P "eng-hu eilanden archipel, Taiwan

P'eng-hu-eilanden, P'eng-hu ook gespeld als Penghu, Chinees (Wade-Giles-romanisatie) P'eng-hu Ch'ün-tao of P'eng-hu Lieh-tao, (Pinyin) Penghu Qundao of Penghu Liedao, conventionele Pescadores, archipel en hsien (provincie) van Taiwan. Het bestaat uit ongeveer 64 kleine eilanden die ongeveer 50 km ten westen van de kust van het vasteland van Taiwan liggen, van waaruit het wordt gescheiden door het P'eng-hu-kanaal.

Quiz

Het zit allemaal in de naam

Wat is een andere naam voor Birma?

Veel van de eilanden zijn van vulkanische oorsprong en bestaan ​​uit verweerd basalt en zijn omgeven door koraalriffen. De eilanden zijn laaggelegen en de meeste stijgen slechts ongeveer 30 tot 40 meter boven zeeniveau. De hoogste top is ongeveer 157 voet (48 meter). De eilanden hebben een warm klimaat, gelegen in het pad van de Kuroshio (Japanse stroom), en het jaarlijkse temperatuurbereik is 61 tot 82 ° F (16 tot 28 ° C). De regenval is ongeveer 35 inch (900 mm) per jaar en valt bijna allemaal tussen juni en september. De rest van het jaar is er een tekort aan water en zijn er geen rivieren. In de winter worden de eilanden geteisterd door harde wind. De grootste eilanden zijn P'eng-hu (64 vierkante kilometer), waar meer dan de helft van de bevolking woont, Pai-sha (Baisha), Yü-weng (Yuweng) en Pa-chao (Bazhao)). P'eng-hu, Pai-sha,en Yü-weng zijn verbonden door causeways.

About half of the islands are cultivated, but the soils are poor and the climate harsh; the main crops—sweet potatoes, peanuts (groundnuts), corn (maize), and millet—are those associated with poor hill country in southern China. A large part of the population are fishermen, and the European name Pescadores (“Fishermen”) was given to the islands by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

The islands were probably known to the Chinese (under the name Liu-chiu) as early as the 7th century ce. Their name first appears as P’eng-hu (or P’ing-hu) in Chinese sources of the 12th century, and it was at this time that they were probably first settled by Chinese fishermen from Fujian or Zhejiang on the mainland. At the beginning of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the Chinese government built a fort on P’eng-hu, established a civil government there, and imposed taxes on the fisheries. In 1388, however, the entire population was transported to the mainland. P’eng-hu was then abandoned and became a lair for pirates. Only in the reign of the Wanli emperor (1572–1620) did Chinese settlers again begin to colonize the islands, first establishing fisheries and then, in 1625, military colonies. Meanwhile, between 1622 and 1624, the islands had been occupied by the Dutch. At the end of the Ming dynasty, many settlers came to the islands to escape the fighting in southeast China, mostly from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian. By 1683 there were said to be some 6,000 inhabitants on the islands, who were formally placed under the control of the civil authorities in Taiwan. In 1721 the islands became the base for government punitive action against Zhu Yigui (Chu I-kuei), a rebel on Taiwan.

In the 19th century, when the Western powers began to have designs on Taiwan, the islands again became an important strategic area. They were occupied by the French in 1884–85, and, after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95, they were ceded to Japan, together with Taiwan. Returned to China in 1945, the islands were made a chen (township) under Taiwan and, in 1950, became a hsien of Taiwan province.

Since 1949 the islands have been under the control of the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan; a Chinese Nationalist naval base, Ma-kung (now the county seat), was established on P’eng-hu. In addition to the fishing industry, the working of the islands’ phosphate deposits have also provided income. Area 49 square miles (127 square km). Pop. (2012 est.) 98,843.