May Zhu Yigui is declared a king 16 June Qing forces land near Tainan and defeat Zhu Yigui 10 September Du Junying surrenders to Qing forces 1722 Due to the Zhu Yigui uprising, Han-indigenous territories are separated via 54 stelae marking the boundaries of the frontier area 1723 Changhua County is created 1728 Tax registers are expanded to Changhua County 1730 Those without property in mainland China or relatives in Taiwan are barred from entering Taiwan 1731 Danshui subprefecture is created The Dajiaxi (大甲西) indigenouss around Taichung rebel and kill a subprefect 1732 Migrants are allowed to take children and wives to Taiwan Qing forces suppress the Dajiaxi (大甲西) indigenous rebellion. 1733 Families on the mainland are allowed to move to Taiwan 1734 A total of 47 indigenous schools are created 1737 Marriage between indigenous women and Han Chinese men is prohibited on the grounds that it interfered in indigenous life and was used by settlers as a means to claim indigenous land. 1738 Reclamation of indigenous land is banned 1740 Legal migration to Taiwan is ended 1750 Han-indigenous boundaries are rebuilt 1756 Immigrant population in Taiwan number 600,147 1760 Han-indigenous boundaries are rebuilt Families are allowed to enter Taiwan again for a brief period 1766 Two indigenous affairs sub-prefects are appointed to manage indigenous affairs 1770 Chinese settlers start moving into Yilan 1777 Immigrant population in Taiwan number 839,800 1782 Chiayi and Changhua prefectures go to war over gambling debts and more than 400 villages are destroyed Immigrant population in Taiwan number 912,000 1784 Han-indigenous boundaries are rebuilt 1786 Lin Shuangwen rebellion: Ling Shuangwen rebels and takes over Changhua Individuals whose relatives are already in Taiwan are allowed to emigrate 1787 A settler named Wu Sha tries to claim Kavalan territory in modern Yilan but is repelled 1788 Lin Shuangwen rebellion: The rebels are defeated 1790 Han-indigenous boundaries are rebuilt Active enforcement of quarantine measures is abandoned and an office for cross-strait travel is set up 1795 Chen Zhouchuan rebellion 1797 Settler Wu Sha receives financial support from the local government to colonize Yilan but fails to register the land due to lack of official recognition

19th century