Outermost Oceania? Taiwan and the Modalities of Pacific History

This paper explores the parallels and connections between the histories of Taiwan and the Oceanic realm, focusing on the period between the 17th century and the present. It raises the question of whether or not Taiwan might be thought of as 'Outermost Oceania', a zone that is on the periphery of the island Pacific but still linked to it. The paper depicts the relationship between Taiwan and the Oceanic world in terms of seven 'modalities' of Pacific history - an Austronesian Pacific, a Southeast Asian Pacific, a European Pacific, a Chinese Pacific, a British Pacific, a Japanese Pacific and an American Pacific. All seven modalities of Taiwan/Pacific history converge in the 17th century and continue to co-exist in the present. Through the systematic comparison of Taiwan history with that of three locations in Remote Oceania - Western Micronesia (Palau, Guam and the Northern Marianas), Hawai'i and Aotearoa New Zealand - the paper explores these modalities of Pacific history with reference to processes of settlement, colonization, the expansion and contraction of imperial power and the conflicts to which these processes give rise.