Frederic Coyett (1615-post 1675) set off for Formosa in 1645 and was appointed governor of the island in 1656. Although a large VOC fleet had come to Formosa in 1660, it departed in 1661 leaving only a small garrison behind. In 1661 the Chinese pirate Coxinga took advantage of the weakened position to attack the settlement there, which capitulated on 1 February 1662 after a three-month siege. Coyett negotiated good terms for himself and the other survivors, but the Dutch accused him of high treason and banned him for life. The Stadtholder pardoned him in 1674 and he returned to the Netherlands, where he wrote the present book.