Dutch's Military Advantages and the Koxinga Strategy

Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Book report -Reading report three
1) Did the Dutch have a significant military advantage over their Asian adversaries?
4) Andrade argues that the Dutch needed Asian allies to be successful in their Asian ventures. What evidence is there in the book to support this argument?
The Dutch did not necessarily have a big military advantage over their Asia adversaries such as those in Taiwan, who were also well trained. The main advantage for the Dutch troops over Asian troops were the renaissance fortress and the broadside sailing ship as well as better weapons and training (Andrade 289). Chinese naval ecology rivaled the European, and Chinese admirals made voyages with their big ships, but they were less conformational than the Europeans (83). Nonetheless, the Dutch had huge ships that carried many cannons, but these ships were difficult to turn and faced challenges moving in the shallow sandy areas.
There were many pirates operating in Taiwan who knew the area and had technologically advanced weapons. The Dutch allowed Koxinga’s father, Zheng Zhilong a translator to continue his pirating activities as he did not pose a threat to them and was able to fend off Ming pirates. Zheng Zhilong was a seafarer as were other people of Min (Fujian) and some of his influence and power was because he was connected to the Dutch and worked as a translator (Andarde 63-64). The Dutch established the Zeelandia Castle as a fortress in Taiwan, but the Ming empire was slow to attack them, as Zheng Zhilong and Japanese pirates affected their ability to retaliate.
Koxinga’s strategy was to surround and overwhelm the Dutch...