Oceanic Inter-Imperialism in Psalmanazar’s Formosa

Abstract

abstract: This article approaches the oceanic locality of Taiwan through George Psalmanazar’s 1704 ethnography , An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa . Psalmanazar was a Frenchman who tricked a large number of Londoners into believing him an Indigenous Formosan. In keeping with this special issue’s interest in situating the English imperial imagination in local oceanic spaces, this article shows how Psalmanazar presented Taiwan as subject to imperial domination by a variety of maritime powers, both Asian and European. Drawing on Laura Doyle’s recent theoretical formulation of inter-imperiality, the article argues that Psalmanazar’s view of Taiwan as subject to other empires could itself inspire the imperial imagination in England. The article concludes by pointing out that the project of unpacking these imperial histories has gained increasing urgency through Taiwan’s precarious position in the rapidly developing inter-imperial rivalry between China and the United States .