View source for Rover incident

{{Short description|International incident in Taiwan}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Rover'' incident}}
{{Campaignbox 19th-century Formosan conflicts}}
{{Chinese
|order=ts
|t=羅妹號事件
|s=罗妹号事件
|poj=Lô-mōe-hō Sū-kiāⁿ
|p=Luófāháo shìjiàn
}}
[[File:Notes of travel in Formosa 1869.jpg|thumb|Map of the area drawn by [[Charles W. Le Gendre]]<ref name="twlidu"/> showing "Where the Rover's Crew landed" (bottom middle of map).]]
The '''''Rover'' Incident''' ({{zh|t=羅妹號事件|poj=Lô-mōe-hō Sū-kiāⁿ}} or {{zh|t=羅妹號慘案|poj=Lô-mōe-hō Chhám-àn}}<ref name="twlidu"/>) occurred on 12 March 1867 when the American merchant ship ''Rover'', captained by Joseph Hunt<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mocfile.moc.gov.tw/files/201504/54021244-3378-4c3a-94f9-27d7bef22863.pdf|title=李仙得略傳|access-date=2019-04-20|archive-date=2016-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109045621/http://mocfile.moc.gov.tw/files/201504/54021244-3378-4c3a-94f9-27d7bef22863.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> who was accompanied by his wife Mercy G. ''Beerman'' Hunt,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Botefuhr Family|url=http://www.knottedwillow.com/Botefuhr%20Family.html|work=www.knottedwillow.com|access-date=2019-02-08}}</ref> and en route from [[Shantou]] to [[Yingkou|Niuzhuang]],<ref name="govt">{{cite web|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=THD18670710.2.12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930064049/http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=THD18670710.2.12 |archive-date=2012-09-30 |url-status = dead|title=Papers Past &mdash; Timaru Herald &mdash; 10 July 1867 &mdash; WRECK OF THE BARQUE ROVER.|access-date=2015-05-15}}</ref> was wrecked off the coast of [[Taiwan Prefecture|Taiwan]], then [[Taiwan under Qing rule|ruled by]] the [[Qing dynasty]].{{sfnp|Davidson|1903|p=[https://archive.org/stream/islandofformosap00davi#page/115/mode/1up 115]}} The ship struck a [[coral reef]] called [[Qixingyan (Taiwan)|Qixingyan]] near [[Cape Eluanbi]] and drifted into the area of [[Kenting]]<ref name="blogspot">{{cite web|url=https://formosaguy.blogspot.com/2008/05/taiwans-southern-cape.html|title=Jeff's Taiwan: Taiwan's Southern Cape (恆春半島)|date=15 May 2008|publisher=formosaguy.blogspot.com|access-date=2015-05-15}}</ref> in modern-day [[Hengchun]], [[Pingtung County]], Taiwan. Fourteen American sailors, including Hunt and his wife,<ref name="twlidu">{{cite book|script-title=zh:臺灣歷史地圖 增訂版 |trans-title=Taiwan Historical Maps, Expanded and Revised Edition|date=February 2018|publisher=[[National Museum of Taiwan History]]|isbn=978-986-05-5274-4|pages=78|location=[[Taipei]]|quote={{lang|zh-hant|在1867年(同治6年)3月間，美國商船羅妹號(Rover)因遭遇暴風，在鵝鸞鼻南方七星岩觸礁後沉沒，船長、船員等14人在龜仔甪社所在的海岸登陸，遭到殺害。{...}地圖繪製:李仙得{...}{{lang|zh-hant|羅妹號慘案}} THE ROVER'S CASE.}}}}</ref> were killed by the [[Taiwanese indigenous peoples|indigenous]] [[Paiwan people]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Japan Weekly Mail|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wWQvAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA263|year=1874|publisher=Jappan Meru Shinbunsha|pages=263–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.greendragonsociety.com/Military_History/Taiwan_Formosa_page.htm |title = Taiwan/Formosa}}</ref> in revenge for earlier killings of Kulaljuc ({{zh|t=龜仔甪|p=Guīzǐlù}}) tribe members by foreigners. Subsequently, the U.S. military decided to send a military expedition against the tribe members responsible.<ref name="sino">{{cite web|url=http://www.sino.gov.tw/en/show_issue.php?id=200669506122E.TXT&table=2&cur_page=3&distype=text |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720011837/http://www.sino.gov.tw/en/show_issue.php?id=200669506122E.TXT&table=2&cur_page=3&distype=text |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status = dead|title=Taiwan Panorama Magazine &#124; Taiwan-- A History in Maps|access-date=2015-05-15}}</ref>

