A Study on the 17th-Century Fortification Architecture of the Dutch East India Company in the Southeast Asia

This research project is an extension of three previous projects, “A Study of the Urban Space and Townhouses of the 17th-century Zeelandia City in Formosa according to the House Lot Registrations of Zeelandia City in 1643” (MOST), “A Study on the 17th-century Zeelandia City in Taiwan: Urban Space, Fort, Townhouses, Public Buildings and Facilities” (MOST) and “A Research of the Historical Scenes and a Reconstruction of the Virtual Models regarding the Chihkan Culture Park (Culture Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government)”. In the three above-mentioned projects, two important fortifications built by the Dutch East Indian Company in the 17th-century Taiwan, Fort Zeelandia and Fort Provintia, have been discussed, and many examples of Dutch overseas fortification architecture have thus been collected for comparison. However, more questions regarding the fortification architecture were raised and need to be answered. Accordingly, this new research project aims to resolve these questions and attempts to comparatively discuss and analyze the 17th-cemtury Dutch fortification architecture in the Southeast Asia and Taiwan in the historical context of the Dutch East Indian Company. This research project has three main purposes: first of all, exploring the theory and practice of the 17th-century Dutch fortification architecture; second, exploring the 17th-century fortification architecture in the Southeast Asia under the system of the Dutch East Indian Company; third, exploring the 17th-century fortification architecture in Taiwan under the system of the Dutch East Indian Company. As regards the research objects, their comparison and analysis will be conducted on two levels: “the spatial relationship between the fortification and its surroundings” and “the architectural form of the fortification itself”.