Taiwan Province in the context of "Taiwan under Japanese rule"

The Taiwan Area, also called the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China, the free area of the Republic of China, and the "Tai-Min Area (Taiwan and Fuchien)", is a term used to refer to the territories under the effective control of the Republic of China (ROC, commonly known as "Taiwan"). It has been in official use since the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China took effect, ending temporary anti-communist provisions on 1 May 1991. The term is also used in the 1992 Cross-Strait Act.

The area currently under the definition consists of the island groups of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and some minor islands. The collective term "Tai-Peng-Kin-Ma" is literally equivalent except that it only refers to the geographical areas of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu Area, to the exclusion of Wuqiu, Dongsha Island, and Taiping Island.

Taipei (/ˌtaɪˈpeɪ/ ; traditional Chinese: 臺北; simplified Chinese: 台北; pinyin: Táiběi pronounced:[tʰǎɪpèɪ]), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of Taiwan. Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border.

The municipality of Taipei is home to an estimated population of 2,494,813 (March 2023), forming the core part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, also known as "Greater Taipei", which includes the nearby cities of New Taipei and Keelung with a population of 7,047,559, the 40th most-populous urban area in the world—roughly one-third of Taiwanese citizens live in the metro areas. The name "Taipei" can refer either to the whole metropolitan area or just the municipality alone. Taipei has been the political center of the island since 1887, when it first became the seat of Taiwan Province by the Qing dynasty until 1895 and again from 1945 to 1956 by the Republic of China (ROC) government, with an interregnum from 1895 to 1945 as the seat of the Government-General of Taiwan during the Japanese rule. The city has been the national seat of the ROC central government since 1949, and it became the nation's first special municipality (then known as Yuan-controlled municipality) on 1 July 1967, upgrading from provincial city status.

New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, behind Kaohsiung. The top-level administrative divisions bordering New Taipei City are Keelung to the northeast, Yilan County to the southeast, and Taoyuan to the southwest, and it completely encloses the capital city of Taipei. Banqiao District is its municipal seat and biggest commercial area.

Before the establishment of Spanish and Dutch outposts in Tamsui in 1626, the area of present-day New Taipei City was mostly inhabited by Taiwanese indigenous peoples, mainly the Ketagalan people. From the late Qing era, the port of Tamsui was opened up to foreign traders as one of the treaty ports after the Qing dynasty of China signed the Treaty of Tientsin in June 1858. By the 1890s, the port of Tamsui accounted for 63 percent of the overall trade for entire Taiwan, port towns in the middle course of Tamsui River had also developed into bustling business and transportation centers. During the Japanese rule of Taiwan, the entire area of New Taipei City was organized as part of the Taihoku Prefecture. After the Republic of China took control of Taiwan in 1945, the present-day New Taipei City was designated on 7 January 1946 as Taipei County in Taiwan Province, which was constituted from the former Taihoku Prefecture, but not including present-day divisions of Taipei City, Keelung and Yilan County, the latter of which became detached from Taipei County on 10 October 1950. Its county status remained until 25 December 2010 when it was promoted to special municipal status and renamed as "New Taipei City".

Keelung (/kiːˈlʊŋ/ kee-LUUNG; Chinese: 基隆; pinyin: Jīlóng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ke-lâng), Chilung or Jilong (/dʒiːˈlʊŋ/ jee-LUUNG), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city in northeastern Taiwan. The city is part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area with neighboring New Taipei City and Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport (after Kaohsiung), and was the world's 7th largest port in 1984.

In 1626, the Spanish established Fort San Salvador at present-day Keelung, an area inhabited by Taiwanese indigenous peoples. Control of the area eventually passed to the Qing dynasty. Fighting between China and Europeans around Keelung occurred in the 19th century during the First Opium War and the Sino-French War. The island of Taiwan was ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895 after the First Sino-Japanese War; under Japanese rule the city was called Kirun. Keelung became part of Taiwan Province under the Republic of China after 1945. Administratively, the city became a first-level subdivision in 2018 after the provincial government was abolished.

The Qing dynasty ruled over the island of Taiwan from 1683 to 1895. The Qing dynasty sent an army led by General Shi Lang to defeat the Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning in 1683. Taiwan was then formally annexed in April 1684.

Taiwan was governed as Taiwan Prefecture of Fujian Province until the establishment of Fujian–Taiwan Province in 1887. The Qing dynasty extended its control of Taiwan across the western coast, the western plains, and the northeast over the 18th and 19th centuries. The Qing government did not pursue an active colonization policy and restricted Han migration to Taiwan for the majority of its rule out of fear of rebellion and conflict with the Taiwanese indigenous peoples. Han migrants were barred from settling on indigenous land, and markers were used to delineate the boundaries of settled areas and mountain dwelling aborigines. Despite Qing restrictions, settlers continued to enter Taiwan and push the boundaries of indigenous territory, resulting in the expansion of Qing borders in Taiwan to encompass all of the western plains and the northeast. The lack of state-sponsored colonial administration led to frequent rebellions by Han settlers. By the end of Qing rule in 1895, Taiwan's ethnic Han population had increased by over two million, with some estimates suggesting over three million, making Hans the majority demographic on the island. Taiwan was ceded to the Empire of Japan with the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April 1895, following the Qing dynasty's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War.

Taiwan Prefecture or Taiwanfu was a prefecture of Taiwan during the Qing dynasty. The prefecture was established by the Qing government in 1684, after the island came under Qing dynasty rule in 1683 following its conquest of the Kingdom of Tungning. The Taiwan Prefecture Gazetteer (臺灣府志; Táiwānfǔ Zhì) documented it as part of Fujian Province. The Gazetteer was completed by Gao Gonggan in 1695, the 34th year of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor. With the development and population growth of Taiwan during the Qing Era, the scope of Taiwan Prefecture was also varied over time. Following the establishment of Fujian-Taiwan Province in 1887, the prefecture correspondingly became a subdivision under the newly founded province.