==Shipwreck==
On 12 March 1867, the American barque ''Rover'' shipwrecked at the southern tip of Taiwan. The vessel sank but the captain, his wife, and some men escaped on two boats. One boat landed at a small bay near the Bi Mountains inhabited by the Kulaljuc tribe of the [[Paiwan people]]. The Kulaljuc inhabitants captured them and mistook the captain's wife for a man. They killed her. The captain, two white men, and the Chinese sailors save for one who managed to escape to [[Kaohsiung|Takau]], were also killed. The ''Cormorant'', a British steamer, tried to help and landed near the shipwreck on 26 March. The aborigines fired muskets and shot arrows at them, forcing them to retreat. The American Asiatic Fleet's [[Henry H. Bell]] also landed at the Bi Mountains where they became lost, suffered heatstroke, and then [[Formosa Expedition|was ambushed]] by the aborigines, losing an officer.{{sfn|Barclay|2018|p=56}}{{sfn|Wong|2022|p=119}}

==American reaction==
{{main|Formosa Expedition}}
Following the wreck of the United States ship and killing of the surviving crew by aborigines, the American Consul to [[Amoy]] [[Charles Le Gendre|Charles William Le Gendre]] quickly traveled to [[Fuzhou]], arriving on 2 April 1867, to persuade the [[Viceroys in China|Viceroys]] of [[Fujian]] and [[Zhejiang]] to intervene and put pressure on the Chinese authorities in [[Taiwan Prefecture|Taiwan]] to resolve the issue.<ref>Yen 1965, pp. 126-127; Carrington, George Williams, Foreigners in Formosa 1841–1874 (San Francisco: Chinese Materials Center, 1978), p. 153; Dictionary of American Biography, p. 146; The Far East (1877): 88.</ref> The Viceroy of Fujian gave Le Gendre permission to go to Taiwan himself and wrote him a letter of introduction to take to the prefect of Taiwan asking him to cooperate with Le Gendre; but the Viceroy also added that "if the consul takes measures to manage the case himself, please invite him not to do so, for these savages might give him more trouble that he thinks."<ref>U.S., National Archives, Record Group 59, "Consular despatches, Amoy," vol. 3 (microfilm no. 100, roll 3), enclosure, "Intendant of Circuit of Foochow to the Prefect of Formosa," translation from the USNA and USDC; as quoted in Yen 1965, p. 127.</ref> Le Gendre commissioned the United States steamer {{USS|Ashuelot|1865|2}}, under the command of Captain [[John Carson Febiger|John C. Febiger]], in order to visit the scene of the wreck and to try (unsuccessfully) to get foreign officials in [[Tainan|Taiwanfu]] (Taiwan's capital), where he arrived on 18 April) to act. After a subsequent failed [[punitive expedition]] carried out by Rear Admiral Henry H. Bell of the [[United States Navy]], Le Gendre again returned to Taiwan—this time without any reference to his superiors. While in Taiwan, he asserted United States consular authority, selected a deputy consul in north Taiwan, visited the [[Keelung]] mines, and gathered information from United States merchants.<ref>Carrington 1978, pp. 154, 159; Dictionary of American biography, p. 146; The Far East (1877): 88.</ref><ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0B1EF93E5F137B93C6AB1783D85F438684F9|title=THE PIRATES OF FORMOSA. - Official Reports of the Engagement of the United States Naval Forces with the Savages of the Isle. - Front Page - NYTimes.com|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 August 1867|access-date=2015-05-15}}</ref>

On June 19, one hundred and eighty-one officers, sailors, and marines provided with four days' rations and water landed in Taiwan{{sfnp|Davidson|1903|p=[https://archive.org/stream/islandofformosap00davi#page/116/mode/1up 116]}} under Commander [[George Belknap]] of the {{USS|Hartford|1858|6}} who was accompanied by Lieutenant Commander [[Alexander Slidell MacKenzie]], fleet lieutenant as second in command. In the terrible heat, it was "almost impossible to conduct operations in the middle of the day, and many of the party were attacked by sunstroke. The savages, who had taken up a position in the jungle behind rocks and other places invisible...kept up a heavy fire whenever their foes appeared."{{sfnp|Davidson|1903|p=116}} MacKenzie received a mortal wound to his chest from enemy fire.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=The Marine Corps and the State Department: Enduring Partners in United States Foreign Policy, 1798-2007|author=Daugherty, L.J.|date=2009|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated Publishers|isbn=9780786453016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ir-hm6IGWnEC|page=28|access-date=2015-05-15}}</ref> The American force was "compelled to withdraw in some confusion to the ships and soon departed from the island".{{sfnp|Davidson|1903|p=116}}

