History In Three Keys Of The Botan Incident:As Event,Oral History,and Narrative History

In 1871,a tribute ship of Ryukyu Islands was shipwrecked,and drifted to Ba-ah on the southeast coast of Taiwan.After landing,the crew strayed into the territory of the Kusukut,and 54 people were killed by the aborigines of Taiwan.After more than two years of planning,Japan sent troops to invade Taiwan in 1874 under the pretext of“punishing evil”.Then,Japan negotiated with China and signed a Treaty of Beijing.This historical event was called the “Botan Incident”.After this incident,the Qing Dynasty strengthened the coastal defense of Taiwan;Japan obtained the justifications for the annexation of Ryukyu.Starting from the historical scene,and used by the documents,the oral historical materials and the substantial history materials to differentiate and analyze the “Botan Incident” from beginning to end.Then,the thesis finds out that the formation of Japan’s decision to invade Taiwan in 1874 experienced a long period of planning;Meiji government sent troops to invade Taiwan had two general purposes.First,they wanted to annexation of Ryukyu Islands.Second,they wanted to prepare for the colonization of the indigenous territory of Taiwan.However,the Qing government did not find out the real intention of Japan’s action;During the event,Japanese army is trying to build lasting ties with indigenous people in Taiwan;The negotiation meeting between Saigo Judo and local officials of Qing is also influenced the trend of the event.Observing the events from the oral accounts of Taiwan’s aborigines,it can be seen from another angle that the roles played by all parties in the event.Japan has always been an arbiter.Taiwan and Ryukyu could only cope passively as “victims”,and could not stop Japan’s expansion policy.After this event,Japan’s annexation of Ryukyu Islands,war over Korea and occupation of Taiwan,at last,disassembling the“tributary system”.