Changes

*[[Imperial Japanese Army]] (3600 led by [[Saigo Tsugumichi|Saigô Tsugumichi]]) vs. Taiwanese aborigines (number unknown)

*[[Imperial Japanese Army]] (3600 led by [[Saigo Tsugumichi|Saigô Tsugumichi]]) vs. [[Taiwanese aborigines]] (number unknown)

*''Date: [[1874]]/5/2 to 1874/6''

*''Date: [[1874]]/5/2 to 1874/6''

*''Location: [[Taiwan]]''

*''Location: [[Taiwan]]''

==The Expedition==

==The Expedition==

Japanese troops (along with some number of Americans)<ref>"China's Worst Diplomat," ''The Economist'', 21 Dec 2013, 72.</ref> first landed on Taiwanese shores on May 2nd, 1874. On the 22nd of that month, they fought the [[Battle of Stone Gate]], which would be the chief battle of the conflict. Saigô himself first arrived within the next week or so, and the fighting ended in June.

Some 3,600 Japanese troops (along with some number of Americans)<ref>"China's Worst Diplomat," ''The Economist'', 21 Dec 2013, 72.</ref> first landed on Taiwanese shores on May 2nd, 1874. On the 22nd of that month, they fought the [[Battle of Stone Gate]], which would be the chief battle of the conflict. Saigô himself first arrived within the next week or so, and the fighting ended in June.

Though the Japanese were ultimately victorious, the expedition suffered from numerous difficulties. The initial landing on the island is said to have been poorly executed, and the Japanese forces were, in various ways, ill-prepared for the tropical climate. Many men lost their lives to disease, and much equipment was useless in that environment and had to be abandoned.<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 192.</ref>

Though the Japanese were ultimately victorious, the expedition suffered from numerous difficulties. The initial landing on the island is said to have been poorly executed, and the Japanese forces were, in various ways, ill-prepared for the tropical climate. More than five hundred men lost their lives to malaria,<ref>Andrew Gordon, ''A Modern History of Japan'', Oxford University Press (2013), 74.</ref> and much equipment was useless in that environment and had to be abandoned.<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 192.</ref>

==Aftermath==

==Aftermath==

In October 1874, a treaty was signed in which China admitted less than total sovereign control over certain areas of southern Taiwan (i.e. areas dominated by aboriginal control), recognized the Ryukyuan peoples as Japanese subjects, and agreed to pay an indemnity to Japan.

In October 1874, a treaty was signed in which China admitted less than total sovereign control over certain areas of southern Taiwan (i.e. areas dominated by aboriginal control), recognized the Ryukyuan peoples as Japanese subjects, and agreed to pay an indemnity to Japan.<ref>There remains some debate as to whether the Chinese officials intended to recognize the Ryukyuans as Japanese subjects in this agreement, or whether their willingness to pay indemnities for the damages suffered by Japanese subjects refers only to a group of four sailors from Oda prefecture killed by aborigines in [[1873]]. While some Chinese historians today continue to advocate for this view, the Japanese officials at the time, most likely along with the British mediator [[Thomas Wade]], saw the indemnities paid for the suffering of Japanese subjects as including the Ryukyuans killed in 1871 as well. The latter seems to be the dominant view in scholarship today. Walker, 217n23.</ref>

The issue of Chinese and Japanese claims to Taiwan and Ryûkyû was not entirely settled, however, and would almost lead to outright war in [[1879]]. That year, [[Ulysses S. Grant]] brokered a peace, though China ultimately did not sign the formal document, and Japan fully [[Ryukyu shobun|abolished]] the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]], annexing its territory as [[Okinawa Prefecture]], over Chinese objections. War between China and Japan eventually broke out less than 20 years later, in [[1894]]. Japan defeated China and took Taiwan as a formal colony, though whether or not this can be considered to have "settled" the matter remains a matter of interpretation or debate.

The issue of Chinese and Japanese claims to Taiwan and Ryûkyû was not entirely settled, however, and would almost lead to outright war in [[1879]]. That year, [[Ulysses S. Grant]] brokered a peace, though China ultimately did not sign the formal document, and Japan fully [[Ryukyu shobun|abolished]] the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]], annexing its territory as [[Okinawa Prefecture]], over Chinese objections. War between China and Japan eventually broke out less than 20 years later, in [[1894]]. Japan defeated China and took Taiwan as a formal colony, though whether or not this can be considered to have "settled" the matter remains a matter of interpretation or debate.