The marines were under the command of Captain [[James Forney]], who submitted the following report to Commander Belknap, dated on board the flagship ''Hartford'', at sea, June 17:
:"I have the honor herewith to submit a brief report of the part taken by the Marines on the 13th inst., on the island of Formosa. On the first landing, by your order, I took charge of twenty Marines, deploying them forward as skirmishers. A dense and almost impenetrable thicket of bush prevented the men from advancing very rapidly. I penetrated with them to a creek about half a mile from the beach without meeting any of the enemy, and was then recalled for further orders. You then instructed me to leave a sergeant and five men on the beach, and to advance with the main body, headed by yourself. In consequence of all further operations coming under your own observation, I have nothing further to report, except that the men behaved gallantly, and deserve credit for the manner in which they marched over such a rough and hilly country, and under such intense, scorching heat... The entire number of Marines on shore was forty-three, thirty-one of whom were from this ship, and twelve from the {{USS|Wyoming|1859|6}}."<ref name="google2">{{cite book|title=History of the United States Marine Corps|author=Collum, R.S.|date=2008|publisher=Read Books|isbn=9781409715443|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y5lW5TfwEB4C|page=184|access-date=2015-05-15}}</ref>

===Second visit===
Upon return to South China, Le Gendre managed to persuade the Viceroy in [[Fuzhou]] to send a military force to Southern Taiwan. The force, significantly smaller than the 400 to 500 soldiers recommended by Le Gendre, was dispatched on 25 July 1867. Le Gendre then personally requested a gunboat from Admiral Bell, which he was denied, and eventually managed to commission the steamship ''Volunteer''. He embarked for Taiwan on 4 September 1867<ref>14. Yen 1965, pp. 127-148; Carrington 1978, p. 160; The Far East 1877, pp. 88-89.</ref> telling his superiors that "I am going there as a mere spectator.. . . I have no jurisdiction over the Chinese forces."<ref>U.S., National Archives, Record Group 59, "Consular despatches, Amoy," vol. 3 (microfilm no. 100, roll 3), Le Gendre to Bell, 30 July 1867; as quoted in Carrington 1978, p. 160.</ref>

Le Gendre quickly assumed ''de facto'' command of the mission from General Liu in the course of a long and difficult march into deep aboriginal lands in southern Taiwan (some of which required extensive road construction). Then, with the aid of [[William A. Pickering]] and James Horn, Le Gendre negotiated a Memorandum of the Understanding with Tauketok <ref name="gpo">{{cite book|title=''Annual Report on the Commercial Relations Between the United States and Foreign Nations: Made by the Secretary of State for the Year Ending September 30, 1869''|chapter=''CHINA-FORMOSA. FORMOSA. Reports of Mr. C. W. Le Gendre''|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1E1TAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA85|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1E1TAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA92|year=1871年|publisher=[[美国政府出版局|Government Printing Office]]|page=92|language=en|access-date=2020-03-19|archive-date=2020-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923004221/https://books.google.com/books?id=1E1TAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA85|url-status=live }}</ref> ([[:zh:南岬之盟|南岬之盟]]) guaranteeing the safety of shipwrecked American and European sailors with [[Tok-a-Tok]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |edition=9th |volume=IX |date=1879 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |title=Formosa |page=417 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediabrit09newyrich/page/417/mode/1up}}</ref> ({{c.|1817}}{{ndash}}1874),{{efn|His Paiwan name was written in [[Chinese characters]] as {{nowrap|{{lang|zh|{{linktext|卓|杞|篤}}}}}} or {{nowrap|{{lang|zh|{{linktext|卓|其|督}}}}}}, both pronounced ''Tok-ki-tok'' in [[Hokkien language|Hokkien]]. These names were also transcribed into English as Toketok or Tauketok.}}<ref>See also [[:zh:卓杞篤|his article on the Chinese Wikipedia]].</ref> the chief of 18 [[Paiwan people|Paiwan]] aboriginal tribes in the area when the ''Rover'' had gone ashore.<ref>Yen 1965, pp. 149-53; Carrington 1978, pp. 133, 157-58, 161-72, 174, 176; Otness, Harold M, One thousand westerners in Taiwan, to 1945: A biographical and bibliographical dictionary ([Taipei]: Institute of Taiwan History, Preparatory Office, Academia Sinica, 1999), p. 97; The Far East (1877): 89-90; Dictionary of American biography, p. 146.</ref><ref name="google3">{{cite book|title=Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States|author=United States. Dept. of State|date=1868|issue=pt. 1|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSsWAAAAYAAJ|page=491|access-date=2015-05-15}}</ref><ref>Le Gendre, letter reproduced in {{harvp|Davidson|1903|p=117-122}}</ref> 

