Early Taiwan
 12th century: Migration
Chinese migration to the island from mainland China begins, bolstered later by Dutch and Spanish colonizers, who bring in Chinese laborers. The island’s native people tend to remain in more isolated inland areas.

 1683: China’s distant rule
The last Chinese Emperor Henry Puyi, who was dethroned in 1911. He later served as a puppet monarch under the Japanese when they occupied China's northChina’s Qing Dynasty takes the island by force. However, the regime has only a small presence on the island until 1886, when it declares Taiwan a province in an effort to counter the threat of Japanese encroachment in the region.

 1895: Japanese colonization
China cedes the island to Japan at the end of the Sino-Japanese war. By 1911, the last Chinese dynasty, weakened by corruption, opium and foreign aggression, has fallen. Japan takes advantage of the civil chaos that ensues and by 1932 has set up a puppet regime in northern China, from which it will launch its southward invasion.