Taiwan history/The Period of Transformation and the Opening of the Port

Taiwan’s historical transformation into a global trade hub began in the 1860s when international treaties (1860 Treaty of Tientsin) forced the opening of the island's ports, including Port of Keelung, Port of Kaohsiung, and Tamsui. This shift integrated Taiwan into the global market through lucrative commodity exports like oolong tea, camphor, and sugar.

Economy

With the rise of export industries such as tea and camphor, the economic center of gravity gradually shifted from the early triad of Tainan, Lukang and Bangka (Wanhua) to Dadaocheng and Keelung in the north.

Taiwan Tea Exporting

1865, a Scottish merchant named John Dodd arrived in Taiwan and recognized the immense global potential of local semi-processed oolong tea. He established Dodd & Co. in Dadaocheng (Taipei) to centralize production. Four years later, Dodd famously leased two large clipper ships and exported roughly 128 metric tons of premium Taiwanese oolong directly to New York. Sold under the brand name "Formosa Oolong," the tea became an instant luxury sensation in Western markets.

Culture

Some western missionaries such as James Laidlaw Maxwell in the south and George Leslie Mackay in the north built hospital and introduce modern healthcare to Taiwan.

James Laidlaw Maxwell

A Scottish physician representing the English Presbyterian Mission, Maxwell arrived in southern Taiwan in 1865. He established Taiwan's first Western-style clinic/hospital in Tainan, which eventually became known as the Sin-lâu Hospital.

George Leslie Mackay

A pioneering Canadian Presbyterian missionary, Mackay arrived in Tamsui in 1872. In 1880, funded by a donation from an American captain's widow, he opened the Hobe MacKay Clinic, northern Taiwan's first Western medical facility. This institution was later relocated to Taipei and renamed MacKay Memorial Hospital.