Tanketok (Toketok), explained that a long time ago the white men came and almost exterminated the Kulaljuc tribe and their ancestors passed down their desire for revenge. They came to an oral agreement that the mountain aborigines would not kill any more castaways, would care for them and hand them over to the Chinese at Langqiao.{{sfn|Wong|2022|p=119-120}} Le Gendre visited the tribe again in February 1869 and signed an agreement with them in English. It was later discovered that Tanketok did not have absolute control over the tribes and some of them paid him no heed. Le Gendre castigated China as a semi-civilized power for not fulfilling the obligation of the law of nations, which is to seize the territory of a "wild race" and to confer upon it the benefits of civilization. Since China failed to prevent the aborigines from killing subjects or citizens of civilized countries, "we see the rights of the Emperor of China over aboriginal Formosa, such as we have said, are not absolute, as long as she remains uncivilized..."{{sfn|Wong|2022|p=121-122}} Le Gendre later moved to Japan and worked with the Japanese government as a foreign advisor on their China policy, including the development of the concept of the "East Asian crescent". According to the "East Asian crescent" concept, Japan should control Korea, Taiwan, and Ryukyu to affirm its position in East Asia.{{sfn|Wong|2022|p=123}}

==Influence==
Following the ''Rover'' Incident in 1867, another shipwreck triggered the [[Mudan Incident of 1871|Mudan Incident]] which subsequently was the justification for the [[Empire of Japan]] to [[Taiwan Expedition of 1874|invade and occupy a part of Taiwan]] in 1874, a decade later the French General [[Jacques Duchesne]] defeated the Chinese up the Keelung River. In addition, the [[Qing]] court established the [[Hengchun]] lighthouse (1888; now [[Eluanbi Lighthouse]]) for the protection of the [[Taiwan Strait]] and vessels transiting the [[Bashi Channel]].

== TV Mini Series from 2021 ==
In 2021 Public Television Service (PTS) of Taiwan has released a ten part mini-series named ''Seqalu: Formosa 1867'' ('' 斯卡羅'') about the incident.<ref>''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15207176/ Seqalu: Formosa 1867 (TV Mini Series 2021)]'', [[IMDb]]</ref> ''Seqalu'' refers to the name of a [[Paiwan people|Paiwan]]-[[Puyuma people|Puyuma]] nation that existed from 1600 to 1931.

==See also==
* [[Mudan incident]]
* [[Small Wars Manual]]
* [[Taiwan Expedition of 1874]]
* [[Formosa Expedition]] of 1867
* [[Princess Babao Temple]]

==Notes==
{{noteslist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Barclay |first=Paul D. |date=2018 |title=Outcasts of Empire: Japan's Rule on Taiwan's "Savage Border," 1874-1945 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520296213}}
* {{cite book|last1=Davidson|first1=James W.|author-link=James W. Davidson|title=The Island of Formosa, Past and Present : history, people, resources, and commercial prospects : tea, camphor, sugar, gold, coal, sulphur, economical plants, and other productions|year=1903|publisher=Macmillan|url=https://archive.org/details/islandofformosap00davi|location=London and New York|ol=6931635M|chapter=Chapter IX: Wrecks and Outrages on Navigators. 1848–1867}}
*{{citation|last=Wong|first=Young-tsu|year=2017|title=China's Conquest of Taiwan in the Seventeenth Century: Victory at Full Moon|publisher=Springer}} 
*{{citation|last=Wong|first=Tin|year=2022|title=Approaching Sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands|publisher=Springer}}
{{refend}}

{{1867 shipwrecks}}
{{Taiwan–United States relations}}
{{coord missing|Pacific Ocean}}

[[Category:Merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Individual sailing vessels]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Tall ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in March 1867]]
[[Category:1867 in Taiwan]]
[[Category:China–United States military relations]]
[[Category:Taiwan–United States military relations]]
[[Category:Taiwanese aboriginal culture and history]]
[[Category:Combat incidents]]
[[Category:March 1867]]