- Robert Junius
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Infobox Person
name = Robert Junius
caption = Portrait of Junius onDelftware
birth_date = 1605/6
birth_place =Holland
death_date = 1656
death_place =Holland
nationality = flag|Netherlands|name=Dutch
residence =Holland
Dutch Formosa
occupation =Missionary
religion =Protestant ("Dutch Reformed Church ")
title = Reverend
other_names = Robertus Junius
home_town =Delft ,Holland Robert Junius, also recorded as Robertus Junius (1605/6 [cite book|title=After Colonialism|author=Gyan Prakash|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=UPDVd3sYLHQC&pg=RA2-PA161-IA2&lpg=RA2-PA161-IA2&dq=Robertus+Junius&source=web&ots=O5MtTcjqRN&sig=il6NgKY0ItGGg7zvskpjHIkFIsc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PRA2-PA161-IA2,M1|year=1994] –1656), was a
Dutch Reformed Church missionary toTaiwan (then known as Formosa) from 1629 to 1643. Along withAntonius Hambroek andJoannes Cruyf he was among the longest-serving missionaries of the Dutch colonial era in Formosa. [cite book|title=Formosa under the Dutch: Described from Contemporary Records|author=William Campbell|year=1903|page=86]Mission in Formosa
On arriving in Formosa, Junius took up residence in the village of Sakam, in the vicinity of
Fort Provintia [cite book|title=Taiwan: A New History|author=Murray A. Rubenstein|year=1999|isbn=9781563248160|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|page=12] in present-dayTainan City .Described as more energetic than his contemporary,
George Candidius , Junius was involved in the pacification ofTaiwanese aborigines following the slaughter of sixty Dutch people by the natives of Mattau. This took the form of a short punitive war against the offending villages by Dutch forces, resulting in the killing of "a few dozen" aborigines and a "Pax Hollandica" which followed after the recalcitrant tribes had been cowed. Following this campaign, Junius continually urged the authorities inBatavia to send more clergymen to Formosa to assist in the instruction and conversion of the now amenable natives, something in which he was supported by the governor of the time,Hans Putmans . However, he was ultimately disappointed by the response from the colonial administrative centre.In 1641 he was called to Batavia to report to the Consistory (the religious administrative body for Asia), and asked whether he would like to continue his service in Formosa. He agreed to return for two years, provided thatThese requests were agreed upon, and Junius returned to Formosa until late 1643.
The numbers of baptisms under Junius' authority were impressive, even with Junius' work confined to the few villages around the Dutch strongholds of
Fort Zeelandia andFort Provintia . One commentator remarks thatReturn to Holland
On December 14 of 1643 Junius again went to Batavia at the end of his commission. The Consistory again requested him to return to Formosa to continue his ministry, but this time Junius declined and decided instead to go back to his homeland,
Holland . This he did, residing there until his death, which was probably in 1656. [cite book|title=Formosa under the Dutch: Described from Contemporary Records|author=William Campbell|year=1903|page=81]ee also
*
Taiwan under Dutch rule
*George Candidius References
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