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This is the first book-length study of the reception of Christianity and the epistemic outcomes of contact between Protestant and Catholic missionaries and Indigenous Austronesians in the contact zone of seventeenth-century colonial Taiwan.
In the Age of European Expansion, Dutch Reformed and Spanish Catholic missionaries attempted to win the souls of Indigenous Austronesian people in Taiwan. Christopher Joby examines the strategies that the missionaries employed to overcome the gap between their own cultures and languages and those of the Indigenous Austronesians or Formosans in the contact zone of seventeenth-century Taiwan, and evaluates the success of these strategies. As such, this book is a reception history of the texts, beliefs, and practices that Reformed Protestant and Catholic missionaries introduced to convert the Formosans to their mode of Christianity. Using many linguistic and non-linguistic examples, this approach allows for a ‘complementary colour perspective’ by comparing the epistemic outcomes of the Dutch Reformed and Spanish Catholic missions.
In the Age of European Expansion, Dutch Reformed and Spanish Catholic missionaries attempted to win the souls of Indigenous Austronesian people in Taiwan. Christopher Joby examines the strategies that the missionaries employed to overcome the gap between their own cultures and languages and those of the Indigenous Austronesians or Formosans in the contact zone of seventeenth-century Taiwan, and evaluates the success of these strategies. As such, this book is a reception history of the texts, beliefs, and practices that Reformed Protestant and Catholic missionaries introduced to convert the Formosans to their mode of Christianity. Using many linguistic and non-linguistic examples, this approach allows for a ‘complementary colour perspective’ by comparing the epistemic outcomes of the Dutch Reformed and Spanish Catholic missions.
Price: $194.00
Pages: 466
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Brill Series in Taiwan Studies
Publication Date:
20 February 2025
ISBN: 9789004716346
Format: Hardcover
“Christopher Joby’s most recent work, Christian Mission in Seventeenth-Century Taiwan, offers a comprehensive and meticulous account of the Dutch and Spanish missionary enterprises on the island between 1624 and 1662.”
— José Eugenio Borao Mateo, The Catholic Historical Review, Book Review, 04 September 2025
Read the full review here.
“Christian Mission in Seventeenth-Century Taiwan is a highly recommended resource for scholars interested in the cultural and religious encounters between Europe and East Asia. It offers a valuable case study in early modern missionary linguistics, colonial strategies, and indigenous reception, all set within the unique historical context of seventeenth-century Taiwan.”
— José Eugenio Borao Mateo, The Catholic Historical Review, Book Review, 04 September 2025
Read the full review here.
“Christopher Joby’s fascinating new work zooms in on the seventeenth century occupation of Taiwan by the Spanish and Dutch East India Company.”
— Steven Crook, Taipei Times, Book Review, 24 July 2025
Read the full review here.
“Christopher Joby’s painstaking scholarship on this topic, however, reveals the on-going relevance of this period in the unfolding of Taiwan’s history, with theoretical contributions to mission studies and Indigenous studies.” —Scott E. Simon, Social Sciences and Mission, Book Review, Volume 38 (2025): Issue 3-4 (Nov 2025): pp. 410–412
“It is necessary reading for graduate students and advanced scholars in religion, Indigenous studies, and Taiwan studies.” —Scott E. Simon, Social Sciences and Mission, Book Review, Volume 38 (2025): Issue 3-4 (Nov 2025): pp. 410–412
— José Eugenio Borao Mateo, The Catholic Historical Review, Book Review, 04 September 2025
Read the full review here.
“Christian Mission in Seventeenth-Century Taiwan is a highly recommended resource for scholars interested in the cultural and religious encounters between Europe and East Asia. It offers a valuable case study in early modern missionary linguistics, colonial strategies, and indigenous reception, all set within the unique historical context of seventeenth-century Taiwan.”
— José Eugenio Borao Mateo, The Catholic Historical Review, Book Review, 04 September 2025
Read the full review here.
“Christopher Joby’s fascinating new work zooms in on the seventeenth century occupation of Taiwan by the Spanish and Dutch East India Company.”
— Steven Crook, Taipei Times, Book Review, 24 July 2025
Read the full review here.
“Christopher Joby’s painstaking scholarship on this topic, however, reveals the on-going relevance of this period in the unfolding of Taiwan’s history, with theoretical contributions to mission studies and Indigenous studies.” —Scott E. Simon, Social Sciences and Mission, Book Review, Volume 38 (2025): Issue 3-4 (Nov 2025): pp. 410–412
“It is necessary reading for graduate students and advanced scholars in religion, Indigenous studies, and Taiwan studies.” —Scott E. Simon, Social Sciences and Mission, Book Review, Volume 38 (2025): Issue 3-4 (Nov 2025): pp. 410–412
Christopher Joby, Ph.D. (2006), Durham University, is a Research Associate at the Centre of Taiwan Studies, SOAS, University of London. He has published many articles on “Aboriginal Taiwan” and the Dutch colonial period, and authored two chapters in the Handbook of Formosan Languages (Brill, 2024).